The revelation came as revelations always do – from out of nowhere and with Biblical speed.

"It was my first scrimmage," said Mark Sanchez, USC's junior quarterback. "When I got to the Coliseum, there was this guy wearing a Mexican luchador wrestling mask and he was holding up this huge sign that said 'VIVA SANCHEZ!' That's when it hit me.

"I realized, I need to be careful how to handle this."

Sanchez, Parade Magazine's Player of the Year at Mission Viejo High School, was not merely following in the footsteps of Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. He was also a crossover cultural icon for Latinos not only in Los Angeles, but also across the country. And south of the border as well.

Ready or not.

This is what happens when a kid named Sanchez assumes the game's most glamorous position at such an elite school and football powerhouse.

That he is thriving for the No. 6-ranked Trojans (8-1, 6-1 Pacific-10 Conference) as they face Stanford (5-5, 4-3) in Palo Alto today makes him all the more of an icon at the tender age of 22.

"Mark is a great inspiration to all of us in L.A., but especially for the Latinos that watch collegiate football," actor and activist Edward James Olmos said in an e-mail.

Sanchez was compared to Jim Plunkett early this season, bandied about as a fellow Hispanic Heisman candidate, though that talk has cooled.

Still, Sanchez leads the Pac-10 in passing efficiency (162.2) and total offense (234.3 yards per game). His 2,122 passing yards also lead the conference, and he has completed a league-high 64.8 percent of his passes with 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Sanchez, whose family emigrated from Zacatecas and Jalisco, is called "Matador" on campus, and the USC band plays the Los Fabulosos Cadillacs' song by the same name in his honor. No wonder Trojan tailgate parties have taken on a Cinco de Mayo feel, what with so many ponchos, sombreros and luchador masks permeating the fiesta.

It's as if Fernandomania is sweeping the Southland again. Difference is, Fern-ando Valenzuela was a rookie from Mexico when he captured the imagination of the national pastime. Sanchez? His is a truly American story.

"My grandfather fought in World War II," Sanchez said, "in the Pacific theater."

His was also among the Chicano families kicked out of Chavez Ravine so Dodger Stadium could be built. Family lore has it his grandfather's home was where second base sits today.

"He became a Giants fan," Sanchez said with a laugh.

What's not a joking matter, though, is the power of persuasion Sanchez wields.

According to a study of Southland schools by Sal Castro, director of the Chicano Youth Leadership Conference, just 25 percent of Chicanos who enter college graduate.

"There's a crisis in the community and Sanchez, he's a throwback to Joe Kapp, very much out front with the fact that he's Chicano," Castro said in comparing Sanchez to the former Cal quarterback. "He has the potential to be a tremendous role model."

In fact, author Mario Longoria has found 44 Latino quarterbacks have played in college, Canada and the NFL since 1929, including Tony Romo, Jeff Garcia and Sacramento State's Aaron Garcia.

"It destroys the myth that Mexicanos can't run and play the skill positions," Longoria said. "Sanchez embodies all that. He's a household name now … destined for great things and the Chicanitos (children) are looking up to him.

"Chicanos still have some image issues, some self-esteem problems."

Sanchez has felt the backlash, both on the field and off.

As a freshman, he was arrested for suspicion of sexual assault, but the charges were dropped for lack of evidence.

Last season, filling in for injured starter John David Booty, and after throwing four touchdowns in a 38-0 blowout of Notre Dame, the Internet was awash in criticism of him.

Sanchez had paid tribute to his heritage by wearing a specially designed red, white and green mouthpiece with an eagle on it. A molded replica of Mexico's flag.

"If you celebrate who you are and know who you are," Kapp said, "then it's the other people that have the problem."

It's a lesson taught Sanchez and his older brothers Nick Jr., who played quarterback at Yale, and Brandon, an offensive lineman at DePauw, by their father, Nick, a fireman in Orange County who also played quarterback at East Los Angeles College.

"I'm not trying to offend anyone," said Sanchez, who is learning Spanish. "I'm not trying to make any statements or be political or anything like that. I'm just giving a nod to my heritage.

"More than anything, I need to be what this team needs me to be."

The father recently saw a picture of his son hanging on the wall of a taco stand outside of Ensenada and television stations from Mexico City have come to USC's Heritage Hall to report on him.

"I don't have to do this; I get to do this," Sanchez said. "It's an honor and a privilege."

Call The Bee's Paul Gutierrez, (916) 326-5556.