Press boxes are really boring places. While the fans in the stands cheer until they go hoarse, the press box is dead silent. That’s because it’s basically an office inside a stadium. Reporters are there to work, not drink beer and high five.
But the press box at SoFi Stadium was far from silent for Monday night’s game between the Chargers and Cowboys. That’s because Dallas’ Spanish-language radio announcers weren’t given their own broadcast booth, so they had to set up inside the main press box. That meant that everybody in the room was treated to play-by-play announcer Victor Villalba and color commentator Luis Perez’s call of the game.
A couple of neighbors in the press box shared videos of Villalba and Perez doing their job under the unusual circumstances.
The Dallas Cowboys Spanish announce team did not get a booth of their own tonight so they are in the main press box at SoFi Stadium. This is what the Dak Prescott touchdown sounded like. pic.twitter.com/LBdWtXnXJg
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) October 17, 2023
SoFi Stadium cost $5.5 billion to build, but there is not enough booth space for the Cowboys’ official Spanish-language radio broadcast network, which has to call tonight’s game vs. Chargers from press box. pic.twitter.com/tfSxLo8ph1
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) October 17, 2023
Cowboys Spanish Radio Network broadcasting INSIDE the pressbox tonight! pic.twitter.com/babEuYodpC
— Darren M. Haynes (@DarrenMHaynes) October 17, 2023
It’s not an ideal situation for either party. The print reporters are used to having a more calm environment when covering a game, and announcers are used to having their own space to work. But Villalba is regarded as one of the best announcers in the NFL—in any language—so he was able to adapt to the less than ideal circumstances and give fans back in Texas the kind of call they’re used to hearing. Give Villalba credit, too, for not holding back on his calls. It must have been awkward to perform in front of an audience like that.
