WEST PALM BEACH, Fla — USA Rugby Referee Cisco Lopez made history as one of the first ever American to officiate rugby at the Olympic Games.
He spoke with WPTV's Todd Wilson on how he was selected for the role.
"I heard the news all the way back in February. So it was quite a funny experience having that under wraps until it became public in July," he said. "And then as soon as I told everybody, it kind of all hit me like, wow, this is crazy."
Lopez also shared the experience of his first game at the Olympics in Paris.
Olympics
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"My first game, I was super lucky. It was on day one, which we broke the women's rugby attendance record, 66,000 people in the Stade de France. I got to referee France versus Brazil in that," he said. "On that day, we had the most people. That was the loudest [crowd] I've ever heard inside of of rugby stadium."
"How did you feel when the women won a medal?" asked Wilson.
"We did so well. Time's ticking, we're under a lot of pressure from defense, as we're on our goal line," Lopez said. "I couldn't contain myself."