From Houston Radio to the World Stage

People are always telling me, “Girl, you do everything,” but this time, we went international! Hosting FIFA in Houston was one of the biggest opportunities of my career, and even after working major events connected to the NFL, NBA and soccer, nothing prepared me for the magnitude of this experience. When I first walked into the stadium and realized I was about to host on one of the biggest stages in the world, I was in awe. I had heard of the World Cup, but I had never actually watched it before. Now, after being fully immersed in the games, the fans and the culture surrounding the sport, I can honestly say I have fallen in love with soccer.

Getting ready for FIFA was about much more than showing up with a microphone and bringing energy to the crowd. I was at the venue every day from approximately 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., rehearsing and running through the show so there would be no mistakes once the stadium filled up. We had to study the teams, understand how their names were properly pronounced and recognize that the American pronunciation was not always the correct one. Even something as simple as learning how to properly say a country’s name, such as Cabo Verde, required preparation and respect. Hosting an international event means understanding that you are speaking to people from many different cultures, so every detail matters.

The schedule was intense because I was still responsible for my daily radio show. For an entire month, I worked 12- to 14-hour days. Sometimes I handled my radio work early in the morning, late at night, at the stadium or once I finally made it home. There were definitely stressful moments. At one point, my VoxPro crashed, and I was completely over it! Still, the work had to get done. I was waking up around 4 a.m., arriving early and moving through Houston heat before most people had even started their day. Shout-out to BMW for keeping me riding in style to those major events, because that new X5 definitely made the long days feel a little better.

As exciting as the games were—and getting the opportunity to see Ronaldo play before he eventually hangs it up was incredible—the people made the experience unforgettable. The moment that affected me most happened when a father approached me and asked whether his daughter could take a picture with me. After we took the photo, he explained that they had attended a previous game and his daughter noticed that I was not only a Black host, but a brown-skinned Black woman. She was used to seeing lighter-skinned women in those positions, and for the first time, she saw herself represented in someone on that stage.

That moment reminded me that everything is connected to purpose. I did not receive this opportunity simply to stand in the stadium and be seen. Every stage, every radio shift and every experience throughout my career helped prepare me to be there for someone who needed to see a version of herself. The stages may continue getting bigger, but it is never only about me. It is about the people watching, the young girl feeling inspired and the person realizing they can do anything they want to do.

Meeting visitors from around the world also reminded me how easy it is to live inside our own little American box. Some international visitors arrived with certain ideas about Houston or the United States based on what they had seen in the news, but many left saying, “You guys are actually great people.” The experience reinforced my belief that racism and division are taught. When people actually meet, communicate and share an experience, they often discover that we have more in common than we were led to believe.

Hosting FIFA taught me that I can do anything, but it also reminded me never to change who I am just to fit into a particular space. That is what I would tell the younger version of Keisha Nicole: always be yourself, because somebody needs to see that exact version of you. This experience took me to a new level, and now that I have had a taste of the World Cup atmosphere, I would love to attend another FIFA tournament—maybe even as a spectator next time. For now, I am grateful that Houston gave me the opportunity to represent my city, my station and every young brown-skinned girl watching from the crowd.