NFL cheerleading squad boasts three South Mississippi women

By James Edward Bates
Sunherald.com
Sep. 24, 2011

[Photo Gallery]

NEW ORLEANS — Three South Mississippi women are enjoying their turn as professional cheerleaders for the New Orleans Saints.

Chastity McLemore, 25, Jerami Goodman, 23, and Kristina Williams, 20, are members of the Saintsations.

The 32-member cheerleading team stays busy performing at Saints home games and attending events throughout the area.

All three graduated from South Mississippi high schools. McLemore graduated from Picayune. Goodman graduated from Long Beach, and Williams graduated from Pearl River Central.

McLemore is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi and recently earned her masters in education from William Carey University.

In addition to being a Saintsation, she also is a teacher at Biloxi High, where she sponsors the cheerleading squad.

“I absolutely love being a Saintsation. It’s an amazing experience and I love just being on the field with our amazing New Orleans fans,” said McLemore. “It’s always been a dream of mine to be a Saintsation.

“When I was getting my masters in education, I thought I might as well try and fulfill that dream.”

Now in her first year as a Saintsation, Williams grew up in the Carriere community and attends Pearl River Community College.

The Picayune resident plans to transfer to Southern Miss and major in elementary education. She plans to teach and coach high school cheerleaders.

“My most favorite part about being a Saintsation is just representing Picayune and all of Who Dat nation. It’s fun,” said Williams. “This is the top-notch. You want to be a cheerleader and you want to go to the highest and being an NFL cheerleader is the best.”

Performing as a Saintsation for her second year, Goodman is a resident of Long Beach.

She was a Dixie Darling at Southern Miss and decided to try out for the team after graduating college.

“I’ve always wanted to become a pro cheerleader. I’ve actually danced my whole life, but this is the closest thing to actually being a professional dancer,” said Goodman. “It’s a great experience.

“I’ve been on it (team) since last year and I’ve done so many things. I love the fans. I love performing for the fans at the games.

“I love being from Mississippi, getting support there and from Louisiana.”

According to their official website, Saintsations have visited troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, appeared on TV with Dr. Phil and Bill O’Reilly, and have been published in Sports Illustrated, Maxim and FHM magazines.

To girls who may aspire to one day follow in their footsteps, Goodman says, “Keep up the good work, practice hard and you will succeed.”

On the Flipside

The latest episode of On The Flipside comes to you from Las Vegas, Nevada where host Aubrey Aquino is hanging out with Pro Football Cheerleader Alumni at their inaugural reunion event! It’s Episode 33 and this action packed show starts off with NBA Superstar Dwyane Wade in Beijing, China. He’s traveled to the Far East to take a shot at the “One Million RMB Basketball Chinese Charity Challenge.” Next up is a sneak peek at Brad Pitt‘s new movie “Moneyball.” The film fits the sports genre, with Pitt taking on the role of Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane in a real life tale of his quest to reign supreme in the MLB. On The Flipside brings you interview footage with Brad Pitt from the red carpet at the Toronto Film Festival!

Then – the San Francisco 49ers mark the 30th anniversary of their first Super Bowl win with a “Night Under the Stars!” See highlights from the event where fans relive the winning moments alongside the players who made the plays! Finally, it’s a super sexy Sideline Distraction segment with the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders. Check out the ladies as they strut their stuff down the runway at LIV nightclub on Miami Beach and reveal the coveted cover of their annual swimsuit calendar…and hear from the two women whose photo was the winning shot! All this and more, right now… On The Flipside!

Three cheers for Alexa Flutie

By Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa with Megan Johnson
The Boston Herald
September 23, 2011

Here’s football hero Doug Flutie’s daughter, Alexa, all — ahem — grown up!

Alexa, a New England Patriots cheerleader, and her teammate Brianna Kounelas are the Miss Septembers in the pep squad’s 2012 swimsuit calendar. And while Dougie’s daughter said the bathing suit shoot in Aruba in April was a real day at the beach, she’s more of a fan of the pompom gals’ game uniforms than her purple bikini.

Alexa and Brianna
“I have to say, the regular uniform you see on the posters is a favorite,” Alexa told the Track. “But so is what we call ‘The Elvis,’ which has bell-bottoms, flared-out sleeves and it’s all in sequins. It’s very cool, and I’m sure we’ll break it out when it gets a little cooler.”

Flutie said it was her girlhood dream to be a Pats cheerleader and one day cheer for her dad. But the year Doug rejoined the Patriots, Alexa was only 17 and was ineligible to try out.

“So I tried out every year I was in college and didn’t make it, but this year was my year,” she said.

Alexa said she’s not cheering over the fact that the siss-boom-bah squad will be at home Sunday when Tom Brady [stats] & Co. head to the hinterlands to play the Buffalo Bills. Because, as you know, her dad was the Bills’ QB, and she has a few fond memories of Buffalo — especially Doug’s local fave, Uncle Joe’s Diner.

“My dad really adopted Uncle Joe’s when he was there,” said Alexa, who teaches dance and cheerleading since graduating from Dean College. “So we adopted it like he did. The people were so friendly and they made a great turkey dinner.”

In fact, the Flutie family popped into the Buffalo diner a couple of weeks ago when Doug, wife Laurie and Alexa traveled up to London, Ontario, to watch Alexa’s BF, Everett homey Peter Giannikopoulos, play wide receiver for the University of Western Ontario’s Mustangs.

“I actually met (Peter) in a club in Boston and he asked me out the following Sunday,” Alexa told the Track, “He only knew my first name, so when he came to the house to pick me up and he saw my dad in the kitchen he finally put it all together. It was pretty funny.”

2011 Clippers Spirit Dance Team Photo Shoot – Part Deux

Greetings, sports fans! As promised, I’ve got the goods on the latest Clippers Spirit photo shoot. (Sadly, this may be my last Clippers field trip, as I think I managed to simultaneously piss off at least 2/3 of the team. More on that later.) For now, let’s just enjoy, shall we?

So this photo shoot took place at the Clippers practice facility. I’d never been there before. And even though it was pretty close to a Target store I visit fairly often, I’d never noticed it before. Nice place. Snazzy! Lots of cool toys.

This is also where they filmed “Blake Like Me” for Norm MacDonald’s new show. If you haven’t seen it, click here. It’s hilarious. (Mostly. It sort of fizzles at the end.)

Once inside, I ran into Audrea, the team’s director, and followed her down the hall to where they were all set up for hair and makeup.

Audrea was there, of course, and her sister Adrianne, who always assists with this kind of thing. The photographer was busy setting up in the gym, and there was also a small crew there to do interviews for the dancers’ video profiles to go on the website. The dancers had staggered arrival times, so there were only a few there at first. Since there wasn’t much going on, I took a few minutes to poke around. There was the obligatory trophy/award case. There was a big training room will all sorts of cardio and weight machines. There was the basketball court, of course. And there was a room where I assume the guys watch game videos/soaps/talk shows, or whatever.

There was a box in the corner where I found a couple of intriguing items, which I would’ve smuggled out of there, except for stealing is wrong.

One of them was an oversize basketball. It was the size of a small beach ball. Since it was obviously too big to go through the hoop, I don’t know what it was there for. The other thing was DeAndre’s hand. A life-size, laminated cut out of the Clippers center’s left hand, affixed to a 3 foot pole. I was instantly fascinated by this thing. I carried it around for a while, asking people to shake my hand, gimmie five, and talk to the hand because the face ain’t listenin’. I thought this was hilarious.

You know how when you think something’s funny and no one else does? Yeah, it was like that.

I found it even more hilarious when I discovered its purpose. The coaches or trainers or whoever use it during practice to simulate the reach of a big guy like DeAndre or Blake or Chris Kaman. I have this picture in my head of a five foot tall trainer running around waving that hand over his head, squealing like a girl, while the team pelts him with basketballs. That’s probably not how they use it, but there was no one around to provide a proper explanation.

All of the girls went through makeup first. Smokey eyes and red lips for everyone!

Meanwhile, the Maury Povich show was playing on the flat screen. Who even knew this show was still on tv? It was one of those paternity test episodes. We were ALL relieved to find out that Tavares isn’t the baby’s daddy.

Of course, nobody was more relieved than Tavares.

The next step was hair. I am sort of fascinated by the whole hair styling process. I find it interesting that a key step in making a good hairdo is to first make it look like squirrels are nesting in it.


Gina is the stylist. She does not approve of Bump-its.

Somehow I always miss the part where goes from looking like this, to looking all smooth and polished.

After hair and makeup, the girls got dressed in their new costumes. I am in LOVE with these dresses. I believe I have gone on record before as being a fan of a well-placed ruffle or two. (In moderation, of course. Nobody wants to see an entire dance team fixed up like Little Bo Peep.)

I totally dig this twist on the jersey dress. If you ask me, the ruffles make the dress. Looooove it. Can’t wait to see it on.

So I’m sitting there, thinking happy little thoughts. I love photo shoots. I have an extremely large basketball. I have DeAndre’s hand. I got to see the team facilities. The girls have new dresses. Tavares is single man. Hey if it weren’t for this lockout, I wouldn’t know about any of this stuff. Silver linings!

Unfortunately, I made the mistake of voicing my sentiments out loud:

“Hey, is it wrong that I’m sort of HAPPY about the lockout?”

SILENCE.

“What?”

DEAFENING SILENCE.

Expressions ranging from completely stone-faced to “Oh no she DI’NT.” With a smattering of “This chick has lost her damn mind.”

Wow, I think I just offended the whole team and the director in one fell swoop.

Katrina was all “WHAT??? NO! We want to dance!”

So I immediately started backpedaling: “Um…what I meant to say was I’m glad about it right now because we have all this extra stuff for the website, but it’s not like I want the lockout to last. I mean, I hope it’s over, like, next week. Or today, even…”

It was too late. I was drowned out by a chorus of girls discussing how the main thing about being on the team is dancing and if there aren’t going to be any games, they might have to bust into the Staples Center and dance anyway. Even if the place is empty.

Thank goodness it was time for the shooting to begin. I for one was more than ready for a change of subject.

The photographer did the girls’ individual photos first.



Jacy


Shannon


Brittany


Anasheh


Ariana

After that, they did some groupings for upcoming features for Clippers.com.


Katie and Jocelyn are both from Utah.


Jacy and Katrina are roomates.


These are the Pac 10 girls.
Or maybe it’s Pac 12. I don’t know. I’m confused.


While some girls were shooting, others were doing their interviews.

But that still left plenty of time for hijinks.



Bianca’s other job is ninja assassin


Bianca, Katie, and Jessie


Ariana, Anasheh, Rachel, Bianca, Katrina, Jacy, Jessie, Michelle, and Becca.


No dancers were harmed during the course of this filming.


Jessie (really hoping Kellie doesn’t get that lipstick on her.)


FAIL.
Ok, let’s try that again.


I don’t know what they’re doing either.


Blondes have to stick together


After that, they did one big group photo. Check out the finished product! (Click on it to see it BIGGER.)

And then everyone changed clothes, veterans in shorts, rookies in skirts.

The veterans had been through this before, and they knew whichever group was ready first, would shoot first and – most importantly – could leave first. So they made sure they were the first ones out of the gate.



Anasheh, Katrina, Kellie, Jocelyn, Bianca, Brittany, and Rhea

The rookies were next:


Sara, Ariana, Jacy, Shannon, Jessie, Rachel, Michelle, Becca, and Katie

And then the shoot ended, as these things normally do, with people gradually drifting out the door and dancers headed to IN-N-Out or wherever since they probably hadn’t eaten anything that day.

Of course, I took lots more photos than these. You can see the rest of them on my flickr page. [Click here.]

I don’t *think* they’re mad at me anymore. Then again they might be, after they see some of these photos. I may have to keep a low profile for a while.

Detroit’s Dynamic Duo Lead the Pride Cheerleaders into their Second Season: An Interview with Andrea Wilamowski and Stacey Latona

Andrea Wilamowski and Stacey Latona created and direct the Detroit Pride Cheerleaders

The synergy of creative singer/songwriters and supportive radio personalities took the 1960’s Motown sound from Detroit to worldwide acclaim. Such synergy is also exemplified by the two creators of the Detroit Pride Cheerleaders. Andrea Wilamowski, an experienced entertainer as a singer/songwriter herself, and Stacey Latona, a radio personality and media marketing pro, are in the process of taking their Detroit Pride Cheerleaders creation to more and more acclaim as each day passes. Andrea and Stacey saw a need for a talented and beautiful dance squad to support their local Detroit Lions, and have been through an interesting journey as they have formed the Pride as the “unofficial” Detroit Lions cheerleaders. The Pride Cheerleaders have become a visible fan favorite, with their indefatigable goal to take the next steps, actually dance steps, on the Ford Field sidelines. Andrea, the Director of Operations, and Stacey, Director of Marketing, now have a squad, in their second unofficial season, with the look and the presence of an experienced NFL dance team. Andrea and Stacey share with UltimateCheerleaders.com their complementary talents, their hard work and determination, and a look into their crystal ball of the Detroit Pride Cheerleaders’ future.

Both Andrea and Stacey are native Michiganders with their own personal history of cheer, dance, and fanatical sports support. Andrea explains, “I was actually born in Battle Creek, Michigan, but from the age of one, I grew up in a small city in northern Michigan called Frankfort. Truly a city where everybody knows your name! Football and school spirit is a huge part of life in Frankfort and I loved to watch it, learn it, and cheer for it! I cheered all through grade school, high school, and danced in college. I loved all sports actually and besides being a cheerleader, I played basketball and ran track. And, if anyone ever was to question my pride and spirit, let it be noted that even back in high school, I was voted ‘Most School Spirited!’ (among other things) in my senior year! I grew up with football in my family and probably watched almost every Detroit Lions game ever played! After graduation, I went to Michigan State University to study corporate business and pre-law. I was a part of the MSU Motion dance group as I have always been in love with cheering, dance, and football. I am a firm believer that they all truly go together to form an amazing experience!”

Andrea is Director of Operations

Stacey’s history includes pro dance, as she details, “I was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in Farmington Hills, Michigan where I attended Farmington High School. I danced growing up from a young age and was a Farmington Rocket Cheerleader from eight years old to thirteen. I kept cheerleading into high school and later on danced semi-pro for the Mid-Michigan Great Lakers semi-pro basketball team in Saginaw.”

Sports in Michigan, and Detroit in particular, are an important part of the fabric that bonds their citizens. As Andrea explains, “It starts at an early age in Michigan. I grew up in northern Michigan where football is huge. People eat, sleep, and breathe football, especially Lions football. The proof is happening right now. The Lions suffered through so many losses but their fans continued to support them. Even when the economy was at its worst, fans still managed to save enough for tickets to come out and support ‘their team!’ The Ford family may truly own the team, but the spirit and pride of the people in Michigan is so great that they too feel a sense of ownership that dedicates them to the Lions.”

Stacey adds, “Detroit doesn’t have oceans to go hang out at or mountains to go hike. We’ve got boating and sports! Our teams are why we gather. We are all united in some way and it’s different than larger cities. When LA came to play the Pistons back in the day, fans found out where the Lakers were staying in Birmingham and were loud outside all night trying to keep them awake so they would play poorly the next day. Now that is dedication. My husband, who I was dating at the time and was from LA, said no one in LA would ever take the time to do something like that. We just love our teams and when we are winning, it’s like nothing else.”

Stacey, center, Director of Marketing and Advertising, during halftime of the big Lions win over the Chiefs on September 18th

Both Andrea and Stacey emerged from college to begin careers in entertainment, using their vocal talents in different ways. For Andrea, it was singing, “While at Michigan State, I was offered a singing contract on a major record label in Nashville, Tennessee, and I accepted the opportunity and moved there to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. I was fortunate to write music with many famous musicians, touring the states, and recorded an album or two. I lived in Nashville for eight years.”

On the flip side, Stacey was using her voice to begin a radio career with a sports focus, “After graduating from Specs Howard School of Broadcasting, I spent the next eight years as an on-air personality, from nights in Sault Saint Marie on WYSS Yes-FM to mornings in Toledo on WVKS KISS-FM to mid-days in Phoenix, Arizona on the EDGE. After my years on air, I turned to radio advertising sales and marketing. Since joining the sales side of radio in Detroit, I’ve worked for WRIF, WCSX, WYCD, to name a few. I was Sports Sales Manager at WXYT 1270 Sports Talk which began my love affair with sports marketing, account executive at 97.1 The Ticket, and am now an Integrated Media Specialist for Clear Channel Radio where my energies are focused on our sports station, WDFN 1130 The Fan. Since I love sports, it is easy to get clients excited about a sports station I’m passionate about.”

Andrea and Stacey take the sum total of their personal experiences, and applied them as they created the Pride Cheerleaders, as Andrea explains, “I learned so much and gained tons of experience in the entertainment world. Some things that I loved, some that I questioned, but all experiences that have helped me in the decisions and actions that have helped to form the Detroit Pride Cheerleaders. My experience in the industry is priceless and it has helped me to persevere, remain determined and focused, and not be discouraged through this entire process. Big changes like this don’t happen overnight. All I know is that I am having an amazing time meeting the fans and watching our program grow by leaps and bounds every day.”

The Detroit Pride Cheerleaders at the Eastern Market tailgate

Continue reading “Detroit’s Dynamic Duo Lead the Pride Cheerleaders into their Second Season: An Interview with Andrea Wilamowski and Stacey Latona”