|
Voice still strong
Just a few 'GOOOOOAAALS' left for Univision's Cantor
Posted: Thursday July 09, 1998 06:26 PM
| |
Cantor took six month of voice lessons to prepare for the 64-game tournament (AP) |
PARIS (AP) -- Andres Cantor, the only U.S. announcer to call every
World Cup game -- and all 165 GOOOOOAAALS -- has made it through the first
62 games with his voice intact. But there have been a few shaky
moments, especially during those dramatic moments when his distinctive
"GOOOOOAAAL!" call frequently lasts longer than the delirious celebrations
by the scorers themselves. "I was very worried about losing my
voice at the beginning when we had three or four games a day," said Cantor,
who took six months of voice lessons to prepare for the 64-game tournament.
"Now the games are more spaced out, but they are also more intense and when
I get carried away with emotion I tend to lose my voice and strain it
more." Cantor spent the months leading up to the World Cup
poring over videotape and rosters to learn the 32 teams and more than 700
players in France. He
didn't have much experience with teams such as Iran and Morocco in his
11 years at Univision. But it is the voice lessons that proved
most important, especially when a player like Ronaldo gets in striking
distance of the goal: Yell from the gut, not the vocal cords.
Goal calls like Cantor's are commonplace throughout Latin America, but he
is one of the only announcers whose audience does not share the same home
team. "I do it for all sides," he said. "The length depends on
the intensity of the match and how much breath I have." But even
Cantor plays favorites, with only a few "GOOOOOAAAL" calls worthy of those
minute-long bellows that truly test his tireless pipes. Mexico's late
second-round clinching goal against Holland, its lone goal against Germany, and
the tying score by Cantor's native Argentina
against England were
the most memorable calls. "There is so much at stake for the
teams that I get carried away," he said. "My voice is thinning out a bit
now, but I have a couple of days to rest." Cantor's passion and
the excitement for the tournament fire up the Spanish-speaking audience and
even drive many English speakers to flip the channel to Univision from ESPN
or ABC immediately after a goal. Most of this country, however,
is slow to embrace the game, with ratings hovering around hockey levels.
That is something that has bothered Cantor since he moved to the United
States 18 years ago, when the only soccer to watch was the Los Angeles
Aztecs of the NASL. Since being hired by Univision in 1987,
Cantor no longer had to drive hundreds of miles to see games on
closed-circuit television. All the games he would ever want are there for
him at the Univision studio in Miami and at the World Cup studio in
Paris. "This is always a thrill for me because I love soccer so
much," he said. "To be able to call all 64 games is like doing 64 Super
Bowls for me." The only thing missing so far: a memorable
"GOOOOOAAAL" to end the World Cup.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
| 
