"I lied, man. I did the Sega"—this has to be one of the great confessions of our time!

I have to nod my head in appreciation at this story...The Focused and the Resourceful Do what They Can with What They Have.

Wish you lied and cheated like he did..?

Our human resources oriented hiring practices depend way too much on credentials and not enough on actually understanding what a person is capable of. Mr. Márquez did exactly what his future employer wanted him to do: exhibit that he could announce a sports match. The proof is always in the pudding... not in the recipe.

Like Mr Montana below noted-- this fellow actually gave proof that he could sport-cast a game, vivaciously and engagingly. The fact that he used a Game Consoles or even if he watched a Twitch.TV match online only shows that the man is truly Inventive and Resourceful: They ARE Games, no matter what you may think. Players/People are PLAYING them. He just sports-casted what he saw on the screen.

I call those the values of a sharply intelligent Hard-Worker who KNOWS what he wants to do and finds a way to get his foot in the door.

Or are you just downing this guy because he's hispanic? But you would have cheered this for ingenuity it if was a Farm Kid in the middle of Wisconsin?

the secret is a drive to succeed, believe in yourself, and ingenuity. way to go.

.
and also sleeping with the right people in the business.

And the prime motivator: sleeping with his girl friend!

I had a friend from college who was a journalism major in the 1960's and was working as a proof reader when he saw a job opening as a sports writer for a national television guide. He wasn't much of a sports fan, but he was a good writer. On the way to the interview in the subway the guy sitting next to him had the newspaper opened to the sport page, and he read the stories. He got to the interview and was asked about one of teams mentioned in the paper. He basically recited what he read and got the job. He went on to become managing editor and has since had a long career as a journalist. As nordicgod said in his comment, "the secret is a drive to succeed, believe in yourself, and ingenuity."

Often I use NPR stories to inform and engage my young students, especially because they can both listen to and read the text, while encountering diverse views of the world and human experience. Perseverance, dedication to your passion, willingness to put in hours, years, decades of work to achieve a worthy goal--those are the messages at my school. Obviously, I'm taking a pass on this "fake it till you make it" story, however, because it sends--nay, celebrates--the opposite message: have a whim, cheat, take a short-cut, get a job you haven't qualified for or worked toward, and you'll be at the top of your profession within 10 years. I'm just glad you're not an eye surgeon or a nuclear engineer, Mr. Garcia Marquez, or in another field of endeavor that calls for actual skill and professional training.

You are right of course. But take it easy on these sports announcers, they are basically salesman for whatever product (game) that is on, so that they are only actors in a big business that is sports on TV and radio. To that end, to be a good actor, you have to be a good faker.

But he did demonstrate the actual skill, in the demo tape. That's what got him the job.

This is a life lesson to all you kids out there, always be a little dubious of a blow hard that purports to be an expert on things. There are so many out there faking it, it'll make your head spin, then after it stops spinning, it'll make your head explode when they advance over more qualified people. Hint: They tend to blow their own horn and let everyone know how good they are.

Anyone realize how close to this is how Ronald Reagan got started making fake baseball calls on radio? Nothing really new. But the tech changes.

Reagan always was a fake.

Yup. I'm still waiting for all that "trickle down" largesse from the tax cuts we gave the oligarchs.

me, too.

I mean, Rand Paul never even graduated college, and he's been faking having Biology and English bachelors for who knows how long. At least this guy confessed immediately.

Besides, I think it's acceptable practice at this point to submit dubs of yourself casting games. He did this in '97, and nowadays everyone has access to footage of games, recording equipment, and video editing software. He showed them that some of their hiring practices may have been unnecessary. Now, lying about who you are in order to get a job interview isn't all that great, but as far as lies go it's not that big a deal. He told the guy immediately, and the guy decided to hear him out instead of kick him out. Not something to emulate, but he's open about what he did!

give us a break from "my big break.'

Sega will probably want a cut claiming they're his agent.

Bob Costa's did the same breaking in as a Hockey play by play voice.

Sort of the opposite strategy of Brian Williams.

..

This is a story you need to listen to instead of read through. I like how his bathroom was his recording studio.