At 83, it can be a struggle for Salvador Sandoval just to move across a room. Yet on a recent bone-chilling afternoon, he pulled a heavy jacket tight against his chest, pushed his walker out the door and shuffled up the street to watch the USC football team practice.
And not only because he enjoys the sport.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday, January 01, 2009 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 41 words Type of Material: Correction
Mark Sanchez: An article in Monday's Section A about USC quarterback Mark Sanchez and his development into a role model for Mexican Americans gave the wrong last name for a USC professor it quoted. He is Ricardo Ramirez, not Ricardo Rodriguez.
Sandoval says he served with the 82nd Airborne in World War II's Battle of the Bulge, where many fellow Mexican American soldiers fought and died while concealing their heritage to avoid scorn and prejudice.
"The Chicano here has had the fame of obscurity," he says in a lyrical mix of Spanish and English. "They didn't want to rise. But you have to stand up to get that recognition."
Which is where Mark Sanchez comes in.
As quarterback for USC's Trojans, Sanchez, 22, is among the most visible and celebrated athletes in a city built on star power.
On Thursday, he'll be center stage again when fifth-ranked USC faces Penn State in the 95th Rose Bowl Game, which will be played in a stadium packed with nearly 100,000 fans and before a national television audience of millions.
But, like Sandoval, not everyone watching will be interested only in the football.
Sanchez is third-generation Mexican American, and in a city that's home to more than 4.6 million Latinos -- three-quarters of whom are Mexican -- that's no minor detail.
"A big surprise," Sandoval says.
"Historic," adds Luis Rodriguez, 35, a USC graduate student.
"It is a big deal," says Manny Miranda, 20, a USC junior. "You do get that extra sense of pride, knowing that people are chanting 'Sanchez, Sanchez, Sanchez.' "
Sanchez feels that emotion. But he's also come to recognize the challenge it presents.
"Some people wanted me to be the Latino quarterback," he says. "Some people wanted me to be the USC quarterback who happens to be Latino."
Not wanting to alienate anyone, Sanchez decided to "just be me and do my best with everything and not try to be something I'm not."
But navigating a middle ground proved difficult.
Last fall at Notre Dame, in only his second college start, Sanchez took the field biting down on a protective mouthpiece with a dime-size Mexican flag painted on the front -- a gift from team dentist Ramon Roges, a Cuban.
Sanchez passed for 235 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-0 victory, and what was perceived as a gesture on his behalf was well received by many Mexican Americans. But there was also backlash over the tiny flag that smacked him like a blitzing linebacker.
