“Latinos, they love sports, more than any demographic. When you look at trends in Latino community sports, they consume more sports content than almost any other group and at a fast rate,” continued Rojas. “We love digital consumption, we’re always on our phones, and one of the main things we’re consuming is sports. Some of the teams have come to us and if it made sense and if it was a great fit, we wanted to pursue it. We’ve been very intentional with the teams we take on.”

Ricardo has seen the growth of Spanish broadcasts firsthand. He is still the one and only Spanish play-by-play announcer for the Eagles.

“I’m proud to say that in my 10 years as an Eagles broadcaster I’ve seen the birth of a lot of the Spanish broadcasts for other franchises,” said Ricardo. “These young guys have come up to me and said, ‘Hey, we look up to you. You’re the leader of the pack here.’ I’m proud to carry that banner around the league.”

Rojas knows the struggles of starting a company but add being a person of color, there are even more obstacles she had to overcome. To get Tico Sports off the ground, it was all a learning process for Rojas and her team.

“A lot of small businesses that are minority owned don’t necessarily have the advantages of a mentor to help guide them through the unknowns. There were some challenges that we had to go through, we had to experience them so that we could become better and learn as we go,” Rojas explained. “There’s a lot of grit and willingness you must have to take on the challenges you’re going to go through, but the reward will be worth it.”

Looking into the future, Rojas is hoping to partner with 15 to 20 teams in the next five years. As more and more Spanish broadcasts bloom, Ricardo believes all 32 NFL teams will have a Spanish language broadcast.

“The growth and popularity of this franchise and the NFL will continue to grow as the NFL reaches out to the entire Hispanic community around the world. I salute Roger Goodell and the National Football League for the extent of their outreach to the community,” Ricardo said. “The community has answered back by giving you crowds when they play in Mexico, and the amount of support that the league has around all of Latin America, you can see it.”

For the past 10 years, Ricardo has brought all of the Eagles home games into thousands of homes not only in the United States, but around the world.

“We’ve had so much positive reaction from all over Latin America. There were Eagles fan clubs popping up all over Mexico and South America, in places you wouldn’t believe,” Ricardo said. “They would reach out to me through social media to say they listen. I’ve done Eagles preview shows, and I’ve gone on sports talk shows to specifically talk about the Eagles, all over Mexico, South America, and Central America.”

With 40 years of broadcasting under his belt, Ricardo grew up in New Jersey and Midnight Green painted his world. It was a dream come true for Ricardo when he became the Spanish voice of the Philadelphia Eagles. Ricardo and Tico Sports are both excited to see the growth of Spanish broadcasts.

“Tico has been wonderful to me. I’m excited to watch the growth of the company, as it develops, year after year,” Ricardo continued. “I’m proud to work with the Philadelphia Eagles, and I hope this relationship continues for a very long time.”

“He has been incredible. Not only has he been a great announcer for the Philadelphia community, but he’s been a great mentor for some of our young broadcasters,” Rojas said proudly. “They’re always impressed when they hear his name and they know that he’s well known in the Latino sports community. He’s been a true asset for us and is an incredible role model in the Latino community.”

As Hispanic Heritage Month winds down on October 15, Ricardo and Rojas know how important it is to honor their roots and spotlight their community. Being able to work with these prominent franchises allows them to amplify the voice of the Hispanic population around the world.

“I’m very proud to be of Cuban descent. What I think I’ve been able to do in my years, with both the Eagles and the Yankees, is bring a voice to the Hispanic community,” Ricardo said. “I want to let the rest of the world know the Hispanic community is very large and powerful. We’re proud to be part of the American dream.”

“I lovingly call it Hispanic hysteria month because there are so many events that are happening in our communities, not just here but all over the country,” said Rojas. “They’re trying to shine a light on the good work that’s happening in our communities, nonprofits, and schools. That’s what we’ve been able to do and will continue to do.”