Aztecs honor heroes before Wyoming game

11-01-2007

By Tom Shanahan, San Diego Hall of Champions

San Diego State's return to Qualcomm Stadium at 6 p.m. Saturday night against Wyoming will include a pre-game ceremony to honor those who worked the frontlines against the wildfires that swept through San Diego last week and devestated the region.

The Aztecs have dristributed 5,000 tickets to firemen, police, medical staff, military personnel and members of the American Red Cross. All firemen also will be admitted the day of the game. Field level tickets are available for $5.

"It's exciting for us to have a chance to honor those people who fought the fire," SDSU athletic director Jeff Schemmel said. "We had many people on our staff evacuted, including all but one of the football coaches. We made tickets available because we want the community to come out and help us honor everyone."

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, county supervisor Ron Roberts, San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne will be among officials at the ceremony.

The Aztecs were scheduled to play BYU on Oct. 27 at Qualcomm, but the stadium was being used as an evacuation center and the game was postponed until Dec. 1 at Qualcomm.

No word yet if during the pre-game ceremonies Mayor Sanders will finish his talk with Austrian accent of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. When the Governor was at Qualcomm Stadium Sunday to help the Chargers honor firefighters, he finished by saying, "Go CHAW-gers, go!" The fans responded with an enthusiastic roar.

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