Interview: Ana Jurka, Telemundo Commentator, on the Men's World Cup in Qatar

In this episode, Brenda Elsey interviews Ana Jurka, an Emmy-nominated sports and entertainment host for Telemundo Deportes, who will be one of the network's commentators for the 2022 Men's World Cup. They discuss her journey from Honduras to Orlando to Qatar and the changes she's seen in fútbol broadcasting.

This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is our social media and website specialist. Burn It All Down is part of the Blue Wire podcast network.

Transcript

Brenda: Welcome, bienvenidos to Burn It All Down, the sports and feminist podcast you need. I'm Brenda Elsey, and I am thrilled to be interviewing Ana Jurka today, a Telemundo sports broadcaster, and she is going to be part of the upcoming 2022 World Cup Qatar Telemundo team covering the biggest tournament in the world. Congratulations, Ana, on this new post. It's super exciting. 

Ana: Thank you so much! You were saying it, and I was like, yeah! Imagine in that crowd, yeah, the stadiums full of people! Thank you for having me, Brenda. Yes, it's really, really exciting. I'm counting the days already.

Brenda: Okay. So how did you get here? Was it hard to kind of break into sports and football – as a woman, basically, as well? 

Ana: Well, it all happened as an accident, you know? Like, I used to work on TV and radio in my country, I'm originally from Honduras. And then I moved to the States because of my husband's job. And one time I was like, you know what, this is not working for me. We need to go back home. I was like in depression, you know, I was one of those Hispanics that don't dream of doing the whole American dream. You know, like, that was never in my dreams. So I was having a hard time adjusting. I didn't speak the language. I didn't know anybody. So I said, you know what? I think I have to go back. This is not working for me, blah, blah, blah. And he said, give me an opportunity just a year. If in a year you don't like it, then we go back. And he started putting together like a demo, and he took that demo to the Telemundo local station in Orlando. And I think they felt bad for him, because they were like, what is this gringo doing here, showing us this demo? And they saw the demo and they called me, and I started literally the same day that they did the casting. And I started doing hard news. I just wanted to have, you know, like my foot in the door.

And I was talking about sports every single day with a guy who did the sports segment. And one day that guy got an opportunity to work on a bigger station, the one in Dallas, if I'm correct. And they said, okay, we're gonna start looking for someone else, blah, blah, blah. And one of the other reporters said, why are you looking for another person when you have Ana? She won't stop talking about sports. She's a girl, that’s unique. That's unusual. Why don't you give her the opportunity? So they offered me the position. I said yes immediately. And that's how I started it. But like, honestly, that wasn't in my plans. I didn't even think that I was gonna work on TV when I moved to the States. And now, like after a year in the local station in Orlando, someone from the network saw me and said, hey, every time we come here to do boxing, we see you and we like you. Why don't you try to work directly with us at the network? And I said, I don't know anybody. And they called me for a casting and, well, it's almost 10 years now.

Brenda: Oh, that's incredible. Wow. So, basically you're sold on staying in the US now?

Ana: [laughter] Yes, I started and I love my job. Now I have two kids and, yeah, this is my life now. Now I can't even think about going back. Now I have the American dream, you know? And at the beginning it was hard, of course, like every time you start from zero, and you don't know the language, you don't know people, it's hard. But I love my job. It's fascinating. You know, sports is like a true reality show. You never get bored. It's always something, always happening, and it's addicting. 

Brenda: Oh, it is. And especially Latin American football. There's nothing quite as dramatic as that. Both men's and women's. 

Ana: Yes. 

Brenda: So, did you always like football?

Ana: Yes. Since I can remember. In Honduras, Central America, South America, Mexico. Like, we grow up watching football, and in my country, it's a small country, so you get up and you watch the news, the sports segment is only soccer. It's like, we dream about soccer. We eat soccer. We do everything around soccer. And that's the only thing that unites people.

Brenda: Well, and of course you grew up during Honduran glory days, when we remember the Honduran men's national team making the World Cup. Sadly this year, painfully, they are not going to be featured in 2022. And I believe the women's team also is not featured in 2023. Sad faces all around. So, since Honduras aren’t in it, do you have a favorite? Are you allowed to say?

Ana: Well, I will be cheering for the US. I mean, this is my home. This is where my kids were born. This is where I'm realizing everything I want to do. Like, I mean, it's my home. It's my home.

Brenda: Look at this good person out there. [Ana laughs] I have kids, grew up here, and I'm still rooting for Argentina, and I'm not even gonna apologize. [laughter] I'm so impressed with your loyalty. 

Ana: Yeah, I have to, I have to. I don't know. You have a special connection with Argentina. To me, my special connection is with with the US. Of course I want Messi to do good. I want Brazil to do good. I mean, because you grow up watching them, you know? Like, Honduras, they suck! So of course you're gonna love other national teams. And to me Brazil is the best ever, not only because of like stats wise they are the best, but you know, you fall in love with the way they do everything. So I want Brazil to do good, but now the US, I'm gonna be, come on, Pulisic! Come on, Gio Reyna! [laughter] 

Brenda: I mean, Costa Rica. We do have some Central American representation in there. Some neighbors. 

Ana: Yeah. Yeah. 

Brenda: There were very contentious qualifiers, of course, building up to that. How do you prepare for doing this big job?

Ana: You know that every time people ask me that, I don't know exactly how to answer, because to me, when you think about the World Cup, you think about all the process before, you know? The qualifiers, the pre-qualifiers. It’s a four year process. So to me, my preparation comes since the day the qualifiers start, you know, following, watching the games, following the storylines. Who got hurt? Who replaced that hurt player? Like, you know, it's an everyday thing. Of course, right now we're less than a hundred days away. I start putting my notes together, you know? Like, okay, who are the best players right now? Who are the coaches? What are the stories behind them and everything? But I think it's a four year process. It's as soon as, on December 19, that's when it starts the next process for 2026. That's when we start preparing for it. So, yeah, it's really hard to say one thing specifically. And you know. You work in sports, so you are watching everything that happens around it, you know? Like the game around the game. It's another game sometimes.

Brenda: Yeah. The dizzying, I don't know what we'll do when it’s expanded. [laughter]

Ana: Oh my gosh, 48 teams. I know, I know! I'm like, dude. [laughs]

Brenda: I'm like, stressed in advance. 

Ana: Yes!

Brenda: Because you're just not…

Ana: I know. 48 teams, three countries. Can you imagine? It's gonna be great. That's gonna be the best. I think that's gonna be the best. Qatar is gonna be fun, but 2026, I'm already excited about that one.

Brenda: So are you going to Qatar for the five weeks?

Ana: Yes, baby! [laughs] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 

Brenda: We can see each other there. 

Ana: Please! You can be with us at least one day. I don't know. You can come to the studio and we can have fun and talk about Messi or whatever you want. [laughs]

Brenda: Yeah. Well, I work for this NGO that will be doing the discrimination monitoring for FIFA. So on the days when I don't have to run that, then I'm kind of free. So I'm really looking forward to just kind of bouncing around and figuring it out. So, okay. So you're gonna be there five weeks. What do you think…When you grew up, do you remember hearing women, you know, running the calls and covering sports, their voices?

Ana: No, no. I would like to say, oh my gosh, I remember when I was dreaming about hosting, being the main host of the World Cup. But I would be lying, because that never occurred to me that it was even possible. You know, once I started working in Telemundo, like when I started working here, I had exactly one minute segment in the halftime of the games of the Premier League. Then they added 30 seconds to me. And every time they gave me like 10 more seconds, I was so grateful. And you know, I've been growing. Whenever they told me that I was going to Russia for the 2018 World Cup, I was like, are you kidding me? I'm going, really? Are you sure? Me? I couldn't believe it. And I did Rio 2016. I did Canada 2015, the Women's World Cup. And I did the Confederations Cup in 2017. I was one of the hosts. And when they told me, yes, and you're gonna be at the desk next to the guys, I couldn't believe it. And it was amazing. It was a great experience.

But I feel like I was ready, but I wasn't ready. I don't know how to say it. Like, yes, I was ready to take on the challenge, but now I feel I'm better than I was back then. I feel like now I get it in a different way, and I don't know, I feel it different. You know, like once you get a little bit of experience, you feel everything different, you know? So this one specifically has me more excited. And I'm like, yes, I'm gonna be next to the guys and I'm a girl and there's gonna be another one and another one and another one. We’re gonna have almost – I don't want to say it for sure, because I don't know how much have they said already, but I think we're gonna be pretty equal, our team. And that has me really excited. I'm always pro equality. So, whenever I see that we can have two female faces next to two male faces, you know, like running the show. And then we see a female reporter and another male on the field, you know, the reporteros de cancha, that gets me going, you know? So, yeah. I think I talk too much.

Brenda: No, no, no, no, no, no. We're very encouraging of long monologues about these issues on Burn It All Down, [Ana laughs] because it's super exciting and it changes the landscape of sound and it changes the way that the whole thing looks. And to have gender parity and representation is incredibly important. I'm sure you've already heard from young women and girls that are really excited to see you out there. And of course, it's also important to Latinx audiences and Spanish speakers in the US. So, your coverage is all in Spanish. 

Ana: Sí, sí, sí.

Brenda: Yeah. When you look at the way that English calls go and commentary goes versus the Spanish… [Ana laughs] So, to be fair, this is a guilty admission on my part. I watch Fubo and Univision and Telemundo, right? I also watch whatever English stuff ends up on the, you know, just passing through or whatever. 

Ana: Yeah. Yeah. 

Brenda: So, I'm like curious though for you, what do you see as like the big differences? Or is it just…If someone said, like, oh, you're just translating what you would do in English? Is that true, or…?

Ana: No, no! 

Brenda: Okay. So tell us, explícame.

Ana: It's the excitement, you know? Like, sometimes I can be like…I’m not gonna lie to you, I can't watch 10 games on one day. I can’t. I usually pick three per day, you know, I'm gonna watch this one in the morning, this one if I have time in the afternoon, and this one or two at night, you know? I do my schedule like that. So sometimes I'm doing laundry or whatever, and I have a game on, and I know that when they are about to score, you know, like, I don't know, you hear Andrés Cantor and he goes, “Sigue, sigue, sigue!” And I'm like, wow! I'm gonna go see, and I'm there. And he's like, hey, warning, a good one is coming, you know? But when I watch it in English, it's like, oh, and he scores…And I'm like, what? What? [laughter] When did that happen, you know?

I think the excitement…And it's getting better. I have to say, it's getting way better. But I don't know. I think since we were born with soccer, we feel it different. It's never the same. It's like, if you are listening to an NBA game in Spanish, I love my Hispanic colleagues, but we don't do it the same. For us, it’s something different. It's not the same passion that they will have here, the Americans. So I think that's the only way I can explain it. Like, we are getting better and we are preparing and everything, but we're not there yet, I think. And same happens with soccer in English. They're doing a great job, but it's not the same.

Brenda: So, what about the audience? I mean, when you're thinking about the difference, you started, you said that was like a decade ago, almost.

Ana: Yes.

Brenda: How do you see the audience changing over those years, if at all? 

Ana: Well, at the beginning I was a host for the Premier League. I remember that if I say a name, like, instead of saying Bastian Schweinsteiger I said “Bastian Sway-n-stay-ger” – I didn't say it wrong, but I didn't say it completely right or whatever, I would get like a lot of tweets, like hate tweets. Like, “Why is this chick doing that? Why is this chick…” blah, blah, blah, blah. 

Brenda: Oh my god, really? 

Ana: “Go wash dishes, go do whatever.” You know, like, yeah, really, really hateful, hateful, hateful comments. And I'm like, man, bro, it's 7:00am. Are you really hating on someone at this time of the day, already? And that helped me though, because I was like, I will never ever again mispronounce a name. [laughs] But now I feel like I can make mistakes, you know, like if I say something and I correct myself immediately, and I don't get that like I used to before. I don't know if it's because now they respect me more or because they are more open to see women in sports, but I don't see that hate anymore. And I see that they are more open to hear female voices, you know, doing a sideline reporter or a color commentary or things like that. Like, I remember I did three or four times the color commentary for the Chivas Femenil, and I was so nervous. I was like shaking. I was like, if I say something wrong, if I don't do it like the pros…And I remember I was next to Copán Álvarez and Manuel Sol, two of my coworkers. Copán was doing the play by play, Manuel is the analyst, and I was like the third voice.

I was so nervous, and everyone was, “Hey, Ana, you did a great job.” I didn't do a great job. I did okay. But they were all like celebrating me on Twitter and Facebook and everywhere, like, “Oh my gosh, we need more girls doing that,” blah, blah, blah. And I remember when it was like, they would hear a female voice during the game, and that was sacred. Like, why is this chick there? So I think they're more open, they're more educated. And we need to take that and do the best you can, because if I'm doing it good right now, someone else is gonna get an opportunity somewhere else, you know? And we are opening doors for others, and the ones that were before us did it for us. You know, like the door is work, the Michele Tafoyas of the world, they opened doors for us. So now it's our responsibility to keep doing the same. 

Brenda: And do you find it different to be calling or analyzing a women's and a men's game, or do you prepare kind of exactly the same?

Ana: I do the same. I prepare the same way. Obviously, it's harder to do the women's sports. Let's say to prepare for how did Vlatko Andonovski, what were his last five lineups, let’s say, you know? I go to the team, and you can get that from the US, maybe from England, but you go to let's see how the Costa Rica did the last five games? You won’t find it. You have to dig and dig and dig and dig. So it's more challenging. But I sometimes feel like I even enjoy it more because of that, you know? Like when I've done Olympics twice, the 2016 and the 2020, and I did the Women's World Cup in 2015 and 2019. And to me, 2019 has a special place in my heart. It was challenging. It was beautiful. And it was like, man, we did it. We gave the Women's World Cup the same importance as the Copa América that was happening at the same time during the night.

Brenda: Thank you, CONMEBOL, for planning it that way, by the way. [laughter] I mean, that's incredible to think about. It’s true. To have the Copa América, which traditionally gets much more coverage, with a Women's World Cup in Spanish language media, is a very big deal. I myself am still sort of…I don't know if it was upsetting to you that they continued to schedule them at the exact same time. 

Ana: Yeah. I still remember when it was the…I think it was the final or the semifinal that happened the same day. 

Brenda: As Brazil. 

Ana: Yeah. And Megan Rapinoe said it on one of the press conferences before the game, like, it shouldn't be like we are the entree and they are the main plate, you know? Like, it should be like one day for us, one day for them. And I completely agree with her. I completely agree with her. But at the same time, I was like, you know, we had sports during the day and sports during the night. And we had that big, beautiful game in France, and I was proud of Telemundo. Like you said, I don't remember watching that much soccer before 2015, like women's soccer. You would hear now and then, like you mentioned Univision. Not that I want to hate on Univision. I respect them, of course. But after 2019, when they saw that we did the whole Women's World Cup, everything. They saw that it worked. They saw that the audience enjoyed it, and now they're getting more games, female soccer on air. Not before. So it's not that I'm hating on them, but it's the truth. And that's why I'm proud of Telemundo.

Brenda: Yeah, absolutely. It's super important. And as much as I complained, what I was thinking of was when, if you were a Brazilian fan–

Ana: Oh yeah. 

Brenda: I think it was like group stages of one, I can't remember. But they played at the exact same time, so there was like no way to watch the women. And it was just super frustrating. But I love the point that like, still, we have to recognize it was a huge accomplishment to even get that far, right? Like, we don't wanna stay satisfied, but it's good to take stock and say, hey, that was really great that we got that.

Ana: But it's good to say it.

Brenda: Yeah.

Ana: When Rapinoe said it, I was like, that's good. A lot of people don't like her, but someone has to say it, and it's good that she did. Because after that I'm like, yeah, we shouldn't have the same day. Like, they should make the schedules completely different so we can enjoy both. Like right now during the summer, didn’t you enjoy the Euros, the women’s Euros? That was amazing. It was like, beautiful! I can watch the whole Eurocopa, and it was amazing. And, you know, they had a specific time. Of course, that was because of COVID and the whole thing, but…  

Brenda: Totally. No, it's a good moment to be not satisfied completely, but excited. To stay hungry, right?

Ana: Exactly. Like, yeah, I liked it. But you could have done better. 

Brenda: Let's keep going. 

Ana: Yes. Yes.

Brenda: Totally agree. But I just wanna ask what match you're most excited about? Like, in the beginning stages of the World Cup, is there one that you're looking at that you're like…?

Ana: Ooh, let me see. I don't have the calendar around, but I can tell you, Cristiano Ronaldo against Luis Suárez, that's a great game. You know, Portugal-Uruguay or Memo Ochoa against Lewandowski. That's freaking…Like, I want to see if he can do it again. You know, like Memo Ochoa has done a beautiful job, and in 2014, in 2018, let's see if he can do it again, you know? And frustrate one of those big names. So I would say those two, and of course the first one. The first one is always special. And now that day, thank god, they changed the day so we can have Qatar-Ecuador as an opening game. That one, to me, that's always exciting. The first game. 

Brenda: Totally. Oh gosh. Well, now it being under 90 days away feels less scary and more exciting than before. And we really look forward to watching you on Telemundo's coverage of the Mundial Qatar 2022. Ana Jurka, thank you so much for being on Burn It All Down. 

Ana: Thank you. Thank you. And please, you have to come to our studio in Qatar. 

Brenda: Yeah. 

Ana: Like pinky promise. [laughs] Pinky promise.

Brenda: For sure. So that's it for this episode of Burn It All Down. This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is our web and social media wizard. Burn It All Down is part of the Blue Wire podcast network. You can follow Burn It All Down on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Listen, subscribe and read the show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play and TuneIn. For show links and transcripts, check out our website, burnitalldownpod.com. You'll also find links to our merch at our Bonfire store. And thank you to our patrons. Your support means the world. If you wanna become a sustaining donor to our show, visit patreon.com/burnitalldown. I'm Brenda Elsey, and on behalf of all of my wonderful co-hosts, burn on and not out.