Anthony Lucia is the reigning two-time PRCA Announcer of the Year, but he returns to Las Vegas as one of the three announcers selected to emcee the National Finals Rodeo.
(PHOTO BY ROBBY FREEMAN)

 

Cinch announcer joins veterans inside the Thomas & Mack

Anthony Lucia stood surrounded by a packed inside the Thomas & Mack Center with the spotlights trained on him.

He was decked out cowboy head to toe while he danced to the music under a laser-light show to kick start the National Finals Rodeo. He was one of the featured entertainers, a trick roper with a lifetime of talent in his hip pocket. For four years, that was his place during ProRodeo’s marquee event in Las Vegas.

He will return to the limelight for this year’s NFR, which takes place Dec. 4-13, but the gyrations and rope will be gone. He will be one of three men chosen to emcee the grand championship, joining longtime hosts Wayne Brooks and fellow Cinch endorsee Roger Mooney.

“The fact that the National Finals Rodeo Committee thought enough of me to give me that opportunity is the coolest thing in the world that’s happened in my career,” said Lucia of Weatherford, Texas. “When I got the call, I cried, because I cry when things like that happen.

“It’s very seldom that I am at a loss for words, but I have been just because of the fact that I get the opportunity to be part of that team.”

Lucia previously performed at the NFR from 2010-13, but his career arc has been redirected over time. He’s a team roper, a television personality, has hosted a stage show, operates a podcast and has been announcing for much of the past decade. He’s taken to it all with exceptional ease, but his gig as a public-address announcer for the sport he loves has helped him take flight.

As the reigning two-time PRCA Announcer of the Year, Lucia is excited about the next step in his lifetime career.

“The NFR can be a monster if you let it,” he said. “But if you become friends with the monster, if you’re spending time with the monster and you’ve seen the monster in the dark, it takes the intimidation factor away. Oh, there are still going to be nerves. It’s an intimidating event, but being there in the capacities I’ve been there in the past gives me confidence.

“I know my way around. I know what that energy feels like.”

Mooney comprehends that. He’s been one of the voices nine times. He and Lucia will be joined as NFR personnel by three other Cinch cowboys: assistant sound director Josh “Hambone” Hilton, bullfighter Dusty Tuckness (now in his 16th consecutive year at the post), and Garrett Yerigan, a two-time Announcer of the Year who will be one of the men calling the National Finals Breakaway Roping at the South Point Hotel & Casino.

“This is a labor of love,” said Mooney of Elijay, Georgia. “Everybody wants to be part of the greatest rodeo on the planet and, quite honestly, everybody needs a job in December if you’re in the rodeo business.”

It isn’t without its challenges, though. There will be 118 contestants at this year’s finale, there’s research on all players to provide the most necessary facts possible while not repeating everything, then doing it in just a handful of seconds between runs.

“The first four or five rounds is really difficult, because you have a lot of repeat customers,” Mooney said, referring to ticket-buyers who attend multiple nights in a row. “You want to say if this guy’s been there six times and where he’s from and his wife’s name and if they have kids, but you want to mix it up.

“From Nights 5-10, then the drama of the actual event itself falls into place: ‘He’s won money five nights in a row; he’s batting a thousand, and Babe Ruth never hit the ball like that.’ The next guy could set a new record or something else could happen. You’ve done all your homework before you get there, and then you’re doing your homework as it happens, because that’s how it happens in Las Vegas.”

The NFR is certainly a production befitting the City of Entertainment. With go-rounds paying winners nearly $37,000 per night, the drama unfolds right before the eyes of the emcees, whether they’re veterans like Brooks or Mooney or a neophyte like Lucia.

“It was just a matter of time,” Mooney said. “He’s one of the up-and-coming stars in the rodeo announcement industry, and it’s his time.”

The trio of voices offer distinct differences. Whether it’s Brooks’ delivery or Mooney’s Southern drawl or the nuances Lucia passes along, it’s a team effort to enlighten and entertain thousands of rodeo night after night.

“Roger and Wayne are the veterans, the guys that have been there, done that and have the buckles to prove it,” Lucia said. “They’ve been an immense amount of help when it comes to getting ready. They’ve been awesome in setting me up for success.”