Sugar Bowl - Alabama vs. Oklahoma

Alabama running back Derrick Henry (27) rips off a 61-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter of the Sugar Bowl that inspired the "Tractorcito" nickname.

(Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama --From the ESPN studios in Connecticut, Pablo Viruega unwittingly coined a phrase that became an Internet sensation.

It happened Jan. 2 when the veteran Spanish-language broadcaster was calling the Alabama-Oklahoma Sugar Bowl from Bristol. Heard only by those listening to the ESPN Deportes and ESPN International broadcasts, it caught fire on the web this fall.

Crimson Tide running back Derrick Henry was having a breakout game against the Sooners. Watching the 6-foot-3, 241-yard runner motor for a 61-yard touchdown on a screen pass, the analyst likened him to some farm machinery.

"El Tractorcito!"

Translated directly it means "the little tractor," but Henry inspired Viruega with his long stride and powerful gait.

Video of the Spanish broadcast could not be located and exactly how it spread beyond viewers of ESPN Deportes remains unclear. But by September, the phrase was a bit of a craze.

With a Photoshopped picture, blogger Spencer Hall of SB Nation called El Tractorcito "one of the greatest college football nicknames and visuals ever" in a post Sept. 24.

It became popular on Twitter and Alabama message boards after that. News of the nickname's popularity never reached Viruega until contacted by AL.com in December for an interview.

"Really? And I go to the Internet and Google it and the first thing was a meme with a tractor," Viruega said by phone from Bristol.

It was a spontaneous moment inspired by Henry's big game.

"I remember that we called the guy 'Tractorcito' because every time he got the ball, he was pushing and pushing and pushing and pushing," Viruega said. "And I remember asking 'OK, why doesn't Nick Saban put El Tractorcito on the field?' And when we say that, (Henry ran) the screen pass and took it to the end zone."

Henry had 161 all-purpose yards in Alabama's 45-31 loss to the Sooners that night. News of the nickname hadn't reached the team a year later.

"Nah, I've never heard it," said Alabama's 6-1, 248-pound fullback Jalston Fowler. "Everybody just say he's a big monster, Derrick Henry. I mean you hear a lot of stuff out there. But Derrick is a big guy. He makes me look like a midget."

For Viruega, Henry joins the players he lists as his favorite Alabama running backs.

Along with play-by-play announcer Eduardo Varela, Viruega will call the 2015 Sugar Bowl along with about 20 other postseason games.

"We picked that game because we love the style of Nick Saban and the style of running the game," Viruega said. "We saw Alabama in the past five or six years and we can see the process of the running backs, (Trent) Richardson, (Mark) Ingram, (Eddie) Lacy. The same style of running, running and running and now we're going to call it again, the Tractorcito in January."

Viruega, who's been calling bowl games since 1994 and has more than 48,000 followers on Twitter, played college football in Mexico. He appreciates the brand of football Alabama plays.

"I watch and I love the way Alabama executes with their offensive line," Viruega said. "I love the way they block and they move and they trap and they pull. And the running backs are enormous. They are great."