Red Wave Responds After Tedford’s Comments
One phrase was emphasized by fans heading into Valley Children’s Stadium on Saturday.
“Gotta have that Bulldog spirit.”
Bulldog spirit is the mantra that made a resurgence during the DeRuyter era back in 2013, but that bulldog spirit was put into question not for the players on the field, but rather for the people off the field. Following the close win to UNLV, Jeff Tedford had some words for the fans in their close game against UNLV.
“We need it loud on first and second down, on every single down,” Tedford said about the fans’ lack of etiquette in the game. “When we go play in places that are really tough environments, it’s loud always. I shouldn’t say always, not always, not when we have the ball. Cause sometimes we are loud when we have the ball. We don’t want to be loud when we have the ball.”
Crowd loudness wasn’t the only issue. Lifelong fan David Guzman said fans leaving the game early is also a problem.
“Stay for the entire game. You never know what’s going to happen,” said Guzman on what his advice to the fans would be. “If you left early when in the San Diego State game last year, you missed it. Don’t leave early.”
The game Guzman referenced was last year’s October 29 game against San Diego State when nearly the whole crowd left early and missed the ‘Dogs surmount a 15-point rally in less than three minutes to come back and defeat the Aztecs.
But the question remained, how would the Red Wave respond?
From the Fresno State opening drive, the crowd made noise after the plays on offense. And when the defense showed up, especially on third downs, peaking at 110 decibels on one of the crucial third downs. As for the classic Red Wave, rather than showing up on offense, it made its presence during the third quarter when the defense needed it most. The impact was felt, as the Red Wave boosted the team to a 37-30 win over Boise State.
“Our fans were totally different tonight. Totally different on first and second down,” said Tedford in the post-game conference after the crowd changed in its one week. “I thought they were great. We need to make that a tradition. A tradition as in every week. But really proud of our fans. Great to see them in it tonight.”