It is Time for San Diegans to Support Aztecs Football
Credit: Go Aztecs
Even though the departure of the Chargers football team to Los Angeles happened over one year ago, the wounds are still fresh in the hearts in many of the former fans.
Most San Diegans have managed to cope with the loss of the team, by either still supporting the Bolts or sadly changing allegiance to another NFL squad. Sundays are still football holy days for most of San Diego as life moves on for the majority.
I however, am not the majority. I am still very bitter.
Stomaching and supporting another NFL season without the team I grew up loving and supporting just seems wrong. Fans of the San Diego Chargers were the complete victims in this whole mess. The city of San Diego, the NFL, and the Spanos family have no remorse for the situation. They all claim it was inevitable, instead of swallowing their pride and working on getting a solution done. It is truly a tragic moment in the history of a league that clearly has one thing on its mind; money.
Thankfully, if you long for quality football, you don’t have to look far in the city of San Diego. The San Diego State Aztecs are a Division 1 collegiate team that made an appearance in the top-25 list last year. Despite the fact the team was successful in the standings, they struggled again to gain full support from the city. That is sad. It needs to change.
San Diego is not a traditional college town and it will never be. There is no sugar-coating that. There are too many distractions outside sports to take attention away from the potential fan base. There is also the lack of tradition and history for a school that has only recently found itself in the sports scene.
In reality, there is some real history to be proud of for Aztecs football fans. The school needs to do a better job of educating the younger people in the city of who Willie Buchanon, Todd Santos, Dan McGwire, and Marshall Faulk are. These men all paved the way towards gaining relevancy for a smaller school in San Diego.
There is more history to this team. Stuff that is fun. Unique things that could be embraced by the school. Actors Carl Weathers (Rocky, Predator, Happy Gilmore) and Fred Dryer (Hunter) both played football at SDSU. Did you know that? Those are pretty recognizable Hollywood names.
How about legendary NFL offensive guru Don Coryell? He was head coach of the team for 11 years (1961-1972) before accepting a job with the St. Louis Cardinals in the NFL and later guiding the Chargers to relevance. The Aztecs were 104-19-2 under Coryell and he was huge in getting the school into the first division (1969) of collegiate sports. These are awesome footnotes to the history of this school’s football program. Educate us, San Diego State University. Let’s start the courtship of an everlasting relationship. You see, the beauty of pledging a fan’s allegiance to SDSU sports means that you do not have to worry about being neglected one day by the almighty dollar. The school is not going anywhere. This fandom is for life. There is no evil owner.
The Aztecs are 64-29 under current coach Rocky Long. They have clinched three conference championships and have earned six bowl game appearances in his tenure as head coach. The SDSU Aztecs are good. They have been good for a while and they badly need your support. I realize that SDCCU Stadium is, quite frankly, a joke, and should be put out of commission, but if you can look past the crumbling walls and ancient bones of the stadium, you are sure to see a quality effort on the football field by men who are guided by passion and not greed.
Please support the Aztecs. Please give football another shot. Go Aztecs.
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.