(This story has been updated to add new information. Follow Fernando Mendoza and Indiana as they play Alabama in the Rose Bowl.)
Fernando Mendoza’s biggest fan is his mother, Elsa Mendoza. The Indiana quarterback and Heisman Trophy finalist returns the favor.
“My love for her is unconditional,” he said to the Indianapolis Star on Dec. 6. That came shortly after leading the Hoosiers to a 13-10 win over defending national champion in the Big Ten championship game.
His mom, whom Mendoza has publicly and frequently called his inspiration, was there at Lucas Oil Stadium to watch the big game with her husband, Fernando’s father, and several members of the Mendoza family. She made the long trip from Miami in a wheelchair, which she needs because of her multiple sclerosis diagnosis. Elsa Mendoza has had the disease for years, but it hasn’t dampened her spirit and it didn’t keep her from going to New York to watch him win the Heisman Trophy.
She penned a public letter to her son published Dec. 11 by The Players’ Tribune. “Honestly: It will never be easy,” she wrote about her diagnosis. “But you’ve made it so much easier. And you’ve done that in the sweetest, strongest, most Fernando way possible — by making me feel the exact opposite of embarrassed.”
“I’m so proud, so happy,” she said after the Big Ten championship game. “He deserves it all.”
Elsa Mendoza can claim responsibility for turning her son from an unheralded recruit at Christopher Columbus High School into the favorite to win college football’s highest honor. And her son has returned the favor, starting a Mendoza Burrito at a restaurant in Berkeley, where he played before coming to Indiana, and continuing the effort in Bloomington with a fundraiser aiming to raise $100,000 for MS research, programs and services.
Who are Fernando Mendoza’s parents?
Fernando Mendoza V was born and raised in Miami to two children of Cuban immigrants, Fernando Mendoza IV and Elsa Mendoza (née Espino). His father played alongside current Miami head coach Mario Cristobal on the Columbus High football team and is now a doctor at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami. His mother earned two degrees at the University of Miami and played tennis for the Hurricanes.
Elsa Mendoza taught her son how to throw a football and was the “overprotective mom,” Fernando said. When he was “crying on my bed” because he wasn’t getting any offers to play in college, Elsa told him to be patient and that they would come.
“And then it was Yale and I’m like, ‘This is fantastic, one of the best days of my life.’ And then after that, she’s like, ‘You’re gonna get a Power 4 offer.’ And I’m like, ‘Mami, FIU and FAU aren’t even offering me, like how am I gonna get a Power 4 offer?’ … And then it ended up coming,” Fernando said in a video by Our Esquina.
That support continued when he was on the bench at Cal, telling him “you’re gonna help turn that program around.” Fernando got his chance in 2023, his second season with the Golden Bears. He did well enough to keep the starting job for the last two months of the year and remained the starter the following season, before leaving for Indiana as one of the most highly touted QBs in the transfer portal.
“Whatever she said has came (sic) to light, and I just can’t thank her enough for everything,” Mendoza said to Our Esquina.
What happened to Fernando Mendoza’s mom?
Elsa Mendoza has multiple sclerosis, a disease that affects the central nervous system, interrupting the flow of information between the brain and body. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society says nearly 1 million people in the United States live with the disease. What causes MS remains unknown. It is not passed down through generations. Women are estimated to make up nearly 75% of those with the disease.
Because of MS, Elsa is confined to a wheelchair. But Fernando said she hasn’t let her diagnosis keep her down. She made the trip to Indianapolis with dozens of family members to see her sons (Fernando’s younger brother, Alberto, is his backup) win the Big Ten championship.
“At this point, she has a tough time moving around and stuff like that, but her happiness, her joy and her determination is what inspires me every single day and that’s what pushes me,” Fernando said in a video for Hoosiers Connect, Indiana’s official NIL collective. “You know, if I’m in a workout and I’m feeling tired, you know, a little thought in my mind goes, ‘Maybe you should skip out on this set’ or something like that, I’ll be like, my mom is out here every single day putting a ton of work, a ton of dedication and still with a great attitude, a great positive attitude in everything she does.”
When is the Heisman Trophy ceremony?
The 2025 Heisman Trophy ceremony is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET Saturday, Dec. 13. The award presentation will be broadcast on ABC with streaming options including Fubo, which offers a free trial for new subscribers.
Contributing: Zach Osterman, Indianapolis Star
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Why Fernando Mendoza’s mom inspires him while living with MS
Reporting by Dan Rorabaugh, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
