New Mexico State quarterback misses the mark
Sep. 27—On a slow news day, leave it to New Mexico State to turn things around.
Just when things seemed to be settling back to normal (whatever that is), news recently surfaced of a video that of NMSU quarterback Diego Pavia allegedly urinating on the Lobos' on-field logo inside the University of New Mexico's indoor football practice facility. The footage, apparently taken by a teammate or friend of Pavia's, was obtained by KOB-TV and, as of Wednesday, made its way to Sports Illustrated.
It is said to have been taken during the offseason and, according to multiple sources, was made available to UNM prior to the Lobos-Aggies game two weeks ago. Lobo Nation has been largely mum on the subject.
Imagine the storm it would have created, to have UNM coach Danny Gonzales use it as bulletin board material during his weekly press conference to rock an already unstable footing upon which the Lobos-Aggies rivalry stands. Give him credit for exercising a degree of discretion few coaches would.
Let's avoid the history lesson and assume anyone reading this is already versed in the shenanigans between NMSU and UNM that have percolated into public view over the past year or so.
The bottom line is this: Pavia, an Albuquerque kid who graduated from Volcano Vista and was, by Gonzales's own admission, not recruited by the Lobos after high school or his stint in junior college, has a chip on his shoulder.
Who wouldn't be? When your hometown school, in dire need of a local pick-me-up who just so happens to be the most important position on the field, basically stiff-arms you and effectively says your services are not needed — it would anger just about anyone.
What Pavia should have done was thank UNM, not doing the ol' No. 1 on the logo. The Lobos clearly stoked the fire in him, turning a solid recruit with college potential into a lava dome ready to burst.
He took that motivation to Roswell where he led New Mexico Military Institute to the junior college national championship, making him one of the few living New Mexicans to win a college ring.
He parlayed that into a Division I scholarship to New Mexico State, leading the Aggies to a bowl victory, playing on national TV a few times and (icing on the cake) beating the Lobos twice. That includes the game two weeks ago where he virtually carried the Aggies past the team that never wanted him.
Doing so earned the respect of fans from one end of the state to the other; the local kid who defied the logic of some to become the biggest college football name in New Mexico for the last three seasons.
He lost sight of the fact that kicking sand in UNM's face wasn't enough. Somewhere along the line it seemed a good idea to (allegedly) do his business on the rival team's logo.
There's a lot to unpack here, but we'll start and end with this: That's the kind of thing that — brief history lesson here — starts fights in the stands, leads to retaliation among those involved and can result in the kind of senseless, violent acts that ends a life. It has the potential to pause rivalries, force schools to beef up security and use metal detectors for all fans, which leads to long lines and a growing undercurrent of uneasiness.
Revenge is certainly something Pavia was entitled to. He got what he wanted, twice beating the team that, in part, turned him into the kind of player who rose far beyond expectations. It simply wasn't enough, and the sad part about it is someone was foolish enough to take video of it and circulate it online.
Now we're all left to wonder what the fallout will be in the weeks and months to come. Maybe nothing; maybe it'll be water under the bridge.
We can only hope.
Will Webber is the sports editor at The New Mexican. Contact him at wwebber@sfnewmexican.com.
