Why is the title of this post in Spanish? Because I have not only been overdosing on World Cup soccer since last Friday, but have spent most of that time watching it on Univision.

No, I don’t speak Spanish. Why do you ask?

Okay, okay; I’ll explain. Last time around, in 2002, I didn’t have cable or satellite, just rabbit ears…and most of the games being broadcast in English were on ESPN. But luckily, I could pick up an over-the-air Univision affiliate where I lived at the time, and they broadcast every single game for the benefit of my soccer-besotted self.

So for a time, the Spanish coverage was my only choice. But after a while it became my preferred choice, and still is.

Now to be fair, things have gotten better over the years on the English channels. More games broadcast; no more clumsy attempts by American directors to edit their own video feed; slightly less annoying commentary. But I still prefer Univision, even though I only understand a small sliver of the commentary (but that sliver continues to get bigger all the time…yes! my World Cup obsession is educational!). Here are a few reasons why.

1) Studio host Fernando Fiore. I love Fernando Fiore. I want to be Fernando Fiore. And that’s all I have to say about that.

2) Pre-game ceremonies. Univision always shows the players in the tunnel waiting, then their entrance into the stadium, then the national anthems of each country…all without interruption. Big games deserve a fitting—though not excessive—buildup, and Univision’s team usually comes through quite nicely in this regard.

3) Color commentators. Sure, José Luis Chilavert may not be the most seasoned pro in the booth, but I loved him so when he was the keeper for the Paraguayan national team, and he’s still got lots of personality, so I’m always happy to see him doing a broadcast. But I’m even happier when I see “El Profe”, Jesús Bracamontes. Even with the language barrier, I tend to learn more from him than most of the annnouncers on ABC/ESPN. (Some viewers who are fluent in Spanish seem to deride him as Captain Obvious…but since it has to be pretty basic and obvious for me to understand anything on that channel, that might be precisely why I get so much out of El Profe.) And he’s got quite a daughter, too…sure can’t let her go without a mention.

4) Excitement. Most everyone knows about this one: When somebody scores a goal on a Spanish-language broadcast, by golly, you know they’ve scored a goal. It’s Latin passion rolled into some well-polished, iconic sportscasting shtick—how can you go wrong with that?

5) Concentration. While I do understand what the commentators are saying every now and then, most of the time it remains a blur…and that actually helps me focus better on the game. When I’ve watched a match on ABC or ESPN, I find I’ve got more factoids to throw around afterwards; but I’ve got more to say about the match itself, particularly the team performances and tactics, if I’ve watched it on Univision.

I probably could go on, but this post is quite long enough; and in a few minutes it will be time to leave the office, go shoot some hoops on the way home, then settle in my favorite chair in front of the TiVo for some Alemania v. Polonia. Here’s hoping for muchos golazos!