SAO JOSE DO RIO PRETO, Brazil (August 1, 2010) - There was a time – not that long ago – when it was accepted practice at Brazilian bull riding events for as many as three in-arena announcers to be down on the dirt, among the action.
In recent months, however, that particular practice has given way to a new tradition.
No longer are the announcers actually on the dirt. They now work from atop the shark cage. And instead of taking away from the bull riding by engaging the crowds in chants, they are emulating the work of American announcers Brandon Bates and Clint Adkins.
That’s where Rafael Vilella and Andre Metker, the official in-arena announcers at the Brahma Super Bull events in Brazil, have played a key role in the continued evolution of the live events.
“There was the way it was done in Brazil,” said Camila Bellintani Pereira, who works as the office manager for PBR Brazil, “and there is the PBR way. We want it to be the PBR way.”
Vilella agreed.
“We want to work the way they do in the United States,” he said, “and to bring a little bit of the artists of Brazil with the knowledge that the announcers have up there [in the U.S.].”
According to Vilella, in the past, the Brazilian announcers were like “characters,” who were not involved in the actual sporting event. The announcers were there to do nothing more than entertain the audiences and “to be funny.”
In many ways, Vilella said the old way of doing things resulted in announcers becoming more of the focus of the event, rather than the bull riders and bulls.
Change has come slowly, but a lot strides have been made in the past six months.
Because the events in Brazil are all sanctioned events, many of the promoters have still requested a third, more traditional announcer be part of the crew. Those announcers, according to both Vilella and Pereira, generally still like to be the center of attention.
So it becomes Vilella’s job to try and explain what’s going on in the chutes.
In recent months, Vilella and Metker have made it a point to specifically emulate Bates and Adkins – and with good reason. Vilella said despite soccer’s overwhelming popularity in Brazil, he’s long been influenced by Bates.
In fact, he came to the United States in 2002, and again in 2004 for the PBR World Finals, where he studied the American announcers and listened to their delivery, as well as the content.
Vilella, who grew up in a small town 90 minutes outside of Sao Paulo, began announcing timed rodeo events in 1994. He first took the microphone at a bull riding event in 2001, after being invited by Adriano Moraes to work four PBR-sanctioned events.
At this point, Villella plays the role of setting up each out, much like Bates, whereas Metker is there to put the ride into context and breakdown the technical aspects of bull riding – the way Adkins does.
“It’s interesting when I’m in Vegas, and I can see Clint and Brandon working, because this is the work I want to bring to Brazil,” Villella said. “When the World Cup was here (in 2009) and Brandon Bates was here, it was very emotional to have a chance to announce with him. It was a pleasure for me.”
This season, Vilella said the live event center on www.pbr.com allows him an opportunity to listen to the in-arena broadcast via the internet.
Vilella is looking forward to the coming years when the sport expands into metropolitan cities like Sao Paulo, because he said the new style will be easier and more widely excepted.
He added that he’ll be able to teach the audience about the sport because they’re focused, whereas in the traditional cities, like Rio Preto and Barretos, they have to do less teaching, because they’re explaining the action.
“We are different from traditional rodeo – very different – so it’s hard to get everyone to accept this,” he said. “It’s not easy.”
