It’s been a really good couple of weeks for people whose last names end in Sanchez, with the notable exception of NFL QB Mark.
After Peyton Manning’s retirement from the Denver Broncos on March 7, John Elway traded for Sanchez four days later and said he’d compete for the starting role.
Acquired QB Mark Sanchez for a conditional ’17 pick. He brings veteran leadership & will compete. This is the 1st step in our process.
— John Elway (@johnelway) March 11, 2016
Even after taking Memphis’s Paxton Lynch in the first round, it was widely assumed that Sanchez would be Denver’s opening night starter. ESPN NFL analyst Josina Anderson even said she’d cut her hair off if the former Jet, Eagle and USC Trojan wasn’t the starter for week one.
When it was announced this week that 24-year-old Trevor Siemian, with all of one career NFL snap, won the starting job, ESPNers were quick to remind Anderson of her previous commitment.
Mark Sanchez is not Denver’s Week 1 starting QB.@JosinaAnderson is cutting off her hair as a result. Sneak preview: https://t.co/cBNdc75pEy — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 29, 2016
Whether Sanchez is cut or traded, it’s likely that he won’t even be on the Broncos roster when they begin the regular season.
But, while it hasn’t been a very good week for Mark, it’s been a historically great week inside and outside the world of sports for people named Sanchez.
To start with, Gary Sanchez, 23-year-old rookie Yankee catcher, is taking baseball by storm. In his first full month as a Major Leaguer, Sanchez took home consecutive American League Player of the Week awards, becoming the first AL rookie to ever accomplish that feat. In fact, no other AL player has won consecutive POTW awards since Albert Belle in 1998. The Yankees were 5.5 games out of a wild card spot a month ago, after trading Carlos Beltran, Andrew Miller, and Aroldis Chapman. That was a sale many thought would end their playoff hopes. Now, thanks in large part to Gary Sanchez, the Yankees sit just 3.5 games out of the second wild card spot. Not a bad couple of weeks for Gary.
Arsenal midfielder Alexis Sanchez had a really strong week on the pitch last Saturday against Watford. In a 3-1 road victory, the 27-year-old Chilean scored in the 40th minute and assisted on a Mesut Özil goal six minutes later to close the match’s first half.
It was an important win for the Gunners, their first of the season after an opening loss to Liverpool, and a draw a week later against defending Premier League champion Leicester City.
But the success of the Sanchez clan doesn’t stop there:
- In NYC-area amateur golf, 18-year-old Justin Sanchez took home the Staten Island Golf Association Junior Amateur title last weekend with a 3-and-2 victory over A.J. Iacobellis. The recent high school graduate, who started at Wagner College on Monday, exacted revenge after Iacobellis eliminated his 16-year-old brother Jeremy in the match-play semifinals.
- Monday marked the 11th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and New Orleans songwriter Paul Sanchez released his new album Heart Renovations to a glowing review from Offbeat Magazine. “The starkness of his solitary voyage through these 20 songs is riveting, an ancient mariner’s tale,” said the review, continuing the great week for the extended Sanchez family beyond sports.
- At the recent NYX FACE Awards, which celebrate YouTubers who post amateur cosmetics videos, Laura Sanchez was the winner of the Beauty Vlogger of the Year for helping movie characters, anime stars and paintings come to life through makeup. It seems like all the Sanchezes do is win.
- To help Miami residents deal with their disgustingly oppressive summer weather, Roselyn Sanchez, the star of Devious Maids— apparently a Lifetime show about Latina maids working in powerful Beverly Hills homes, with Eva Longoria as an executive producer— teamed up with Good Humor to help deliver ice cream in the streets. And who doesn’t love ice cream? Yet another victory for Team Sanchez.
It seems like the only unsuccessful Sanchez over the last couple of weeks has been poor Mark. He may have a chance to redeem himself if he gets traded to Dallas or Minnesota, both teams having just lost their starting quarterbacks to injury.
But for now, Sanchez is currently bringing down the family name.
