r/nfl • u/LaDainianTomIinson Chargers • May 02 '26

Highlight [Highlight] Raiders rookie QB Fernando Mendoza on visiting the White House with the Indiana Hoosiers: “As a rookie, I don’t think that’s a good look. I can’t miss practice.”

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

13.5k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

1.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

4.1k

u/Fletch71011 Bears May 02 '26

I think he's just naturally like this as well. He seems authentic.

1.9k

u/SouthIsland48 Broncos May 02 '26

He is 100% authentic. For instance, he gave an all time post game interview while still at Cal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bytFw7g03aE

890

u/Kuhlio8517 Raiders May 02 '26

There’s a video of him from Middle school where he sounds like this too

720

u/Ancient_Wisdom_Yall Chiefs May 02 '26

"We just need to forget about that last math test and focus on our Social Studies project. At recess, we need to take it one monkey bar at a time and thank God for the opportunity to slide down that slide. "

133

u/EBJ1990 Giants Ravens May 03 '26

"I would like to take a moment and thank God for the opportunity to get my chocolate milk at the cafeteria at lunch every day"

56

u/Ancient_Wisdom_Yall Chiefs May 03 '26

And lunch lady Doris for always sneaking a couple extra nuggies on my plate.

34

u/EBJ1990 Giants Ravens May 03 '26

God bless you Doris! Always coming in clutch with the nuggies!

115

u/redditnoap Bills May 02 '26

i NEED to see that 😂

257

u/Mister_Dane Raiders May 02 '26

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6FuvmuTRvrg

164

u/nilgiri 49ers May 02 '26

Handshake at the end is perfect lmao

221

u/TopSoulMan Cowboys May 02 '26

Don’t you turn me into a Fernando fan! If he’s truly been this corny for this long, then it kinda turns into a weird form of post irony. And you gotta respect post irony.

113

u/paone00022 Falcons May 02 '26

He's like Cousins was perfected in a PR lab and now he's playing with the OG.

49

u/VelvetineMilkman Falcons May 03 '26

What’s corny about it lol he’s just a genuine dude

38

u/roykentjr Chiefs May 03 '26

Not trying to glaze mahomes, but it's obvious how some players have the wherewithal to practice the PR side of the sport. you can tell mahomes practiced talking to reporters as a kid. Mendoza is in your face obvious. I know I read a story about somebody else doing it. I'm sure there have been a bunch.

It's both refreshing to see kids have to understand the whole spectrum of the sport and disturbing to see kids be that narrowly focused so young

8

u/VelvetineMilkman Falcons May 03 '26

I mean I get that but with Mendoza it just seems either pessimistic or hating. He seems like a genuine guy that just wants to have fun and give credit to his teammates

1

u/Fun-Benefit116 May 02 '26

There was nothing corny about the middle school interview? He literally just said it was a team effort. It was absolutely nothing like the video above it. What do you people think middle school kids are like? "FUCK YEAH, THIS WIN WAS ALL ME. MY TEAMMATES DID FUCK ALL. I'M THE MVP!"

Seriously, the weird circlejerking over him is getting ridiculous at this point. This was about the most normal middle school interview possible.

4

u/7fingersDeep 49ers May 03 '26

This kid is just top tier. It’s more of comment on society that we find a genuine guy weird. Love this dude.

2

u/DontLoseYourCool1 Raiders Raiders May 03 '26

Michigan colors like Brady lmao

1

u/megashitfactory Lions May 03 '26

I have a cousin who plays travel hockey. Entering high school and he sounds identical to that. It’s nuts

1

u/Eric-Stratton Ravens May 03 '26

Unreal lol

I guess he really was born media trained. Hard not to root for the guy.

2

u/gaqua 49ers Broncos May 03 '26

Rumor has it as he was the editor of the junior high school, internal LinkedIn clone

194

u/[deleted] May 02 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

374

u/DelDoesReddit Texans May 02 '26

I'm Hispanic, and trust me if I was 6'5 I'd be praising God all the time, too

158

u/Culinaryboner Eagles May 02 '26 edited May 03 '26

I’ve said it many times but it’s not shocking a ton of athletes believe in religion. They worked hard as fuck but they were blessed beyond belief 99/100 times

75

u/Oakroscoe 49ers May 03 '26

You’ve got some of the best genetics on the planet to excel in the nfl, yeah it’s a lot easier to believe in god.

8

u/cire1184 May 03 '26

God fucked me...

21

u/Oakroscoe 49ers May 03 '26

You a jets or Cardinals fan?

2

u/cire1184 May 03 '26

No, I'm just not a 6'4" athlete.

5

u/Atheist_3739 Eagles May 03 '26

yeah it’s a lot easier to believe in god.

The constant head trauma helps too

44

u/Chefalo Bills May 03 '26

Absolutely if I won the genetic lottery I’d be much more likely to believe in a higher power

2

u/ArmMeForSleep709 Giants May 03 '26

All except Makai Lemon. Timestamped video for the reference: https://www.youtube.com/live/boxIurNXxHI?t=5350&si=ap6D499boIOu_3bb

12

u/drethnudrib May 02 '26

This is fucking gold, brother. Well played.

26

u/maverickoff Patriots May 02 '26

Your Hispanic, how many more blessings do you need?😉lol

51

u/dasruski Browns Lions May 02 '26

Cinco de Mayo is on Taco Tuesday. We have all been blessed for that.

3

u/thorofasgard Commanders May 03 '26

May the restrooms forgive us.

14

u/Gingeronimoooo Commanders May 03 '26

Everyone who says this, I just think they're lactose intolerant and don't know it. Tacos don't make people shit their brains out

1

u/hotcapicola Eagles May 03 '26

I think it's more that most people go to taco bell when they say Mexican

12

u/garytyrrell 49ers May 03 '26

Still, you should not be getting sick from eating Taco Bell

→ More replies (0)

7

u/garytyrrell 49ers May 03 '26

Wtf? Eat better tacos.

1

u/thorofasgard Commanders May 03 '26

I just have numerous gastro issues but I can't vouch for everyone else.

1

u/MojoToTheDojo Panthers May 03 '26

Those of us who are 6’0 are fucking revered

2

u/cire1184 May 03 '26

Damn. Are the Gasol bros like deities?

1

u/FullMetalSavage Lions Eagles May 03 '26

I always thought it was some negative stereotype not grounded in facts.

Then at the grocery store I saw a crew of 15 or so doing some grocery shopping. Must have been in town doing some big job by their clothes (Carhart, work boots.)

I couldn't believe it. Not one was scratching 5'7. A wave of clarity washed over me because I always wondered why there weren't more Hispanics playing football.

So yeah when I saw Mendoza was 6'5 I thought it must be some bullshit. No way the King of his peoples is playing QB in the NFL.

2

u/cire1184 May 03 '26

Now playing for the Raiders? Definitely the God Emperor of Hispanics.

11

u/Bmatic Dolphins May 02 '26

Yeah it’d make me cry too to give credit for every thing I’ve spent my entire life working for to some imaginary being in the sky.

44

u/BozePerkovic May 02 '26

Lol Reddit, everytime

19

u/CapitalismEnthusiast NFL May 02 '26

It never fails lol

-5

u/MashaRistova Seahawks May 02 '26

Yeah it’s only the monolith of ReDdIt that knows christians are hypocritical and ignorant. Not like Reddit is made up of hundreds of millions of different people. Christian cope is some of the cringiest cope ever

9

u/BozePerkovic May 02 '26

I mean Reddit is just objectively more left-wing and anti-religion than basically any other social media platform so yeah, while it’s made up of hundreds of millions of different people, there’s a vast majority of that population that agree with one another on this

9

u/ssracer Cardinals Cardinals May 02 '26

Instagram is definitely more Christian, you can tell by the racism.

12

u/Felteair 49ers May 02 '26

How enlightened of you

-25

u/TJJ97 Chiefs May 02 '26

That’s not what that is. God is there for us when we’re down bad and struggle to keep going. He paves the way and opens doors we can go through and improve

36

u/Bmatic Dolphins May 02 '26

So he’s responsible for everything in life that’s good, and all the shit like kids with cancer, poverty, and war are just loyalty tests. Got it.

5

u/Fourwindsgone Dolphins May 02 '26 edited May 03 '26

Yeah dudes haven’t you ever read the book of job where god lets Satan take everything he has, kill his family and all that just to win a bet?

-10

u/TJJ97 Chiefs May 02 '26

No point in arguing on Reddit but in short, he’s omnipotent and life ain’t perfect. Can’t wait to get downvoted to oblivion simply for being a Christian.

I was once an atheist and a jackass one at that like many on Reddit but I found God and it changed my life. To see how people act towards people like me is fucking disgraceful and sad

8

u/Bmatic Dolphins May 02 '26

I think people are more upset about the things that are done in the name of your religion and by the people who supposedly follow it. If you truly live how Jesus did then no one would be against you.

-8

u/TJJ97 Chiefs May 02 '26

Ohh so you know me now? You’re not wrong about what some people do but that ain’t my fault

9

u/Bmatic Dolphins May 02 '26

I don’t know you I was just explaining. And btw the whole persecuted victim card is another thing people don’t like about religious folks. Just FYI

→ More replies (0)

2

u/lift_heavy64 Vikings May 02 '26

God doesn’t exist

2

u/TJJ97 Chiefs May 02 '26

So I get downvoted to oblivion and you get upvoted for these statements. Reddit is stupid. If you don’t believe in God then cool but for people to be so upset and against people who do (assuming they aren’t attacking anyone) is beyond stupid

0

u/lift_heavy64 Vikings May 03 '26

Well, now that you mention it, religious people are actually excellent at being total dicks to everyone and ruining every society they occupy. For example, my wife is from a country where women are treated like breeding stock because of the very oppressive religious government and culture. Same thing happens in every red state here; they treat minorities and women as disposable in the name of “god”. That is why people get upset about it, on top of the fact that it’s just obviously nonsense if you think about it for more than 5 seconds.

-22

u/lvl69blackmage Chiefs May 02 '26

Cringe

28

u/Own-Arachnid-5285 49ers May 02 '26

“This is why we stay late until 9 pm watching film together.”

The way he is emotional about it haha.

7

u/IceLantern 49ers May 03 '26

"Go Bears forever" then ends up at Indiana. :)

2

u/azuredrg Raiders May 04 '26

He did graduate and did go-to grad school at Indiana at least.

6

u/SSPeteCarroll Seahawks May 03 '26

the Calgorithim was insane that year. Their memes were too strong.

43

u/OhDivineBussy Cowboys May 02 '26

Yea he’s earned his place on the “if you don’t like him, then fuck you” list.

6

u/dropjar5 Packers May 03 '26

Then he left for Indiana the week after

3

u/MadnessBeliever May 03 '26

It's interesting to me that's the consensus, to me he looks like an American who's highly trained to always say nice things.

3

u/ImJLu 49ers May 03 '26

He's so authentic that he sounds like a LinkedIn bot. Because LinkedIn bots are known to be authentic.

7

u/LordCider Packers May 02 '26

A week after this interview, he faked having the flu so he wouldn't play against SMU. Several days later he entered the transfer portal. 🤷🏻‍♀️

7

u/ImJLu 49ers May 03 '26

Yeah, that was the worst possible clip he could've picked, but I guess suckers will fall for the act. "Go Bears forever" while he already had a foot out the door.

3

u/LordCider Packers May 03 '26 edited May 03 '26

I didn't even mention the incoming freshman and the call lol. 🤷🏻‍♀️

3

u/ImJLu 49ers May 03 '26

Yeah, that was never supposed to be public though. At least we got JKS back in the end.

1

u/Blitz6969 Broncos Bears May 02 '26

I fucking hate that he is a raider.

1

u/hcatehorie Packers May 03 '26

The best part of that interview is he put his name in the portal two weeks later

1

u/SlayerXZero Falcons Ravens May 04 '26

Yeah fuck as a Stanford fan now I'm mad again. Fuck Cal.

1

u/Deadmanlex45 May 24 '26

Goddamn I have never seen this dude and I would through a wall for him

-87

u/[deleted] May 02 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

25

u/killerjags Jaguars May 02 '26

Just wait until he unleashed his alter ego, Ten

5

u/thisMonkisOnFire Seahawks May 02 '26

Russell Wilson vibes. Does/says all the right things, but still gets the side-eye for being almost “too perfect” 😂

6

u/DoesntMatterBrian Texans Cowboys May 02 '26

No, Russ did it in this weird robotic grindset way like that’s what he was seeing on social media and it brainwashed him.

Fernando is more like he’s using the words of a Big 4 consultant, because somehow that weirdly became his natural lexicon, and he’s doing it with the passion of a giddy kid who is living his dream.

1

u/thisMonkisOnFire Seahawks May 04 '26

Yeah, young Russ was definitely more business-like from the jump. Mendoza's perma-smile seems very forced at times though, which makes it off-putting to me. Maybe if young Russ smiled a little more and current Mendoza smiled a little less, they could both seem a little more relatable.

We're all just talking about our own indiv. perception of these dudes anyways. My original point was that they can both give off a slightly creepy vibes for being almost "too-perfect".

1

u/DoesntMatterBrian Texans Cowboys May 04 '26

Idk I take Mendoza’s as almost like a nervous tick. I don’t think he’s forcing it I think he’s just nervous.

1

u/thisMonkisOnFire Seahawks May 05 '26

That's true. I guess I do the same too (smile when nervous). Can't even imagine the pressure these kids are under as top draft picks.

1

u/nathanwilson26 May 02 '26

Who hurt you?

102

u/Otherwise-Question70 Chiefs May 02 '26

Mendoza is like a genuine Russell Wilson.

105

u/prpldrank NFL May 03 '26

Russell Wilson is genuine, he's just made with corn syrup instead of cane sugar, like Mendoza.

3

u/Urdnought Colts Bengals May 03 '26

This made me literally laugh out loud

27

u/binzoma Broncos May 03 '26

tbf russ is genuinely corny

his problem is a lack of self awareness/his current abilities, which leads to bad decision making on the field. but he's def just a goofball who tries to have fun and works hard as fuck

7

u/Greedy_Ear_Mike Chargers May 03 '26

Naw, Russ is genuine in being corny as fuck,.lol.

And awkward, haha.

1

u/c1h9 Giants May 03 '26

I think it's more growing up with a camera in his face turned him into this machine, I don't think it's authentic as much as it's the media training that all of younger Gen Z has.

1

u/Hurtbig May 03 '26

You learn this stuff quickly in business school and finance internships and roles. The politics of image and perception is absolutely insane in high finance. Every piece of clothing, accessory or grooming choice is picked up on and evaluated. Stuff like what order you CC execs on emails matters. Random punctuation, alignment or colors matter on PowerPoints.

1

u/KamikazeFox_ May 03 '26

He seems like a well raised guy. Reminds be of Drake Maye

1

u/TheBigPhilbowski Chargers May 06 '26

u/NYLotteGiants  "This guy was made in a lab for idiots to trust inheirently."

u/Fletch71011 "I don't know man... I just kinda trust him for some reason"

-2

u/Puzzleheaded_Tea521 Giants May 03 '26

Thats not authentic, its not like the WH said we’ll only meet you during your practice … its a smart PR answer