Cheerleaders ring in Camp Zama Super Bowl party

By Shawn Johnnides
Kanto Stripes
2/10/2011

Super Bowl XLV may have set new viewership records stateside, but at least 600 attendees ensured Camp Zama’s annual Super Bowl Party set some attendance records of its own. It was no doubt influenced by the special appearance of six Miami Dolphins cheerleaders.

Doors at the Camp Zama Community Club (CZCC) opened at 7 a.m. for the Feb. 7 event. Serious fans lined up more than an hour early, armed with camping chairs and thermoses full of coffee, to ensure they got good seats.

The six members of the 2011 Miami Dolphins cheerleading squad brought their special brand of excitement to the festivities. They took the stage a few minutes after 8 a.m. to perform a dance routine. Then they introduced themselves to the crowd and danced again, stepping off stage just before the coin toss that started the big game.

As a special treat for the audience, the cheerleaders chose to have their breakfast in the main ballroom so they could talk with the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and other people who had gathered there. A 2011 Dolphins Cheerleaders calendar was given to all attendees, and the women spent much of the game signing them and posing for photos.

The cheerleaders and their squad director, Emily Newton Snow, flew in Feb. 6, but if they were suffering from jet lag they were too professional to let it show. The cheerleaders seemed genuinely excited to be in Japan and to have an opportunity to meet the men and women stationed here.

They kept smiles on their faces the entire morning, and said they were looking forward to the cheer clinic they would hold in the afternoon. The squad was only in town for two days, and members said they wanted to do as much as possible in that short amount of time.

The cheerleaders especially enjoyed hearing the stories of the people they met during the game, and these exchanges helped make the women more aware of the military’s global efforts to protect the United States, according to Snow.

When Camp Zama Morale, Welfare and Recreation first invited the Dolphins cheerleaders to come out for the big game, the squad held auditions for the six coveted spots. Among those who made the travel squad was Bekah Stevens, who grew up as an “Army brat” with a special connection to Japan.

Stevens’ grandfather was stationed at Camp Zama in the 1950s as a judge. During that assignment, her father was born here on the Kanto Plain. She said it was a sentimental experience to be able to walk down the same roads on Camp Zama that her grandparents used to walk.

Stevens said it was especially nice to meet the soldiers at Camp Zama’s Super Bowl party and learn about their experiences, as many of them have served at the same installations on which she grew up. She said it was “really special” to be able to be here and share the experience of the Super Bowl with the soldiers.

The warm and respectful reception the cheerleaders received indicated that the feeling was definitely mutual.

To see more photos of Camp Zama’s 2011 Super Bowl Party, visit Spotted.Stripes.com and search for “Super Bowl.”