With one tricolored mouthpiece, USC's Mark Sanchez has done more to advance the image of Mexicans in Southern California than a thousand marches could ever hope to achieve.
Last Saturday, the sophomore backup quarterback led the Trojans to a 38-0 mauling of Notre Dame's Fighting Irish. Reporters asked Sanchez afterward why he protected his teeth with a plastic mold decorated like the Mexican flagâ€â€green, white and red, with a miniature eagle clutching a snake while perching on a cactusâ€â€right in front of his incisors. The 22-year-old didn't flinch. "It's my heritage," he stated.
Describing the mouth guard as "sweet" and "cool," Sanchez went on to explain that using it was a "a portrayal of my love for my race" and hoped that his fashion flair "inspires" young Latinos who follow USC to do what he does: quarterback while Mexican. When a reporter told him some Trojans fans already were race-baiting his dental decision on radio and on Internet chat boards, Sanchez remained unfazed. "I didn't know it was that big of a deal," he told a reporter. "Was it bad?"
Quarterbacking While Mexican
Last Saturday, the sophomore backup quarterback led the Trojans to a 38-0 mauling of Notre Dame's Fighting Irish. Reporters asked Sanchez afterward why he protected his teeth with a plastic mold decorated like the Mexican flagâ€â€green, white and red, with a miniature eagle clutching a snake while perching on a cactusâ€â€right in front of his incisors. The 22-year-old didn't flinch. "It's my heritage," he stated.
Describing the mouth guard as "sweet" and "cool," Sanchez went on to explain that using it was a "a portrayal of my love for my race" and hoped that his fashion flair "inspires" young Latinos who follow USC to do what he does: quarterback while Mexican. When a reporter told him some Trojans fans already were race-baiting his dental decision on radio and on Internet chat boards, Sanchez remained unfazed. "I didn't know it was that big of a deal," he told a reporter. "Was it bad?"
Quarterbacking While Mexican
