CHICAGO — On a chilly December night, Miguel Esparza, the Spanish language radio play-by-play announcer for WRTO 1200 AM, is at the United Center talking to the head coach of the Chicago Bulls, Billy Donovan.
“Turnovers have been down, the last couple of games you’ve been around 13,” Esparza said. “Is that something you’ve focused on, taking care of the ball more?”
“It’s something we’ve tried to really, really stress,” Donovan said.
The question led to a longer discussion among Donovan and the Bulls beat reporters about the issue of turnovers.
In addition to reporting, Esparza’s duties include a courtside pregame show. Then he heads up to the broadcast booth on the United Center’s 7th level were he’s calling a late-December game between the Bulls and the Milwaukee Bucks.
“Every time I look up to the rafters,” he said, “I see the championship banners, I always think to myself, ‘How did I make it here?’”
The Humboldt Park native made it to Radio Booth No. 1 at the UC. But his booming voice echoes across not one, not two, but three of Chicago’s pro sports teams. He is the radio voice of the Chicago Bulls, Chicago Blackhawks, and Chicago Cubs.
He is also playing a key role in connecting Chicago’s teams to Hispanic and Latino fans, who make up the city’s fastest growing ethnic population.
“They don’t see us as the Spanish broadcasters,” he said. “We’re just broadcasters. That’s a big deal. That’s a big, big deal because for many years we’ve been the Spanish broadcasters.”
Jorge Moreno is a producer and announcer working alongside Esparza.
“For us to be the first to do it in our language, I think it means a lot for all of us,” Moreno said.
Esparza’s broadcast teammates marvel at how he keeps all the different rosters and rules straight.
“It’s really hard, I only do two sports – the Cubs and the Blackhawks, but he does the Bulls, you add college football and it’s really, really admirable,” Moreno said.
Intense preparation is essential to broadcasting a variety of different sports, said Elio Benitez, one of Esparza’s broadcast partners.
“We have to be at the top of our game, and it’s quite a privilege to be able to broadcast with Miguel for that reason,” he said.
At Murphy’s Bleachers, one of Esparza’s favorite Chicago hangouts, the 43-year-old said he landed behind the microphone through a combination of good luck, good timing, persistence, and personality.
“Who you see me on the call is who you’ll see me here at Murphy’s where we are.” he said. “From a very early age in my career, I learned we had to keep our feet on the ground and be you, right?”
His rich and resonant voice commands the airwaves on the all-Spanish WRTO-Radio. He knows he has a dream job, but it was never really his dream job.
His dream was to be an Elvis tribune artist.
“That was my ultimate,” he said. “I wanted to sing. I wanted to perform.”
At Louie’s pub in Wicker Park, the ace of announcing becomes the king of karaoke. And “Miguel” transformed into “Miguelvis,” as he sings spot-on renditions of “Kentucky Rain,” and “My Way,” with a curled lip and swiveling hips.
“I go by Miguelvis,” he said. “I figured, just, it’s perfect.”
His singing takes the spotlight and stuns the audience.
“It was incredible,” said Alex Vandeloo. “I was not expecting that.”
From singing to sports – it’s all about the performance.
“At the end of the day, I’m an entertainer,” he said. “I have to make it to where somebody wants to listen to my broadcast. Then it’s the same deal, I have to make sure I sing the right way and perform the right way, so somebody says, ‘I want to hear another song from this guy, right?’”
