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Comedian Ken Jeong Loves Fresno State Football, but Only He Knows Exactly Why

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"Masked Singer" star Ken Jeong is a big Fresno State Bulldogs football fan. (GV Wire Composite/Paul Marshall
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It’s not quite clear why actor and comedian Ken Jeong is a Bulldogs fan. But he is.

As Fresno State prepares for the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl on Saturday versus Washington State, Jeong gave his favorite team a Twitter shoutout.

“Fresno State Bulldogs! Congrats on the LA City Bowl! I’m so sorry I can’t be there because of the holidays, but there is still two things in life I love. I love my Ho! and I love Fresno. Too-da-loo Fresnoooo!” Jeong said in a video.

“Ho” is a reference to his wife, Tran Ho.

It Started With a Pick

Jeong’s budding love with the Bulldogs started last year. As a guest picker on ESPN’s “College GameDay,” Jeong picked Fresno State over San Diego State when no one else would.

His reasoning: “Because ‘F’ comes before ‘S’ so alphabetically Fresno State is the winner. You heard it here first. Undefeated.”

“The love started when he picked us to win on College GameDay and Jake Haener said in a postgame on-field interview that he appreciated that he picked us to beat San Diego State last year,” Fresno State football spokeswoman Savannah Stoeckle said. “After that, and with the way that Jake’s interview blew up, we ran with it.”

The Bulldogs invited Jeong to a game. In lieu of attending, he sent a video message played for Bulldog Stadium fans.

“Since we are playing down in LA, we thought it would be worth a shot to ask him to come to the game,” Stoeckle said.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t make it, hence another pro-Bulldogs video.

Bulldogs Appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Part of the bowl week festivities is an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC late-night show.

Star quarterback Jake Haener was front and center. The entire team was wearing gray sweatsuits.

“So much legroom,” Kimmel said. “This is just like when nobody came to my eighth birthday party, which was also held in an empty football stadium.”

Kimmel joked about the slow ticket sales for the games. He told the Fresno State players they are required to sell 10 tickets each.

Pep Rally Friday

There will be a pep rally at the American Airlines Plaza at SoFi Stadium (1001 Stadium Drive in Inglewood), Friday starting at 5:30 p.m. The event is free.

As Kimmel said, tickets are still available. SoFi Stadium, after all, has a listed capacity of  70,240. Many of the seats are in the $35-$40 range at Ticketmaster. And, ticket reseller Seat Geek has slightly lower prices.

Curiosity drives David Taub. The award-winning journalist might be shy, but feels mighty with a recorder in his hand. He doesn't see it his job to "hold public officials accountable," but does see it to provide readers (and voters) the information needed to make intelligent choices. Taub has been honored with several writing awards from the California News Publishers Association. He's just happy to have his stories read. Joining GV Wire in 2016, Taub covers politics, government and elections, mainly in the Fresno/Clovis area. He also writes columns about local eateries (Appetite for Fresno), pro wrestling (Off the Bottom Rope), and media (Media Man). Prior to joining the online news source, Taub worked as a radio producer for KMJ and PowerTalk 96.7 in Fresno. He also worked as an assignment editor for KCOY-TV in Santa Maria, California, and KSEE-TV in Fresno. He has also worked behind the scenes for several sports broadcasts, including the NCAA basketball tournament, and the Super Bowl. When not spending time with his family, Taub loves to officially score Fresno Grizzlies games. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Taub is a die-hard Giants and 49ers fan. He graduated from the University of Michigan with dual degrees in communications and political science. Go Blue! You can contact David at 559-492-4037 or at Send an Email