By Ben Crandell
SunSentinel.com
April 26, 2012

Who would be a better judge at the Miami Dolphins cheerleader tryouts than you?

How much more talented would the squad be if only the Dolphins would ask YOU to put your hours of intense research to good use? For the team.

The Dolphins heard you: For the first time the team is opening up the final round of cheerleader auditions to the public, and taking votes [click here] to help choose the squad for the coming season.

There are two ways to make your opinion heard. On Saturday, as part of the Dolphins’ Fin Fest party at Sun Life Stadium, the final 69 women will perform routines beginning at 10 a.m. There will be judges — including Dolphins announcer Kenny Walker from KISS Country radio, Lorenzo “Ice-T” Thomas of 99 JAMZ and Pamela Conde, Univision news anchor and former Dolphins cheerleader — but the Dolphins want you in the room, too.

During the tryouts, you’ll be asked to text the team with your votes on who should make the squad. The top three vote-getters will have points added to the final score from the other judges. The winners will be revealed at 4 p.m. on the main Fin Fest stage.

“Dancing in front of a live audience challenges the candidates to perform as if they were at a game,” said Emily Newton Snow, director of the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders. “It helps give the judges a better feel for their performance quality under pressure as well.”

You can also put your cheerleader expertise to use by voting online. The squad is looking for your five favorites from among the hopefuls shown on its website. The top three will have points added to their scorecards. Online voting continues through noon Friday.

Fin Fest is a free family event with gates opening at 9 a.m. for a variety of outdoor activities at Gate G at Sun Life Stadium. Fin Fest activities inside the stadium run from 1 to 5 p.m., when you can meet current and former players, watch live NFL draft coverage, play on the field, tour the locker room and shop the Dolphins Equipment Room Garage Sale (proceeds benefitting the Miami Dolphins Foundation). Parking is free. Info: Miamidolphins.com.

Texans.com: Below are the 45 finalists for the 2012 Houston Texans Cheerleaders. Vote for the finalists you want to make the squad by texting their corresponding keyword (i.e. HTC1, HTC2, HTC3…) to 88222. You also can vote on Twitter by using the corresponding hashtag for each cheerleader finalist (i.e. #HTC1, #HTC2, #HTC3…).

CLICK HERE TO VOTE ONLINE

Voting ends on Monday, April 30, at 5 p.m. CT. The final squad will be announced live on HoustonTexans.com on Tuesday, May 1, at 6:30 p.m. CT.

VIDEO: 2012 Cheer Finalists

The judges have narrowed it down to 51 finalists. Click here to choose the candidates you believe will best represent the Rams. Note: the link takes you to a registration form. Scroll down and click the “bypass” button to skip the nonsense.

[Click here to watch "Making the Squad"]

This year’s auditions for the Detroit Pride Cheerleaders started on March 31. The judges have done the first part. They’ve narrowed the pool of candidates down to 35, 14 (potential) veterans and 21 (aspiring) rookies. Now it’s your turn to have a say. Click here to view the ladies in the running and vote for your favorites by “liking” them. (Facebook account required.) The finalist with the most votes is guaranteed a spot on the team.

Yo – Detroit Lions, get with the program and make this official!

Help the Minnesota Vikings choose their 2012-13 cheerleaders! This is your chance to support the young ladies you’d like to see on the team this year. Click here to see the candidates and cast your votes. Voting ends Wednesday, April 18 at 9 p.m. (Central time, I assume)

Interesting factoid: Alissa and Mandy are twins. If both make the squad, it will be Alissa’s third year and Mandy’s first.

Click here to vote for your favorite finalists!

During the month of February 2012, nearly 200 cheerleaders and dancers submitted photos and applications. Today, fan voting opens at www.facebook.com/akdgowildwear. Voters may vote one time per candidate between Monday, March 5 at 9:00am CST and Friday, March 9 at 12:00pm CST.

Voting alone determines the 60 Semi-Finalists. These ladies will be evaluated by a panel of celebrity judges including Fred Gaudelli, Producer of “Sunday Night Football” and Super Bowls XLIII, XL, XXXVII and XLI; Glenn Daniels, Casting Director in film, TV, and theater, launching Lisa Kudrow, Woody Harrelson and Ethan Hawke, and a Miss Universe Pageant Judge; and Shelly Bomb, Creative Director of Anti-Gravity Urban Sports Theater, having appeared on the Oscars, MTV, BET Awards, Olympics, NFL, NBA and Broadway.

Later in March, Angela King Designs will announce 20 Finalists, a National Top Ten and a Grand Prize Winner. All contestants receive prizes during each round. The 2012 Sports Model Search Winner will become an AKD Brand Ambassador and The Face of AKD’s Go Wild! Wear 2012 campaigns. She will be flown to the AKD Headquarters in Texas for a photo shoot with the current Go Wild! Wear Models, all expenses paid. She will receive a $500.00 AKD gift certificate and an official AKD Sports Model Search Winner jewelry piece. The Winner’s dance or cheer team will receive an AKD workout outfit.

Cast your vote here.

Melanie Snare is hoping to fulfill her final NFL dream

ATLANTA (January 2, 2011) – Melanie Snare, was a cheerleader/dancer at UNC-Chapel Hill and then cheered in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons for 5 seasons, was a Captain on the team, traveled to Egypt to entertain the US military, cheered in the American Bowl in Tokyo and was even selected as the 2006 Pro Bowl Cheerleader ending her career on the sidelines in Hawaii. But there was one major NFL dream that never came true – the Super Bowl. Now that final dream could be within reach with the support of the dance & cheerleading world thanks to an online contest for the Super Bowl Bud Light special correspondent.

Bud Light is currently holding a Facebook contest to search for a special correspondent for Super Bowl XLVI and Melanie has entered. Candidates will be evaluated by the number of ‘Likes’ they receive on Facebook and a special judging panel. Melanie is hoping the cheerleading world rallies around her and helps send her to Indianapolis as the special correspondent to make this final dream come true. She works as a TV host based out of Atlanta covering entertainment, red carpets, sports and more so she is perfect for this correspondent position. She even hosted a TV show this NFL season covering the Atlanta Falcons Cheerleaders audition process and swimsuit calendar shoot in Bermuda called New South.

To help this NFL Cheerleader Alumni make it to the Super Bowl, please vote for her as the Super Bowl correspondent before January 20, 2012. Click here and follow the simple instructions below:

1. Click on “View Applications”
2. Find the video titled “Melanie Snare” and click on it. [currently it's on the first page, but you may have to browse through the pages]
3. Click “like” to the right of Melanie’s video under her name to “vote” for her.
4. It will prompt you to share your vote on your Facebook wall to let others know to vote for Melanie too.

For more information about Melanie, please visit www.MelanieSnare.com and please connect with her on Facebook (Click here) & Twitter (Click here). She loves connecting with cheerleaders from around the world!