The San Diego State football team was supposed to spend last week preparing to take on the Cougars of Brigham Young, and boy, did the Aztecs have a lot of preparing to do. At 2-5, San Diego State won't be making a dark horse run toward a BCS bowl game this year. Heck, they likely won't go bowling for at least another few seasons.

Sometimes, though, sports take on a context unconcerned with touchdowns and interceptions, blocks and sacks, winners and losers. Sometimes, a team reveals its value through the distraction it can provide to a community in need of relief.

Rather than throwing on their shoulder pads and heading out to the practice field last week, members of the Aztec football team threw on friendly, compassionate faces and headed over to Qualcomm Stadium.

Turned into a makeshift evacuation center in response to the wildfires that raged throughout southern California, Qualcomm Stadium bustled with some of the 500,000 people who were evacuated from their homes. Most were in search of food, medical attention and shelter.

All were in search of comfort, and that's where the Aztec football players came in. To be fair, around 50 San Diego State student-athletes of many different sports came out to help in any way they could, but communities center on their marquee attractions. At Marquette, it's men's basketball. At San Diego State, it's football.

So while the physical labor the football players provided was appreciated, their conversation was equally valuable.

"A few people just wanted to talk about past games," senior wide receiver Chaz Schilens told the Daily Aztec, San Diego State's student newspaper. "They were asking about last (Saturday's game) and saying we should've won it and all that stuff. It seemed like they were happy to just get to talk about football."

Keep in mind, the fires surrounded the entire San Diego area. Packing up their valuables and taking a long weekend trip somewhere less enflamed probably didn't sound like a bad idea to those student-athletes.

"For any college student, having to deal with a disaster like that is kind of tough, but being an athlete, your whole life revolves around the university and the (athletic) program," said Marquette senior basketball player Dan Fitzgerald.

A transfer two years ago from Tulane, Fitzgerald still had roots entrenched in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. Over the phone from 1,000 miles away, he heard his friends talk about lost possessions and tattered emotions.

"It was such a tough road for all my friends who were there that were athletes that had to pick up the pieces and start over," Fitzgerald said. "Words can't really describe what they went through, but it made them stronger I'm sure. It was really hard, but they did it, and I'm sure they'll do it in California too."

This time, instead of the student-athletes picking up their own pieces, they're helping strangers pick up theirs. And they're doing it with their voice as much as with their hands and feet.

Two things about the relationship between sports and society become clear during tragedies such as the one underway in California: 1) Despite their relative unimportance in the grand scheme of things, sports carry great significance to a lot of people and 2) Sports provide a sense of togetherness to their surrounding communities that can help to rally people's spirits during trying times.

Sports are not the answer. They will not put out any fires. But they can help to heal.

Whether the games are played or not.