Fernando Mendoza has made it home. The transfer quarterback has returned to his hometown of Miami to play in the National Championship game against his hometown team. For Mendoza, the reminders of home hit from the minute he stepped off the plane.
“I would say there was a whole little band playing, and it was great to hear Hispanic music coming off the plane. It was a great feeling, and to feel the Miami weather. Being in Bloomington, it’s a little bit colder over there, so having the Miami weather and the humidity slap you in the face, it was a great reminder of home.” Mendoza explained.
Mendoza continued saying, “I’m really looking forward to playing in Miami, especially a lot of family and people who have helped pour into myself to get myself to this point in my journey. I’m really proud of it.”
For the Mendoza family, their ties to the Miami community and specifically the Miami football community run deep. Mendoza’s father was high school teammates with Miami head coach Mario Cristobal at Christopher Columbus High School, the same school that Fernando and his brother Alberto attended.
“It’s surreal, but I also think it’s great for the Christopher Columbus community. We have so many great individuals in that community that really are built from the same cloth, are built from that gritty structure; whenever there’s a battle, whenever there’s trials and tribulations, they’re always going to supersede that. Mario Cristobal has done a fantastic job with the Hurricanes, in his entire coaching career, coaching under Saban, then to Oregon and then to Miami, it’s been a great football headline for the Christopher Columbus community along with so many others and really paved the path for a Christopher Columbus football player such as myself.” Mendoza said on Saturday.
For the Mendoza family, the ties to the Christopher Columbus community got a little deeper on Saturday. “Max Mendoza, my younger brother—so proud of him, he got into Columbus. It was at 4:00 p.m. he was really awaiting that deadline. So proud of Max, and I’m really looking forward to seeing all the great things he does at Columbus.” Mendoza said with a huge grin.
While Mendoza appreciates his community, he knows where his loyalty lies, “I would say it’s going to be great sharing the field with those guys and with those other Christopher Columbus brothers that I have. As much as I love them, I’m going to do everything possible to make sure the Hoosiers leave victorious on Monday.”
Ultimately, Mendoza understands just how much a National Championship would mean to Indiana. “People last January weren’t talking about the Indiana Hoosiers in the National Championship. I owe it to my teammates and my coaches and the entire Hoosier Nation to give it my all. This is an important game in my life and my teammates’ lives that I’m really going to give it my all. I’m not really focused on the future. My whole thing is staying in the present, in the present moment, in order to make the most of the present. That’s how you make a great future for yourself.” Mendoza explained.
Mendoza is not going to downplay this game, while he has solidified his legacy as a Hoosier legend, he understands that his entire legacy hinges on the outcome of this game. “I would say everyone is going to remember this game. It’s my duty to Hoosier football and my teammates to put my focus and preparation into this game because although it’s great, won the Heisman, won the Rose and Peach Bowl, everyone is going to remember how I finished. [People will] remember the taste it left in everyone’s mouth. Hopefully we leave with a good taste on Monday.” Mendoza said.
For Fernando Mendoza, you couldn’t have written a better script for the season. Here’s hoping he can end the season with a Hollywood ending and Indiana’s first-ever National Championship.