POPULARIZING FOOTBALL THE FUTBOL WAY
Gabriel Trujillo is the best football broadcaster in
Ahhhhh-reeeee-zoooo-naaaa!
His energy is contagious. His signature calls go viral. He is the play-by-play announcer for Cardinals Spanish radio, and while you might not understand everything he’s saying, his excitement is universal.
It’s a language that everyone understands.
“I really love the team,” said Trujillo, 49. “And the excitement comes from the effort the guys are putting on the field. I have to translate that into words, through the radio, and send that energy to the
listeners.”
Trujillo is a 13-year veteran, and something of an overnight sensation. When Larry Fitzgerald makes a spectacular play, Trujillo will roll his R’s and repeat his name in rapid succession (“Lah-ree! Lah
ree! Lah-ree!”)
When the Cardinals score a touchdown, his interpretation sounds like an epic soccer goal, and rises to a familiar crescendo ( “Touchdown Ahhh-reee-zoooo
naaaa!”). The next day, the call will usually show up on the NFL Network or some other sports website.
“You can tell when he sticks it in second gear,” said broadcast partner Rolando Cantu, a former Cardinals offensive lineman. “Second gear is, ‘Touchdown Arizona.’ Third gear is, ‘Larry! Larry! Larry!’ Fourth gear is all kinds of combinations coming out.
“Gabriel has a tempo, which is very upbeat. But when there’s kickoff return or a big touchdown call, you know what’s coming. I’ve learned to mute my (talk) button and pull away one side of my headphones. That way I can sit back and enjoy it.”
In the big picture, Trujillo and Cantu are part of a revolution, tasked with integrating the Cardinals into Hispanic communities in Arizona and beyond. Cantu calls it “the Spanish project,” and from a league perspective, the numbers are very encouraging.
Through 11 weeks of the season, 43 NFL games have averaged over 1 million Hispanic viewers. More Hispanics watched Super Bowl XLVI (16.6 million) than the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final (16.4 million). In sum, there are an estimated 8 million football fans throughout Mexico.
“Research shows the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers are the most popular (teams), but the Cardinals are right there,” Cantu said.
The Cardinals have been strategically growing their brand in Mexico for years, where Cantu was already something of a hero. He was the first non-kicker from Mexico to take the field with a NFL team and is now the team’s manager for international business affairs.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals and 49ers were the first teams to play
(Gostkowski attempts the 42-yard kick.) Here comes the delivery, here comes the attempt to block, the ball goes flying… It didn't go in! It didn't go in! The pressure by the special teams stop(s) the ball from enter(ing) with a second! And Arizona is going to take the victory 20-18 (on) the board and just one second (left).” GABRIEL TRUJILLO The English translation of the Cardinals Spanish radio broadcaster’s call of the Patriots’ missed field goal in Week 2
a regular-season game in Mexico, a 31-14 Arizona victory in 2005.
“We do a lot on the grass-roots level,” Cantu said. “We conduct free camps. We teach drills and fundamentals. We bring down cheerleaders, Big Red and ourselves. We’re right there. They know the Cardinals are for real because we’re down there on their fields. That goes a long way.”
So does the growing reputation of Trujillo, who can be heard on 24 stations in 18 different cities in Mexico, where listeners can’t resist a highly excitable broadcaster bringing a futbol mentality to football.
“If they’re switching through dials in Mexico City and they hear a call that sounds like a soccer goal and goes on for 10-15 seconds, they’re thinking, ‘What’s going on here?’” Cantu said. “They’re automatically hooked.
“This year, we had five charter buses from our neighbor state of Sonora purchase tickets because of the Spanish broadcast. They actually came to our radio show on game day. They were all wound up because they’ve heard Gabriel’s ‘Touchdown Arizona’ call.”
The surge in popularity is an unexpected twist for Trujillo, a radio lifer who grew up in Nogales, one of 11 siblings. His brother David became a radio personality in Mexico and was known on-air as “El Lobo.” When Gabriel followed in his footsteps, he became “Lobito.”
“My brother made it back when Wolfman Jack was very popular,” Trujillo said. “He created a Spanish version of Wolfman Jack. So I became the little wolf.”
Trujillo started announcing NFL games in 2000, when the Cardinals became the first Valley team to offer all of its games on Spanish radio. He simultaneously worked Suns games from 2000 to 2005, occasionally rushing from Sun Devil Stadium to broadcast Sunday night basketball.
He also worked as a general on-air personality, where he was known to the Hispanic market as “Dr. Fever.”
“I saw a show, ‘WKRP in Cincinnati,’ ” Trujillo said. “You remember Johnny Fever? I am that kind of guy when I’m working on the air. They started throwing different nicknames around, and I didn’t like any of them. But I said ‘Fever’ works for me, and for seven, eight years, I was known as Dr. Fever.”
Nicknames are no longer necessary for Trujillo, who became a full-time employee in 2008 and can be heard game days on 710 AM ESPN Deportes. He has become so popular that Hispanic fans will sometimes call the Cardinals asking to speak to “Dr. Trujillo,” a nod to his previous persona.
Just last week, Cantu said a group of non-Hispanic fans wearing Lions jerseys came by the pregame show to give their imitations of Trujillo.
“Some of the players even ask me for audio of his calls,” Cantu said. “They want to use it as ring tones for their phones. I e-mail it to them. They think it’s great.
“These calls have put him on the map. I know that eight to 10 times every season we’re going to have a really big platform because of him. And I’m honored to be part of this because it’s long overdue for Gabriel. He’s been doing this for 13 years, and every now and again, we’ll find tapes in the office of games he did from 2001 to 2004. Those were the really dark days of Cardinals football, and he’s just as excited.”
Trujillo can’t believe his good fortune. Once, he was carrying his own equipment and broadcasting semiprofessional sports in Mexico. Now, he’s a player in a billiondollar industry, a broadcaster celebrated for his unbridled passion.
“It’s happened because we have a lot of energy,” he says, smiling wide.
And it’s just a shame the 2012 Cardinals haven’t scored more touchdowns, thereby squandering the talent of Fitzgerald and the best football voice in the Valley.