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NFL, ESPN Deportes to Host Monday Night Football Fiesta
By Della de Lafuente
NEW YORK The National Football League and ESPN Deportes are getting ready for a Monday Night Football fiesta that honors Hispanics' heritage and showcases the sport's reach among viewers in English and Spanish.
The celebration is part of Fútbol Americano, a Hispanic-targeted programming and outreach initiative that the league, ESPN and ESPN Deportes are rolling out in Dallas in observance of Hispanic Heritage Month.
"We're celebrating the cultural heritage of Hispanics who are such a huge fan base of the NFL," said Lino Garcia, gm, ESPN Deportes, which next month begins its third season of televising Monday night games via simulcast with ESPN.
The backdrop for the festivities is ESPN's Monday Night Football game on Sept. 15 between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys, which will kick off with a Latinized version of Hank Williams Jr.'s honky-tonk inspired theme song with some lyrics sung in Spanish.
In-house creative to promote ESPN's Monday night game and the Fútbol Americano program via TV, radio, Web and print will support, coinciding with the NFL's mounting of TV spots from its campaign, "We are fans!" and a corresponding print placement planned for USA Today.
ESPN's broadcast of the Monday night game will feature a nod to the league's loyal Latino TV audience via integrated graphics, vignettes and audio from ESPN Deportes' broadcast of the game in Spanish by commentators Alvaro Martín and former NFL kicker Raúl Allegre.
Martín and Allegre will provide the play-by-play in Spanish during the game's simulcast on ESPN Deportes, which also will televise a halftime performance by Latin pop duo Prima J (cousins Jessica and Janelle Martinez).
Meanwhile, stadium spectators will keep track of the game score via Texas Stadium's dual-language scoreboard that will identify the teams in English and then in Spanish -- Aguilas (Eagles) and Vaqueros (Cowboys) -- during certain periods of the game.
Separately, ESPN will launch "Hispanics on and off the Field" via TV, radio, print and the Web, to pay tribute to the contributions Hispanics have made in sports. The 30-second vignettes will air daily during the month-long cultural celebration along with Hispanic-themed programming added to the lineup.
TV programs with a Latino focus include: "VI World Domino Championship" on Sept. 23-25; and "J.C. Chávez ," a film about six-time world title champion boxer Julio César Chávez that debuts on Sept. 27 via ESPN Deportes and ESPN Classic. The film was directed by actor and producer Diego Luna, who starred with Gael Garcia in Y Tu Mamá También.
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