![San Diego State mascot “Monty” Montezuma bears aloft the freshly harvested heart of Cowboy Joe [in background, bleeding and dead], mascot for the Aztecs' Mountain West Conference rival the University of Wyoming. In keeping with the ancient Aztec tradition of “feeding the gods” with sacrificed flesh, the heart is flash-fried and then fed to members of the men’s basketball team immediately prior to tip-off. “The sun god Tezcatlipoca needed nourishment to raise the sun each morning, and [San Diego State center Valentine] Izundu needs nourishment to jump up and touch the orange orb lofted toward heaven by the referee,” explains team trainer Verne Beefcheeks. “And just as the Aztecs would sometimes go to war precisely to obtain victims for sacrifice, so our boys go up against rivals like the Cowboys to ensure the health and prosperity of our entire athletic program. It all makes sense.”](https://media.sandiegoreader.com/img/photos/2016/06/12/Monty_Montezuma_Mascot_t670.jpg?b3f6a5d7692ccc373d56e40cf708e3fa67d9af9d)
Everybody loves it when Monty the Montezuma plunges his blade into the chest of an opposing team’s mascot and extracts the sometimes-still-beating heart. Everybody, that is, except San Diego State visiting professor Sogy Sponge. Sponge …
June 12, 2016