Zeke III's Debut Went Off Without a Hitch

Pamela Wall
Photos and video by Nick Robison

Saturday September 8, 2007 marked a sad yet momentous occasion for Spartan Football fans: Zeke the Wonder Dog, also known as Zeke II, retired from the game of half-time Frisbee catching, performing for his last time in front of a packed, cheering Spartan Stadium.

On par with his performance last year, Zeke II struggled—and usually failed—when he had to “go long,” and even when he did catch the Frisbee he jumped a little lower in the air and he ran just a bit slower than he had in previous years.

But, being the loyalists we are (What other fan base has time and time again stood in the burning sun, blustering wind, or pouring rain to cheer for a team we assume is heading for a loss?) the Spartan crowd, the student section in particular, still whooped and clapped for our favorite black lab when he caught his quarry, and released a unified outtake of breath when he missed it by inches (or feet—but who’s counting?)

Thus, with a new hope yet heavy hearts, Spartan fans welcomed Zeke III this past Saturday. Although much younger and far more sprightly than our Wonder Dog Emeritus, Zeke III seemed to have just as much trouble catching up to those long shots, although his problem seemed to be out of over-excitement rather than age.

Yet, as his trainers demonstrated proudly whilst standing on the midfield S, Zeke III can flip and jump high in the air, giving the crowd the feeling that yes, this is indeed a wonder dog. But besides his quality performance—and many a cry of “Oh, he’s so cute!”—the crowd still had complaints about our new half-time K-9.

Zeke III, unlike his predecessor Zeke II, is a yellow lab, which gave traditionalist fans a jolt of excitement seeing a dog like the original Zeke. Also, in being so young and eager (he had no qualms about chasing after his trainer to get the in hand Frisbee rather than chase the one that was just thrown the length of the pitch), some Spartan fans missed the “poise” and “control” displayed by our past entertainer.

Despite the naysayers, Zeke III’s debut went off without a hitch, and, for the most part, the humans of Spartan Stadium left wishing they were as cool as its most famous dog.