Brief history of the unimaginable: this is how we “watched” the matches when they were not shown on TV

The cost of bus tickets on the Lima-Huaral-Lima route. That was the payment that Global TV had to assume to be able to broadcast the game live University-Union Huaralin 1991. Today that national soccer is dying between precautionary measures, incendiary statements and a series of low blows in a dispute that involves tens of millions of dollars, it sounds funny that the founding game of television broadcasts cost just a few soles or , rather, a few wads of intis.

Before that match, our football only had space on some weekend programs (“Sports Exclusives”, “Sports Giant”, “Sports Fans”) and the tiny sports segments of the newscasts in which, believe it, they did not even appear the goals. The few matches that were broadcast were sometimes not even announced. recalls Luis Ángel Pinasco, one of the pioneers in television.

In the 1960s, Pinasco and publicist Óscar Dufour formed a production company -DUPI- with which they brought the Universitario and Alianza Lima parties to the screens. “To narrate we brought Eduardo San Román from the radio. We broadcast for channels 4 and 9 at that time”account.

But soccer did not have a regular space. That is why the images of certain classics such as the 3-2 won by Universitario in 1986 or the 8-7 in Matute from the previous year, only survive records from home camcorders. The newscasts, says the journalist Alberto Beingolea, used to send a cameraman to the matches with a short-lived cassette. If he was lucky, he would record a goal or a good play. To find out what was happening, the fans had to listen to Little RospigliosiÓscar Artacho or wait for what they wrote in the newspapers Guillermo Alcántara, Manuel Doria or the ‘Tiger’ Mario Fernández.

“But soccer did not have a regular space. That is why the images of certain classics such as the 3-2 won by Universitario in 1986 or the 8-7 in Matute from the previous year, only home video camera records survive”

Game days were harrowing. Those of us who did not get a ticket to the stadiums had to wait in front of the television until minutes before the match, praying that the fanfare of the sports programs would be heard. If that happened, we knew that we would then listen to Humberto Martínez Morosini, accompanied by Javier Rojas or his son Roberto, or Pinasco, who was seconded by Roberto Salinas and Diana García on the commercial voice.

The success of Global in those early nineties led to the entry of other actors. Tickets or hotel stays were no longer paid in exchange for the games, but thousands of dollars. In 1993, they bought the rights to University, Boys, Melgar, León de Huánuco, Alianza Atlético, Cienciano and Municipal; while América Televisión partnered with Alianza, Cristal, Mannucci, UTC and Union Minas. Two years later, he would enter the Pan American with Micky Rospigliosi at the helm. The consolidation of the cable brought the appearance of Magic Cable Sports and football gradually left the signal open.

Since then, football fans have seen our beloved (and hated by some) local championship week after week without interruptions. Unfortunately, an absurd -and petty- dispute, in addition to wrapping us in international shame, has set us back more than 30 years with a blow. What injustice.