Mark Travis John Sanchez (born November 11, 1986) is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft as the fifth overall selection by the Jets and the second quarterback overall. He played college football at the University of Southern California (USC).
Sanchez grew up in a well-disciplined and athletic family. In the eighth grade, he began to play football and began to learn the intricacies of the quarterback position, training with his father, Nick. A well-regarded prospect, Sanchez committed to Southern California following his successful high school career in which he led his team to a championship title during his final season. At USC, Sanchez was relegated as the backup quarterback during his first three years though he rose to prominence due to his brief appearances on the field in 2007 due to injuries suffered by starting quarterback John David Booty. Sanchez also became popular within the community due to his Mexican-American heritage. Named the starter in 2008, Sanchez led USC to a 12–1 record and won the Rose Bowl against Penn State for which Sanchez was awarded the Most Valuable Player award for his performance on offense.
Although many considered him too inexperienced, Sanchez announced his intention to enter the NFL Draft. He was selected by the Jets and named the starting quarterback prior to the start of the season. Despite a subpar performance, Sanchez led the Jets to the AFC Championship Game, a losing effort to the Indianapolis Colts, becoming the fourth rookie quarterback in NFL history to win his first playoff game and the second to win two playoff games. In his second season, Sanchez continued to develop and led the Jets to the playoffs and the team's second consecutive AFC Championship Game where they narrowly lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 24–19.
With the win over the New England Patriots the week prior, Sanchez tied four other quarterbacks for the most post-season road victories by a quarterback in NFL history. In leading the Jets to two consecutive conference championships, Sanchez joined quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as the only two quarterbacks in NFL history to reach the conference championship in their first two seasons in the league.
Sanchez is an avid fan of musical theatre. He was a presenter at the 2010 Tony Awards, where he introduced a number from the Broadway musical Memphis. On stage at Radio City Music Hall, Sanchez stated, "I've become a huge fan of musicals since I've come to New York, and I've taken some heat from guys on the team, believe me."
Sanchez's father is a fire captain for the Orange County Fire Authority and a member of the national urban search and rescue team. In college, Nick Sanchez played quarterback for East Los Angeles College, was later a sergeant in the United States Army. His two older brothers both played college football. Nick Jr. attended Yale University where he played quarterback while Brandon attended DePauw University where he played on the offensive line. Nick Jr. went on to attend the USC Law School and is a business attorney; Brandon became a mortgage broker.
Philanthropic works
Sanchez has been involved in multiple charities including the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to help raise awareness for Type 1 diabetes. He is also involved with Sam's Club's Giving Made Simple which, helps raise awareness about childhood obesity and how families can prevent it.
Sanchez has worked with the Teddy Atlas Foundation through which he met Aiden Binkley, a terminally ill 11-year old struck with rhabdomyosarcoma. Sanchez developed a bond with Binkley and the two remained close friends until Binkley's death in December 2010 which devastated Sanchez.
Mexican-American identity
When Sanchez was elevated to prominence at USC, he found himself a symbol of Mexican-American identity and a role model for younger generations. Sanchez was placed on center stage in Los Angeles, home to more than 4.6 million Hispanics, the majority of whom are of Mexican descent. While there had been previous, successful Mexican-American quarterbacks such as Tom Flores, Jim Plunkett, Joe Kapp, Jeff Garcia, Tony Romo, and Marc Bulger, unlike most of his predecessors, Sanchez is a third-generation, full Mexican and none had been embraced to the extent Sanchez was. USC fans began playing up Sanchez's ethnicity by wearing items such as sarapes, lucha libre masks and homemade "¡Viva Sanchez!" T-shirts. His rise to fame within the Mexican-American community was compared to that of boxer Oscar De La Hoya and baseball pitcher Fernando Valenzuela.
While starting for an injured John David Booty in 2007, Sanchez wore a custom mouthguard that featured the colors of the Mexican flag in honor of his heritage. It became a prominent issue after his nationally televised game against Notre Dame. The mouthpiece became a symbol for two opposing viewpoints: for Mexican-Americans, it was a symbol of unity—Sanchez accepting his heritage; for critics, the gesture symbolized a radical political statement. Sanchez, who was born and raised in the United States, reportedly received letters urging him to return to Mexico. Sanchez responded to the controversy stating, "It’s not a Mexican power thing or anything like that. It’s just a little bit of pride in our heritage. Hopefully, it inspires somebody and it’s all for the best." Overwhelmed by the attention and shying away from politics, Sanchez stopped wearing the mouthpiece, but began participating in other efforts to help the Hispanic community.
Sanchez, who knew how to speak some Spanish but was not bilingual going into his junior season at USC, began to take Spanish lessons so he could have conversations with others who share his heritage and conduct interviews with the media without the use of a translator. The USC band played "El Matador" when Sanchez would take the field. Sanchez participated in a fundraiser to help provide school supplies to first-graders in the city of Long Beach and region of South Bay, and helped Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa give holiday gifts to impoverished families. By the end of his USC career, he had been hailed as a significant role model for Hispanic youth. Sanchez serves as the Ambassador to the Inner-City Games Los Angeles, an after-school program that provides "at-risk youth" with positive, alternative activities. Sanchez was most recently seen throwing out the first pitch at a Los Angeles Angels game in July 2009 on behalf of the Inner-City organization. ESPN Radio came to an agreement with the Jets to broadcast all of the team's regular season games in 2011 on 710 ESPN Radio in Los Angeles. The agreement came about due to Sanchez's continued popularity in California.
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