By Andrew Madarang
Contributing writer
It’s time to drop the kid gloves and face reality my fellow SDSU alumni.
It is one thing to lose a football game on the field as our San Diego State Aztecs did last Saturday. It is another when you are punk’d on the field—as well as in the stands from the visiting team. Another scoreless first half emptied out the Aztecs faithful before the marching band could finish their performance.
Then as the final seconds counted down to zero, JMU made our Snapdragon home their home for the night. Celebratory purple paper streamers filled the air from their fans and made their way onto the sideline grass. After 7 games of undefeated football at home, we were forced to say ‘mi casa es su casa’.
Talk about leaving a bad taste in your mouth exiting the Stadium.
No hate towards the opponent, ‘to the victor go the spoils’ as they say. Credit where credit is due and JMU performed admirably.
That said, the birth of the “Age of the Jaguar” brought out Montezuma’s Revenge and the rebirth of a debate that’s impacted generations of AZTECS fans.
Religious or not, there’s something about messing with a deity that comes back to bite you in the end. The red uniforms are a nice alternate, the helmets not so much.
It’s no secret that San Diego State has eliminated the Aztec Warrior since 2021 and the original Monty Montezuma iconography even well before that. Beginning last year they’ve taken steps in creating new iconography. This year they’ve implemented those fledgling icons from branding that’s secondary and pushed it as if it’s primary.
It makes you wonder—what is the end game? Is it a soft launch to something perhaps?
Draw your own conclusions—but when you mess with a mascot whose origins from a proud history way before our existence, a mascot that’s been beloved by an overwhelming majority of San Diegans and Aztec alums & fans worldwide, combined with the school powers that be who unilaterally want to exile those traditions to obscurity just to fit their agenda—you are tempting providence.
FAFO as they say these days.
What went down on the field (and what did not go down) at last Saturday’s home game is the microcosm of a bigger problem within the administration—one that seems to linger without any sort of accountability.
Something feels off—like it is all just one big façade. Real SDSU alumni are smart enough to figure it out. Real San Diegans can see right through it.
Look around the parking lots before game-time. Take a look at all the people tailgating. Or better yet, take a look at what was given to those paying customers of this event as they entered the lots. They came with excitement of wanting to enjoy their sunny day along the River Walk tailgate spots. Spots that I’ve had for years and pay a pretty penny for.
If diehards deal with this condescending messaging even before putting down their canopies and grills, what more for the casual fan who is sampling the SDSU football experience for the first time? What kind of first impression does that leave?
When you are an event town like San Diego is, you are fighting to make your experience worth it. You need to nail it and make that time & space special from the moment your guests arrive, to when they enter in through the gates, lasting until they leave.
Charging for a premium experience requires delivery on it in every aspect. The traffic, the parking, the game-day experience. Make people feel like they are a part of a weekly ritual, one that they are always welcomed back to. The Padres have figured it out downtown at Petco Park. SDFC, a tenant in the SDSU-owned stadium, also have figured it out.
But I would not expect that from folks in influential positions, who from an optics standpoint, do not clearly respect the legacy, embrace the San Diego lifestyle, and build something where EVERYONE feels like they belong.
The way they treat Aztec Nation, it’s almost as if they view their time at SDSU as their steppingstone job to somewhere else and put the blinders on, negating what San Diegans truly want. In all fairness, there are some folks who have put in a true effort. But given where things stand today, it is also fair to see how optics can bring those sentiments.
Once upon a time, SDSU athletics stood behind the “One City, One Team” motto. Ahh the good ‘ol days.
The current administration’s attitude has a country club, ultra-commercialization, sterile feel to it. Focused more on profits, than the product on the field. If you need any more evidence, read the room. Better yet: read the posts.
That was just after the last home game. What more the sentiment over the years.
And don’t get me started on the staged enthusiasm on these marketing videos. People see through the facade, not to mention, that is a cardinal sin in Marketing 101. If you have to fake the funk, then that is the root of the bigger problem. Would expect better from a department within a university that is a goldmine for business majors.
Just to be clear, this is not for the supporting staff who work hard to try to make game-days something special. You do what you must do.
Credit even belongs to Head Coach, Sean Lewis, who is doing everything beyond coaching to bring in fans. You hold leadership accountable. You hold them to the fire. And when you are not meeting expectations, let alone exceeding them, you make the changes needed to get to where you need to be. But I digress. Because short of a salacious scandal, the California State University system won’t get rid of them.
We in and around the Sons of Montezuma ecosystem are solution-oriented types of people. A community that welcomes people from all walks of life. A community that includes folks who are successful in various ways. And more importantly, a community that is built NOT bought.
But what does this multi-Emmy award winning executive producer know? That advice is going to cost you. And I’ve seen the SDSU marketing job postings in the past for these positions. You get what you pay for. Long story short: pay your people.
That said, we are all ears. Got some time on our hands. We are here to help. Look past the Sons of Montezuma name and realize that there is a community of people ready to embrace and help with open arms. Because at the end of the day, WE San Diegans and Aztec Nation worldwide want our athletic programs to flourish and be full of supporters that pour back into a fun, exciting, and positive environment.
We want to work towards the benefit of the alma mater, including the community I am proud to call home since birth.
Now that we have acknowledged the problems, let’s move towards the right solutions. Ball is in your court. But you would probably drop the ball on that as well. We’ll be waiting with bated breath.
Andrew Madarang is a multi-Emmy award winning executive producer, an SDSU football and basketball season ticket holder, and an Aztec for Life class of ’08 alumnus.
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6 Responses
San Diego State University needs to stick to its proven strengths and win on the field. The university must fully commit to its true identity instead of trying to be something it is not, which means they need to completely ditch the jaguar helmet. By continuously introducing new logos, SDSU risks alienating its most dedicated and passionate fan base. Ultimately, the school must remember they are the SDSU Aztecs, and simply keeping the Aztec calendar helmet paired with the red uniforms is enough.
You hit the nail on the head. I love CFB and am a proud Aztec alumnus, but there really isn’t much of a football culture at SDSU, and it’s honestly disappointing.
You can go to an MBB game and feel the energy immediately. The arena is packed, the student section is engaged, and there’s an atmosphere that makes you feel like you’re part of something. Football just doesn’t have that same feeling. Seeing all the empty seats is a real buzzkill for the game-day environment. I almost wonder if they should tarp off some of the upper sections and bring fans closer to the field. At the very least, it would make the stadium look and feel more full, and it would help the optics on broadcasts.
I also think not having a mascot is a huge hindrance. There’s no one to get the crowd hyped up, take pictures with, interact with fans in the stands, etc. I remember going to the Final Four and seeing UConn with their Husky while SDSU had no Aztec mascot. It was honestly embarrassing. The mascot is such a small thing, but it contributes to the identity and personality of a program.
Winning obviously helps bring people through the gates, but I think there has to be more to building a football culture than just winning games. SDSU needs traditions that belong to the fans, something like USC’s “Fight On” hand signal, Alabama’s “Dixieland Delight,” or even a signature chant or song that everyone associates with Aztec football. Without those things, it’s just a football game. That works if you’re already a football fan, but we need to create an experience that attracts people who want to be part of the game-day atmosphere, even if they aren’t die-hard football fans.
The tailgating issue is surprising as well. I’m also curious where fans are supposed to tailgate once all of the planned housing, labs, and other development around the stadium are fully built out. Looking at the master-planned renderings, I don’t see much room left for parking or traditional tailgating. If that space disappears, I’m not sure what the long-term vision is for creating the kind of game-day environment that other college programs have built their identities around.
Well said. Having grown up a world away in Dallas, I always had an ancillary interest in Aztec football, starting with Marshall Faulk(can you believe LSU wanted him to play DB? Haha idiots). Having married a 2009 Alum, I got fully immersed in her Aztec fandom and have traversed the country following the team to away games, bowl games, etc. My alma mater(Texas) is finally undoing a lot of the things Steve Patterson, the “corporate world-AD-maximize dollars over everything” train wreck did to our football program and Gameday experience. I really hope State can get this figured out soon, because apathy is more dangerous than any other peril a once-renowned collegiate football program may face.
I strongly credit SDSU senior leadership for manufacturing and perpetuating a university identity crisis, and dividing fans over who and what we are- instead of uniting them. From President ADT’s unilateral cancellation of the Aztec Warrior, to the commissioning of the “Glyphs” to the gradual integration of a cartoon jaguar appearing in our sports and branding instead of our beloved Montezuma, we’ve seen enough. The idea that this “covert” soft sell to enter the “Age of the Jaguar” is subtle underestimates the dedication of the Aztec Nation to its team and its identity and its ability to detect bullshit.
Andrew, spot-on post! I was a marketing consultant to the SDSU Athletic Dept during the ’90s till 2014. I also attended SDSU from 1980-83 and competed in Men’s Track and Field before that sport was discontinued by administration a few years after my departure. I have missed 10-15 home games since 1980 (mostly games played in L.A. during Snapdragon construction).
The current administration seems intent on cancelling Aztec culture, rather than celebrating it. The Aztec Warrior is the best mascot, school, and cultural ambassador in college sports. Carlos “Monty Montezuma” Gutierrez is being muted by Ms. de la Torrey and administration– the height of ridiculousness.
As for Aztec Football, I do blame coaches to an extent. You put a drab product on the field with no innovation… call plays that are boring and predictable… and call it “Aztec Fast”… you are going inspire some heated posts.
It crushes me to see SDSU students support the team and then leave at halftime. There are no butts in the seats for a reason– don’t blame marketing. SDSU has talent. Get creative and strategic with the team. Play Offense as if you have to score 10 points in 2-minutes… and play like that all game. 1st down/2nd down up the middle isn’t cutting it.
Over-hyping und under-delivering results in desensitization and disappointment… and even abandonment.
Let’s see some cultural and performance changes at SDSU Athletics. We care.
I’ll just directly say what you mean: Go woke, go broke!