{"id":139,"date":"2026-01-22T15:05:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T20:05:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/?p=139"},"modified":"2026-01-22T15:06:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T20:06:00","slug":"fernando-mendoza-shares-emotional-moment-with-his-mom-who-has-ms-after-winning-college-football-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/2026\/01\/fernando-mendoza-shares-emotional-moment-with-his-mom-who-has-ms-after-winning-college-football-championship.html","title":{"rendered":"Fernando Mendoza Shares Emotional Moment With His Mom, Who Has MS, After Winning College Football Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_142\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-142\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-142\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/458\/2026\/01\/Mendoza-and-Mom_credit-DarenStoltzfus-X.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-142\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">@DarenStoltzfus \/ X<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza capped off one of the greatest seasons in college football history with a moment that felt straight out of a movie \u2014 and it had nothing to do with his stat line.<\/p>\n<p>Right after winning the College Football Playoff national championship, the projected No. 1 NFL draft pick skipped the spotlight and headed straight for his family. Cameras caught him embracing his wheelchair-bound mother, Elsa, and father, Fernando Sr., still holding his championship hat in one hand. For the Mendozas, that moment alone was a victory.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a dream come true,\u201d Elsa, who has multiple sclerosis (MS), told reporters after the game.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The first people Fernando Mendoza ran to after the trophy ceremony?<\/p>\n<p>Mom and dad.<\/p>\n<p>True champion. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qUrnKIE49v\">pic.twitter.com\/qUrnKIE49v<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Daren Stoltzfus WESH (@DarenStoltzfus) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DarenStoltzfus\/status\/2013472705597579737?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 20, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Mendoza has never hidden how much his mother\u2019s battle with MS has shaped him. He even calls her his \u201cbest friend,\u201d a title he repeated throughout the season as national attention followed Indiana\u2019s Cinderella run. MS, as the Mayo Clinic explains, is \u201ca disease that causes breakdown of the protective covering of nerves,\u201d which can affect mobility and basic motor function.<\/p>\n<p>But for Fernando, her resilience has been a constant source of motivation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut her happiness, her joy and her determination is what inspires me every single day, and that\u2019s what pushes me,\u201d he said this season. \u201cIf I\u2019m in a workout and I\u2019m feeling tired\u2026 I\u2019ll be like, \u2018My mom is out here every single day putting a ton of work and still with a great attitude.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Indiana\u2019s 27-21 win over Miami sealed a perfect 16-0 season, a Big Ten title, and wins over powerhouse programs like Alabama, Oregon, and reigning national champion Ohio State. It also delivered Mendoza a Heisman Trophy, which he emotionally dedicated to Elsa.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMommy, this is your trophy as much as it\u2019s mine,\u201d he said during the ceremony. \u201cYou\u2019ve always been my biggest fan, you\u2019re my light, you\u2019re my why.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elsa\u2019s own words showed how deep that connection runs. Before the Heisman ceremony, she wrote her son an emotional essay reflecting on the journey: \u201cYou\u2019ve never once treated me like I\u2019m embarrassing, or deficient\u2026 you manage to make me feel like I\u2019m still every part of myself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While the championship was the headline, the Mendozas\u2019 impact has reached far beyond football. Together with Fernando\u2019s brother Alberto, the family has turned a popular Bloomington restaurant item \u2014 the Mendoza Bros. Burger \u2014 into a fundraising force for MS research. \u201cIt\u2019s been amazing that we get to support our mother, who has MS, and her fight against that,\u201d Alberto told <em>Fox News Digital<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The Cuban-style burger and companion Cubano sandwich have now raised over $150,000 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. \u201cAll the proceeds\u2026 goes to that research,\u201d Fernando said, adding, \u201cI know how much it means to myself\u2026 and I also know how much it means to my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As Indiana fans celebrated their first national title, another community celebrated something else: a family refusing to let illness steal joy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re still fighting to find a cure,\u201d Alberto said. \u201cAnd hopefully my mom can be cured one day.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza capped off one of the greatest seasons in college football history with a moment that felt straight out of a movie \u2014 and it had nothing to do with his stat line. Right after winning the College Football Playoff national championship, the projected No. 1 NFL draft pick skipped the spotlight&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":462,"featured_media":142,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Fernando Mendoza Shares Emotional Moment With His Mom, Who Has MS, After Winning College Football Championship<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza shared an emotional post-title moment with his mom battling MS after leading the Hoosiers to a national championship.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/2026\/01\/fernando-mendoza-shares-emotional-moment-with-his-mom-who-has-ms-after-winning-college-football-championship.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fernando Mendoza Shares Emotional Moment With His Mom, Who Has MS, After Winning College Football Championship\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza shared an emotional post-title moment with his mom battling MS after leading the Hoosiers to a national championship.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/2026\/01\/fernando-mendoza-shares-emotional-moment-with-his-mom-who-has-ms-after-winning-college-football-championship.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Ties That Bind\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-22T20:05:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-22T20:06:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/458\/2026\/01\/Mendoza-and-Mom_credit-DarenStoltzfus-X.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Beliefnet Contributors\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Fernando Mendoza Shares Emotional Moment With His Mom, Who Has MS, After Winning College Football Championship","description":"Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza shared an emotional post-title moment with his mom battling MS after leading the Hoosiers to a national championship.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/2026\/01\/fernando-mendoza-shares-emotional-moment-with-his-mom-who-has-ms-after-winning-college-football-championship.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Fernando Mendoza Shares Emotional Moment With His Mom, Who Has MS, After Winning College Football Championship","og_description":"Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza shared an emotional post-title moment with his mom battling MS after leading the Hoosiers to a national championship.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/2026\/01\/fernando-mendoza-shares-emotional-moment-with-his-mom-who-has-ms-after-winning-college-football-championship.html","og_site_name":"The Ties That Bind","article_published_time":"2026-01-22T20:05:19+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-22T20:06:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/458\/2026\/01\/Mendoza-and-Mom_credit-DarenStoltzfus-X.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Beliefnet Contributors","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/2026\/01\/fernando-mendoza-shares-emotional-moment-with-his-mom-who-has-ms-after-winning-college-football-championship.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/2026\/01\/fernando-mendoza-shares-emotional-moment-with-his-mom-who-has-ms-after-winning-college-football-championship.html","name":"Fernando Mendoza Shares Emotional Moment With His Mom, Who Has MS, After Winning College Football Championship","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/2026\/01\/fernando-mendoza-shares-emotional-moment-with-his-mom-who-has-ms-after-winning-college-football-championship.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/2026\/01\/fernando-mendoza-shares-emotional-moment-with-his-mom-who-has-ms-after-winning-college-football-championship.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/458\/2026\/01\/Mendoza-and-Mom_credit-DarenStoltzfus-X.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-22T20:05:19+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-22T20:06:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/#\/schema\/person\/aea408b5be59bf6e05556b03859b6b79"},"description":"Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza shared an emotional post-title moment with his mom battling MS after leading the Hoosiers to a national championship.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/2026\/01\/fernando-mendoza-shares-emotional-moment-with-his-mom-who-has-ms-after-winning-college-football-championship.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/2026\/01\/fernando-mendoza-shares-emotional-moment-with-his-mom-who-has-ms-after-winning-college-football-championship.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/2026\/01\/fernando-mendoza-shares-emotional-moment-with-his-mom-who-has-ms-after-winning-college-football-championship.html#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/458\/2026\/01\/Mendoza-and-Mom_credit-DarenStoltzfus-X.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/458\/2026\/01\/Mendoza-and-Mom_credit-DarenStoltzfus-X.jpg","width":1200,"height":900,"caption":"@DarenStoltzfus \/ X"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/2026\/01\/fernando-mendoza-shares-emotional-moment-with-his-mom-who-has-ms-after-winning-college-football-championship.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Fernando Mendoza Shares Emotional Moment With His Mom, Who Has MS, After Winning College Football Championship"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/","name":"The Ties That Bind","description":"Exploring how news and culture shape our families and marriages","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/#\/schema\/person\/aea408b5be59bf6e05556b03859b6b79","name":"Beliefnet Staff","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/author\/skirk"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/462"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":148,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139\/revisions\/148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thetiesthatbind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}