Strack's Take: Terps to Honor Hispanic Heritage
9/26/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland's Ludwig Field has hosted its fair share of spirited crowds, gathered to witness a men's soccer program with two national championships in the last decade. But Friday's atmosphere will have a twist, as the program honors the community in the form of Hispanic Heritage Night.
As a Division I school in the center of Prince George's County, where 16.2 percent of inhabitants are Hispanic or Latino, senior undergraduate Francisco Lopez thought it was time for the University to connect with the residents of neighboring towns in a way it has never done before.
“We just sat down and kind of discussed on how we can bridge the gap between Maryland Athletics and the Latino community,” he said.
Lopez and Jordan Looby, assistant director of sports marketing at Maryland, dreamed up Friday's festivities, taking place before and during the soccer team's clash with conference-foe Wisconsin.
The night will include a festival beginning an hour before the game featuring music from El Zol 107.9 FM, the largest Latino radio station in the D.C./Baltimore area, the Maryland cheerleading team and Latino student organizations with games and giveaways for fans of all ages.
Terrapins head coach Sasho Cirovski will also be doing a brief Q & A with the families and youth at the festival in hopes of building relationships with prospective players in the area and extending the fan base.
Eric Carbajal, a freshman midfielder on this year's squad, is the lone Mexican-American on the team. From June to December of 2012, he played for Club America Academy, a football club based in Mexico City. He is excited to represent his heritage on the special night.
“I think it's important,” said Carbajal. “There are a lot of people who come out and watch and then there's a lot of Hispanics as well here on campus who like to go watch the soccer games just because they love the sport and they play on their downtime.”
While the Terps are on the pitch looking for their first Big Ten win, game action will be called in Spanish by Radio America's Carlos Osorio. The radio personality is well known in the Latino community for his soccer show on weekday evenings on 1540AM and will act as the public address announcer on this unique occasion.
Though the Terps have only managed to find the net six times in seven games, Osorio plans to lead the crowd in typical Latin American goal cheers, as well as giving scoring, foul, and other updates throughout the contest. It is the first time there will be bilingual commentary at a Maryland soccer game.
Looby said in terms of promotion, the event has received more attention than anything he has seen during his tenure, because of how different yet relevant it is for this particular community. Lopez has publicized the event at the Hispanic Festival in College Park as well as at the radio station, and the turnout of a new audience is greatly anticipated.
“The fact that the University of Maryland is extending a hand and an invitation and saying, 'Hey we would love to have you guys, we would love to honor your culture,' in the game and the sport that we all can share love for…it's awesome,” said Lopez. “It's a great step forward and hopefully it's not the last one to happen in the future.”
Ben Strack, a senior journalism major at the University of Maryland, is a contributing writer to umterps.com.
