Video: Summer with the ChivaGirls

It’s cold here. (Well, cold by Los Angeles standards.) When it’s cold outside, I start thinking back to summer and warmer days. And when I think about last summer, I think “ChivaGirls.”

I got to go to quite a few Chivas USA games, and it was really a fun time. The ChivaGirls and their Director welcomed me like a member of the gang, and trusted me with a level of access that was truly an honor.

There are photos from the Chivas USA vs. Seattle Sounders game, where the local dance teams got to perform with the ChivaGirls during halftime, and the dance team from the NBADL Bakersfield Jam drove down for a visit.

There are photos from Chivas USA v DC United, where thousands of tiny little senors and senoritas performed before the show.

This is also the game where the Chivas folks tried to get me into one of those fluorescent yellow vests the photographers wear. I was all jazzed like “hey, check me out, I have a vest like the pros!” And then I realized that the reason they want me to wear it is the reason I don’t want to wear it.It’s so they can spot me when I sneak into places I’m not supposed to be. Like on the field during pregame. Drat.

There are photos from the Chivas USA v. New England Revolution game aka heroes night in honor of our SoCal firefighters and police. The girls wore shirts courtesy of the Orange County firefighters.

The arena was pretty empty that night, so the ChivaGirls had to work extra hard to get the fans into it.

There are photos from the Chivas USA vs Los Angeles Galaxy. There was a lot of craziness leading up to an extra special halftime performance that night. Chivas USA and the Galaxy share the Home Depot Center. The Galaxy doesn’t have a dance team, so Chivas USA wanted to show those Galaxy fans what the were missing. Fans of both teams LOVED the half time performance. Unfortunately for me, Murphy’s Law was in full effect, and I had some technical difficulties and didn’t get as much of it as I would have liked (Grrrr…)

Toward the end of the summer, I got one of those nifty little Flip video cameras. The girls were my cheerful guinea pigs while I figured out how to work the thing. I trailed around behind them, capturing the performances, the rehearsals, the random moments, and the hard work that goes into everything they do. I saw girls who weren’t feeling well, girls with their hair in curlers, and girls who better stop crossing their eyes at me or that footage is going to start showing up on the internet.

Over the long weekend for Turkey Day, I finally found some time to sit down and think about what to do with all of the video I shot over the summer. Watching the video clips reminded me how much fun the summer had been, and I decided to put together a little highlight reel for the ChivaGirls. I am no Sasha Ford Coppola, so this turned out to be a bit more difficult than I expected. However, after learning some new software and producing several sad attempts, I finally managed to produce the video below as my thank you to the ChivaGirls for all the good times.

For them, it’s meant to be a reminder, sort of a video scrap book, something to show their friends and loved ones what they’ve been up to. For the rest of you, who are every bit as nosy as I am, it’s a peek behind the scenes on game day. From field rehearsals, to autographs, to Chiva Town, to rehearsing in that tiny little closet of a “suite,” to pregame and halftime, it’s a little slice of life as a ChivaGirl.

Had a great time, wish you were there!