Women's basketball vs. softball?

Listening to the final seconds tick down as the Fresno State women's b-ball team beat Nevada for the WAC tourney championship on Saturday, I couldn't help but let out a "WOO!"

This is an exciting bunch of Lady Bulldogs, and coach Adrian Wiggins is a genuine guy -- the type of guy who's easy to root for because he seems to be rooting for everyone else around town just as much. And hey, the 'Dogs are going dancing for the second straight year -- after never having gone to an NCAA Tournament in school history before. Take that Stacy Johnson-Klein...

Now to the whole point. A friend of mine brought up an interesting question this week when he said he never thought he'd see the day Fresno State's women's hoops team was better than its softball team. My reply: "Is it better?"

While Margie Wright's softball team has been a big disappointment so far in this young season, many Red Wavers are shaking in their cleats hoping the team's nation-best consecutive NCAA Regionals streak continues this year (Fresno State is the only school in the country to make every NCAA tournament -- ever)! But, superhero pitcher Morgan Melloh is battling a sophomore slump of inconsistency and the team's offense is, well, pathetic. We here at The Bulldog Bounce knew losing Jenna Cervantez and Aja Schuber would hurt -- but we didn't realize it would be this bad.

Last year, Fresno State finished 54-13. So far this year, the Bulldogs are 14-12.

But if you're thinking it's obvious the women's basketball team is more successful right now, not so fast. Let's consider the softball team plays a juggernaut of a schedule, with top 25 teams in at least 50% of its games so far. The women's hoops squad plays a decent non-conference slate, but then strolled through the dreadful WAC, which isn't much of a conference since Louisiana Tech's fall from grace.

Consider this, if winning the WAC was all that on a national scale, why has Fresno State been seeded 13th and 14th in the past two NCAA tourneys?

So Red Wave, you tell us. Which program is more successful today -- women's basketball or softball? And why?

Just like the good 'ol days (for a split second)...

That's how I felt last night, using the depths of my voice, yelling from the belly up and out, cheering with all my heart. Waving my arms in and upwards motion while jumping up and down, trying to get the rest of the Save Mart Center crowd on its feet and screaming just as loud.

And then BOOM! Just like that, the Red Wave gushed its passion toward the hardwood and it felt just as feversish and edge-of-your-seat intense as in the Tark and Boyd Grant days at Selland Arena.

But before I had a chance to say, "Look what I did, the crowd's going nuts!" I realized it wasn't me at all. It was Bryan Harvey. He hit two straight 3s to bring the 'Dogs within six points of recently No. 24 St. Mary's (seriously, I'm not joking, the Gaels were in the top 25).

I miss those days, where I got just as pumped for Fresno State b-ball as I did for football. What changed? Do all the sanctions and scandals and off-the-court nonsense have fans too busy trying to spit the bad taste out of their mouths to come back out and support the team?

I think so. And I think it's time we got behind Steve Cleveland and made Fresno State one of the toughest campuses for opposing teams to visit again. Save Mart Center is capable of being far louder than Selland Arena ever was. So here's the challenge -- just show up. Grey hairs with season tickets, rich people with luxury suites, diehards in the upper deck, and most of all STUDENTS! Let's all come together and chant in unison nonstop. Make it near impossible for opposing teams to concentrate. The b-ball team will be good again very soon -- trust Coach Cleve. And you'll be able to say you were there in the stands all along contributing.