“SuperFan” Tom Ables (Ernie Anderson/SDSU Media Relations)
In today’s world of sports, the term “diehard fan” is often misused. Many sports fans are content with casually supporting their team, and assume that wearing their jersey the day after a win makes them a major supporter.
These same fans typically have trouble naming more than a dozen players on their favorite team’s roster, and are quick to badmouth a team when losing streaks occur.
In a world filled with casual fans and bandwagoners, San Diego State supporter Tom Ables is the epitome of a diehard fan.
A graduate of SDSU, Ables has displayed what it means to truly support your team through thick and thin. Although his team has not always been the most successful program, he never turned his back on his alma mater.
Ables enrolled at SDSU in 1946, and since then has been to over 700 football games and over 1,000 basketball games. He attended his 700th football game in 2010, when SDSU defeated the University of Wyoming, 48-38.
Since 1946, Ables has only missed two Aztec football games. He missed a game in 1952 because of money concerns and one in 1964 because of an illness.
In 1993, Ables became the first non-athlete and non-coach to be elected into the Aztec Hall of Fame. He has also received national recognition, as he was listed as No. 3 in an ESPN story about the top 20 “super fans” before the 2010 season.
For his continued support of SDSU athletics, Tom Ables is an Aztec For Life.
Tom Ables interviewed at his 700th Aztec football game
Tom Ables’ Book
If anyone is qualified to write a book about the history of San Diego State football, it’s Tom Ables.
And he did just that.
Ables published a book recently titled Go Aztecs!, where he looks back at the first 731 (!!!) SDSU football games that he saw.
Tom Ables book, Go Aztecs!, is available for purchase on Amazon.com
Here is the excerpt taken from Amazon:
Since he enrolled as a San Diego State freshman in the fall of 1946, Tom Ables has been a dedicated fan of Aztec football. In late August he was a battleship sailor aboard the USS Alabama. In September he was the sports editor of the school newspaper. Before his freshman year ended he was the school’s first sports publicity director. Sixty-seven years later, Tom still follows Aztec football as passionately as he did as a college freshman. Through the 2012 season, Tom has seen 731 of the 733 Aztec football games played since 1946. He’s seen all the great ones: Marshall Faulk, Dennis Shaw, Haven Moses and countless other great Aztecs. And, of course, one of the most brilliant football minds of all time, coach Don Coryell. Join Tom on his journey through the great games, players, coaches and seasons; Aztec record-holders and hall-of-famers; and games played in world famous stadiums, and some truly bizarre fields.
This book is a must-have for all diehard Aztec fans, and it is a great way to look back on the storied past and rich traditions of SDSU football.
Well, what are you waiting for!?
Go buy the book!
-H
Aztecs For Life | SDSU Blog 