KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs have fans all over the world, including a growing fan base of native Spanish-speakers.
Kansas City-based broadcast company, Tico Sports, will bring the excitement of Super Bowl LV to those fans once again en español.
"It's all that energy we bring into the broadcast, the way we call the plays, the description we provide," Oscar Monterroso said, founder of Tico Sports, said of the appeal of the Spanish-language broadcast. "It's something we really enjoy and our audience enjoys as well."
Fans familiar with the call of a soccer game in Spanish will understand what to expect from a Spanish-language Chiefs broadcast.
Chiefs fans are used to hearing Mitch Holthus bellow, "Touchdown, Kansas City." Monterroso and Kiké Morales, who does the play-by-play, bring the same energy and passion, except you're going to hear "Anotación, Kansas City" instead.
Anotación means touchdown, a word that gets dramatically drawn out every time the Chiefs reach the end zone, making listeners wonder how they can hold their breath so long. It's similar to the familiar refrain of an impassioned and elongated "goal" during a soccer broadcast.
Tico Sports has broadcast the Chiefs' games in Spanish for a few years now. They're headed to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, for a second straight Super Bowl later this week.
"We have listeners in Mexico, listeners in Costa Rica, listeners in Spain, England," Monterroso said. "The fan base for the Latino, Hispanic community is big and they want to listen to the game in Spanish, and we provide a pretty exciting game."
Tico Sports has played a key role in helping the Chiefs reach their Spanish-speaking fans and the excitement the crew brings to the games helps Latinos connect to American football.
"The Kansas City Chiefs has been a great, great experience and a great partnership as well," Monterroso said.
After making inroads with the Chiefs, Tico Sports has expanded its reach to call games for the Baltimore Ravens, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and some college games. The Raiders also had a Spanish-language broadcast when they were still in Oakland.
The broadcast in Kansas City can be heard on the Chiefs app and Tico Sports' website, as well as the radio.
"Tune in at 1030 AM Real Country so [you] can have a little taste of what is the Kansas City Chiefs en español con Tico Sports," Monterroso said.
This story was first published by Sarah Plake at KSHB in Kansas City, Missouri.
