LAS CRUCES – For more than 10 years, New Mexico State Aggies fans have enjoyed Striking the Wonder Dog T-picks after kick-off at Aggie Memorial Stadium.
But Striking, now 13, has poor eyesight, which has led to his retirement. That season he was replaced by Wave the Wonder Dog.
The legacy
The NMSU’s original Wonder Dog was Smokey. Smokey was owned by Joel Sims, an NMSU student and dog trainer. He got the idea when he saw a dog bringing back tea for the Houston Oilers, according to NMSU electrical and computer engineering professor Steve Stochaj, who owns both Striking and Wave.
As Stochaj remembers, it was Sims who started the tradition. He had a weightlifting class with several aggie football players and saw the tee shot being done in the NFL.
“I think it started out as something that was done with the punt, pass, and kick competitions that they used to have,” Stochaj told Sun News. “After Smokey, they didn’t have a Wonder Dog for – I think it must have been 10 years or more. The story I heard was that the athletics department did a fan poll on how to make a better gaming experience; One of the things on that list was to bring the teeing dog back. “
The president of the university at the time was Barbara Couture. She worked with McKinley Boston, who was the sports director at the time, to start a search for the next dog to bring back tea.
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“They had an open call for tryouts,” explained Stochaj. “One Saturday in the summer of 2012 they set up the soccer stadium and let the music play loud – tried to make it a bit like a game. I think there were probably around 15 dogs that tried it and Striking was the one that was chosen. “
Strikingly, which Stochaj got from a Canadian breeder when the dog was 1 year old, has been the team’s Wonder Dog for nine years, but it’s time to pass the torch on to the team’s new Wonder Dog, Wave.
Retired
“Striking is almost 13 years old,” explained Stochaj. “Unfortunately, dogs just get old. One of the things that is starting to go is eyesight. Especially if they used the green kicking tea – dogs don’t have such good vision at first, but I was worried if he could see the tea. “
Wave, also a Border Collie, comes from a line of herding dogs. Stochaj got it about five years ago from a breeder who owns a ranch in Sheridan, Wyoming. Wave was about 10 weeks old when Stochaj got it, he said.
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Stochaj trained both Striking and Wave in order to find the tee again at soccer games. This season, Wave has taken over the collection of teas. A ceremonial handover of the torch took place on September 25th at the team’s home game against Hawaii.
“The normal retrieval of something is something that a lot of people teach their dogs,” said Stochaj. “But it is often done in a hygienic environment – you throw the ball on a field, or you throw a frisbee or something like that.”
This type of fetch is quite common with dogs and their owners, he said.
“The thing that makes it a little difficult is that you are now putting it in a stadium that could have 30,000 screaming fans,” he explained. “For the UTEP game, for example, there were two bands, there is a cannon that goes off, there are cowbells. It takes a slow acclimatization process to get a dog used to doing this in a noisy stadium. “
Stochaj explained that the soccer field has a slight crown – that is, it is slightly higher in the middle than on the sides. However, the team steps out of the diamonds.
“If you come down to dog level, you won’t even see the tee when it’s on the long side of the field,” said Stochaj. “One thing I’ve worked with both Striking and Wave is to stay along the white yard line and they’re just looking for the object along that line.”
Always a crowd favorite
Since the Wonder Dog’s return in 2012, it has become a crowd-pleaser. Stochaj attributes this to a number of factors.
“It’s something that is super relatable to people,” he said. “I would guess that more than half of the households in this area have dogs, so it’s just something that puts a smile on someone’s face. When you think of border collies, that’s a farm and ranch dog, and New Mexico is a farming state. I think there is a lot going on that people can identify with very easily. “
Name the wonder dog
When attempts were made in 2012 to bring the Wonder Dog back to the university, it was thought at the time that he or she would be called Smokey the Wonder Dog 2. However, someone had a different idea.
“When we got to the competition, there was a jury,” said Stochaj. “One of the judges was the mother of Joel Sims. She told Barbara Couture that getting a dog to change its name wasn’t nice. That’s when they agreed to switch from Smokey the Wonder Dog to the Wonder Dog – and add the name of that particular dog. “
Everything about tradition
College football is as much about traditions, festivities and what happens between games as it is the game itself. It’s partly about the close community, said Stochaj, and partly about a certain kind of nostalgia.
“I think you see that in all the mascots you see,” he said. “The University of Colorado has a bison that they bring to the games. We have Keystone (a horse) at the beginning of our games; I think the pageantry around college football is much tighter than you see it in many NFL stadiums. “
Stochaj believes this has to do with many of the university’s alumni who come to the games and bring their families.
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“They have a real bond and want to see the things that make them feel part of something,” he said. “I think NMSU, for its size, is doing a great job of delivering a really exciting gaming experience for fans. I’m just excited to play my little role in making this gaming experience something they want to return to. “
Damien Willis is a senior reporter for Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be reached at 575-541-5443, [email protected] or @DamienWillis on Twitter.
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