Joe Wahoski expected his heart to race when he walked onto the field at Spartan Stadium.
Jim Foley was recovering from surgery. An estimated 65,000 people were watching. Gary Eisenberg, who introduced the original Zeke the Wonderdog to Michigan State fans in 1977, was in attendance.
And for the first time, Wahoski was the one responsible for sending the Frisbees into the air in the sacred space of Spartan Stadium.
Then the moment arrived, and the nerves disappeared.
“I just kind of locked in, focused on Zeke, and everything turned out pretty good,” Wahoski said. “I wasn’t anxious at all. I just kind of locked in.”
Photo credit: Marvin Hall/Spartans Illustrated
Wahoski made his debut Saturday as the primary handler for Zeke (CindyLou) after Foley determined that his recovery from nasal surgery would prevent him from performing during Michigan State’s game against Nebraska. It was a significant moment for a Spartan tradition approaching its 50th anniversary – and potentially an early look at how that tradition could continue into its next generation.
Foley had undergone surgery to address the lingering effects of a broken nose from a football injury approximately 45 years ago. A sinus infection complicated his recovery and kept him away from the stadium.
Wahoski learned the Tuesday of game week that he might be needed. The possibility had existed for approximately a month as Foley tried to schedule the procedure with as little disruption as possible, but the recovery took longer than anticipated.
Fortunately, Foley had spent the past year preparing Wahoski for exactly this situation.
That relationship began with the previous Zeke (Buckshot). Wahoski, a photographer, began taking pictures of Zeke and offering them to Foley for social media. What started casually developed into a friendship and, eventually, an apprenticeship.
Foley taught him different throws and tricks, including how to position himself so the dog could vault off his back and launch into the air. Wahoski traveled between West Michigan and Lansing, joined the group for events in Muskegon and at golf outings, and spent as much time with Buckshot and CindyLou as possible.
The work was as much about trust as technique.
“You’re building the relationship with Zeke so that she knows, ‘Hey, this is somebody that works with me and that plays with me. I know this person,’” Wahoski said.
Before Saturday, Wahoski believed he was ready. He had thrown to the current Zeke inside Spartan Stadium after MSU’s first two home games against Toledo and Eastern Michigan. During one of those postgame sessions, Michigan State coach Pat Fitzgerald joined them and made a couple throws.
None of that could fully simulate taking Foley’s place on game day.
Wahoski arrived on campus at approximately 3:30 p.m. after coming from another job. He parked north of Grand River Avenue, walked through Adams Field, and met Terri Foley and Cindy Lou near the IM West parking lot. They put on the dog’s bandanna and leash, then headed toward Adams Field, where the Spartan Marching Band holds its pregame rehearsal and prepares for the march to Spartan Stadium.
As they moved through campus, children approached to pet Zeke and pose for pictures. Wahoski’s parents watched from the side of the route as he and Zeke walked ahead of the band and Sparty.
“It was just a surreal moment to be part of something that I’ve watched as a lifelong Spartan,” he said.
Once inside the stadium, Wahoski and Zeke waited with the band in the tunnel and loading-dock area. After the band took the field, they moved toward the south end zone near the student section, cheerleaders, and band.
Wahoski quickly learned what comes with being connected to one of the stadium’s most recognizable figures.
“I was the person attached at the hip with the most popular girl in the stadium,” he said. “Everybody wants to meet Zeke and pet Zeke and get kisses from Zeke.”
Throwing to her requires more precision than fans might recognize. Wahoski has learned to adjust the Frisbee’s angle depending on whether he is throwing with or against the wind. More advanced maneuvers, particularly the vault from a handler’s back, require careful timing and placement.
Still, Wahoski gives most of the credit to Zeke.
Photo credit: Marvin Hall/Spartans Illustrated
In fact, despite the fact that Sparty made several throws Saturday that did not provide ideal trajectories, Zeke adjusted en route and produced difficult catches.
“She’s so nimble,” he said. “She’s eight years old, and she still looks like a puppy. It’s crazy.”
Wahoski primarily used verbal commands Saturday. He and Foley have worked on visual cues with Zeke, but the circumstances called for a simpler approach. It was the first time she had performed inside Spartan Stadium without Foley present, so Wahoski concentrated on keeping her comfortable and reacting to what unfolded instead of attempting a rigidly rehearsed routine.
There were imperfections. One throw carried dangerously close to Nebraska’s sideline, earning Wahoski a gentle warning from MSU athletics and a lesson he said he will remember.
But each successful catch allowed him to exhale and briefly take in the response around him.
“I’d make a throw, and she would make a catch,” Wahoski said. “That’s when I kind of had a sigh of relief, and then it’s like my ears were kind of turned on again (to the roar of the crowd) after having been turned off.”
Photo credit: Marvin Hall/Spartans Illustrated
Among those watching was Eisenberg, who started the Zeke tradition with the original Wonderdog in 1977. When Wahoski learned that Eisenberg had texted Foley to compliment both his performance and Zeke’s, Wahoski was able to take a second to understand the significance of the moment.
“Gary is able to see something that he started 50 years ago flourish into this multigenerational thing,” Wahoski said.
Foley watched from home and placed his trust in both members of the new partnership. He said his goal has always been to create “seamless continuity” for the program and prepare someone to carry it forward, just as Eisenberg once passed it to him.
Foley believed Wahoski’s performance demonstrated that he could handle the stress, maintain awareness of the dog and his surroundings, and still enjoy the moment.
“Joe opened up the doors,” Foley said afterward.
Those doors could eventually lead to a more elaborate version of the Zeke performance...
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