Sports Calls That Were Way Better in Spanish

GOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!

Whew, I need a breath after that.

Listen, Spanish-speaking soccer announcers are amazing. But it doesn't end there—it turns out there are colorful and energetic Spanish-speaking announcers in a number of sports that are blessed with a phenomenal lung capacity.

On this slideshow we celebrate those announcers, pairing a few of them up with their English-speaking counterparts to show just how much fun the Spanish announcers bring to the table.

I hope you are ready for a fiesta in your eardrums.

Let's Get Warmed Up with Andrés Cantor

I'm going to embed this video in all of my GChats after receiving exciting news from now on.

That won't get old.

10. Raul Ibanez Wins the Game in English

Okay, so this is a decent call on a walk-off home run.

But could it be improved?

Raul Ibanez Wins the Game in Spanish

Why yes, it could be improved. This video is proof.

I just love the way he says "Raul Ibanez."

9. Larry Fitzgerald Scores a Touchdown in English

The highlight of this video has got to be when the name Larry Fitzgerald becomes and exclamation of amazement.

"Larry Fitz-GERALD!"

Larry Fitzgerald Scores a Touchdown in Spanish

But this call is even better.

Here's the mash-up of both the audio and video from Sports Grid, if you are interested.

8. Barcelona vs. Real Madrid in English

This is pretty good work by these two, and any time you can include Roy Hudson, you are on the right track.

More from Hudson later.

Barcelona vs. Real Madrid in Spanish

But a few of the calls from the same game, this time from Spanish-speaking announcers, are just fantastic.

"GOAL GOAL GOAL GOAL GOAL GOAL! PUYOL PUYOL PUYOL PUYOL!"

7. Kobe Bryant Ties the Game in English

Listen, Al Michaels is a legend, and this call from Game 2 of the 2004 NBA Finals is pretty solid.

But...

Kobe Bryant Ties the Game in Spanish

Not even Al Michaels can top this call from a Spanish-speaking machine gun—er, announcer—which makes you want to stand up on your chair and wave a flag around.

"RATATATATATATATATATA!"

6. Goal of the Century in English

This call may be a bit subdued because the goal was scored against England, but despite that, it was never going to top the Spanish version.

Goal of the Century in Spanish

Victor Hugo Morales, you quite possibly could lay claim to "Sports Call of the Century."

The perfect call for the perfect goal.

5. The Greatest Soccer Goal in American History in English

Ian Darke is amazing, and its hard to imagine a call better than this one.

The Greatest Soccer Goal in American History in Spanish

But I think this one, in Spanish, is just a bit better.

The pure, raw emotion that makes his voice crack pushes it over the top for me. But I'm sure there will be those who disagree.

4. David Villa Goal in English

Sorry about the annoying song playing over the commentary. For the goal call, head to the 2:44 mark.

This is a pretty good call. But it gets better...

David Villa Scores a Goal...in SPANISH

Oh, does it get better.

3. Paul Scholes Scores a Goal in English

This is an excellent call. Timely inflection and volume adjustment can go a long way.

But this call never, ever had a chance.

Paul Scholes Scores a Goal in Spanish

And this is why.

Before you go suggesting this is fake, consider that the announcer is Juan Manuel Pons. Who's that, you ask? Here's what The New York Times has to say about him:

"

None of these commentators, however, can compare to Juan Manuel “El Bambino” Pons. Pons is a play-by-play man in the tradition of Marcelo Araujo, who was known for his extravagant goal shouts. But in his weekly English Premier League soccer matches, Pons takes Araujo’s exclamations a step further by singing an ode to almost every goal, improvising lyrics with the name of the scorer set to a popular tune that is sometimes piped in from a prepared recording (which he requests, audibly, by number).

"

How can we possibly top that?

2. Speaking of Marcelo Araujo...

For one, we have to give a nod to one of the classics, Marcelo Araujo.

But there is one call—nay, one proclamation of unbridled joy and amazement—that stands tall above the rest.

But Before We Present the Winner...

We would be remiss if we didn't include a call that most certainly wasn't better in Spanish.

Roy Hudson—you complete me.

You had me at "teardrops the size of pineapple chunks."

1. Real Madrid vs. Unicaja Malaga in Spanish

Best.

Call.

Ever.

(That might be a stretch, but it's pretty damn epic one way or the other.)

I don't think there is an English version of this call anywhere, but it doesn't matter—it couldn't possibly be better than this. There's just no way.

God bless you, Spanish-speaking announcers. God bless each and every one of you.

Be sure to hit me up on Twitter (@TRappaRT) along with the entire B/R Swagger team (@BR_Swagger)