The buzz of the ever-present vuvuzelas provides a soundtrack behind the voice of Chris Alexopoulos as he speaks from Ellis Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, where the 1994 journalism graduate from UConn is chief game producer for ESPN’s coverage of the World Cup soccer tournament.
“The horns are blowing so loud you need earphones or a headset,” says Alexopoulos. “It’s really cool. I’m standing in one of the walkways of the stadium where the famous rugby final was held in 1995 and on which the movie ‘Invictus’ is based.”
The 1995 rugby tournament was historic because it was the first major event held in South Africa following the end of apartheid and the championship was won by South Africa. The 2010 Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup is also an historic event because it is the first World Cup to be hosted in Africa and is the largest gathering of nations since the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Alexopoulos says that even with the challenges of being responsible for ESPN’s coverage of 64 soccer matches taking place in 10 stadiums across South Africa, he recognizes his good fortune at being a witness to history.
“We all realize how unbelievable and unique an experience it is,” he says. “I’m going to be sitting at midfield for the World Cup final.”
Click here to hear an audio sample of the controversial Vuvuzela horns
After leaving Storrs, Alexopoulos used his experience as a journalism major, sportscaster and disc jockey on WHUS radio to land a series of jobs in local radio. After meeting a staffer at ESPN, he was hired as a tape librarian in ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Conn., marking tapes for the network’s all-important video library. His big break came when he moved into event coverage as a production assistant, working on location in the equipment truck that is the heart of live sporting event broadcasts.
In 1998 he served as one of three production assistants for ESPN’s coverage of the World Cup tournament in France. He edited video pieces, wrote scripts, and performed a variety of other jobs behind the scenes, working from the ESPN broadcast center. “I went from the hotel to the broadcast center and got out to just a couple of games,” he says.
Today as a producer for an ESPN mobile unit, he is the voice in the earpieces of the on-camera announcers, providing them with background information during live broadcasts, making sure the correct graphics are displayed, and asking analysts for clarifications to help the audience better understand what they just saw on television.
Alexopoulos has been in South Africa since early June and will remain there until after the championship match is completed on July 11.
The challenges of live broadcasting began with the very first broadcast on June 11, when South Africa played Mexico, and the sound connection was lost between Alexopoulos and the announcers.
“I had to write everything down on a card and pass it to them and use my fingers to count down to the live broadcast,” he says. “It’s one of those things that happens. You can’t freak out. You have to accept the situation and figure out the solution, sometimes in 10 seconds.”
The highlight of the tournament so far for Alexopoulos and his colleagues was the United States tie with England in their opening match in Rustenburg on the second day of the tournament.
“Hearing the national anthem played really gave me goose bumps, and I’m not really that kind of person,” he says. “But when we tied the game, it was alike a cliché – I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was really tense and exciting.”
