ANN ARBOR, Michigan — Five hours before kickoff, the tailgaters look like they’ve already been partying for five hours. In the midst of the Maize and Blue on the Ann Arbor Gold and Outing Club, the Red Wave is there.

Most traveled from Fresno, with several booster businesses organizing a fancy party on the tennis courts, called the Bulldog Bash. At least 100, with probably more, enjoyed the atmosphere.

“We kind of got together and decided, hey, we’re all going to go, let’s do something interesting,” said Steve Miller, president and CEO of FFB, one of the tailgate sponsors. “The Red Wave is bigger than who we invited, so we’ll see how it goes.”

Some fans were disappointed Fresno State did not host an official tailgate. So FFB, Precision Civil Engineering, Riverstone, Caglia Environmental, Thiesen Dueker, Roger Dunn Golf Shops, and ESPN Radio 1430 pitched in to take the party on the road.

Miller said the road tailgate experiment is something they may continue for other road games, like UCLA in November.

“It’s a good time and kind of a no-brainer for the businesses involved because everyone here is either a customer or should be a customer of mine. So it’s worth the investment,” Miller said.

Former Fresno State QB Tom Brandstater also appeared. He currently works as a money manager in Birmingham, Alabama. On NFL rosters for three seasons, he only played in one game — 2011 for the then-St. Louis Rams.

Brandstater says he goes to a few games a year.

“The Big House is the Big House, right? Every kid wants to play in the best place in the world. … Another reason to come to Fresno State is so you get to play these kinds of games,” Brandstater said.

Booster Brings the Dance Team, Timeout to Game

Fresno State did not bring the band nor its cheerleaders. It wasn’t going to bring the dance team or mascot TimeOut neither. That didn’t sit well with Ed Dunkel, Precison’s CEO.

“I thought it was imperative that we have them here. It was very disappointing that we weren’t going to do that,” Dunkel said.

Dunkel called Fresno State one of the greatest ambassadors for the Central Valley.

He paid for six members of the dance team and Timeout to travel. Some of his friends chipped in. The group had extra rooms at their hotel. Dunkel wouldn’t share how much it cost, just “in the thousands.”

“Money doesn’t matter. The important thing is they’re here. They’re representing. And when they turn on the TV, they’re going to see our dance team and our mascot. We’ll be able to represent and have a great time. That’s what it’s all about,” Dunkel said.

A Bucket List Game

Wendy Smith spent more than $500 tickets to treat her husband, Chowchilla Mayor Kelly Smith, to the game.

“This is on his bucket list. He is 67-years old, and now he’s finally got a bucket list dream come true,” Wendy said, who is originally from Detroit and wore a Michigan shirt. “It’s been worth every penny. We’d do it again tomorrow.”

Kelly said he always wanted to see a game at Michigan Stadium.

Fans from Everywhere

Jeff Kangas’ parents grew up in Fresno. His uncle competed on the swim team in the 1970s. He grew up in Pacifica, California, and now lives in Cumming, Georgia. He and his wife Priscilla traveled for the game.

“We went to games my whole life, so I’ve been going since (Jeff Tedford played in ) the Raisin Bowls,” Kangas said. “When we saw this on the schedule, we were we had to jump on it.”

Abraham Lopez of Clovis has the “V” shaved into the back of his head. He came to the game with a group of nine friends from the Central Valley and beyond. They said they often travel to road games, but Michigan is something special.

Unlike Ohio State’s scarlet, Fresno State’s red is shade Michigan fans tolerate.

Fresno State fans said they’ve enjoyed Ann Arbor, and the fans have been nice to them. Being honest, Lopez said he probably wouldn’t extend the same courtesy to Bulldog rivals.

“Not San Jose State for sure. San Diego (State)? They don’t care about football,” Lopez said.