Monday Night Will be Prime Time to See the Detroit Pride Cheerleaders

On Monday night, the undefeated (yes, you read it correctly) Detroit Lions will host the Chicago Bears at a sold out Ford Field. And their unofficial dance squad, the Detroit Pride Cheerleaders, will be there to cheer them on! If their first regular season game on September 18th is any indication, it will be a traffic stopping, photo flash popping, crowd cheering, hot dance stepping good time for the DPC and their growing legion of fans. Although it won’t require the squad to wake up at 4 to 5 am, like they would for a Sunday 1 pm start, certainly DPC Directors Andrea Wilamowski and Stacey Latona will have their squad ready to deal with the combination of rush hour and game traffic.

For the first home game against the Chiefs, dancers from Bay City, East Lansing, and all places in between needed to converge on Detroit by 7 am for hair and make-up. By 9 am, the Cheerleaders needed to be in uniform and ready to be on their limo bus to be at the Eastern Market tailgate by 9:30. Andrea’s husband Mark teased, “I have the World’s worst job. Do you know how hard it is to get one woman to go out somewhere? Try getting 26 rounded up at the same time, ‘Get on the bus in five minutes!'” Mark’s Lion game days have gone from season ticket holder to helping out in the day long Detroit Pride Cheerleader extravaganza, but he sees the progress, saying, “They are doing things the right way, and they are getting better. Now it is growing constantly.”

Prior to their arrival at the tailgate, the PA announcer at Eastern Market was reminding the fans that the Pride Cheerleaders soon would be there. So by the time DPC exuberantly stepped off the steps of the bus, the cheering and hooting of the fans was already at a fever pitch, and kickoff was still more than three hours away. Despite the noise, Andrea said it would only increase throughout the day, saying, “It is not even crazy yet.”

The DPC marched around the tailgate as fans were drawn in their direction like threads of metal to a moving magnet. Photos and high fives abounded, and Andrea mentioned, “It’s 80% fan interaction, 20% dancing, that’s really what it is.” But as the time arrived for the performance, the DPC’s dance set seemed to belie any notion that this squad’s dance chops should be taken as anything secondary. Rather than “a single song and they’re out of there” performance, which they certainly could get away with, the DPC performed a multi-song set with a variety of music and styles.

But this was just the start of this extended game day. After more than an hour at Eastern Market, the DPC and their devoted and friendly staff, including security lead Manuel, were back on the bus for their next stops. The energy of dancing followed the DPC onto the bus, as they conversed en masse with exuberance. One strong voice came out of the back of the bus, “Andrea, that was the best time I have had dancing yet!”

It was sunny, but a cool-ish morning, certainly cooler than the pre-season games, and Danielle commented about the cooler temps, “This is much much better.” But despite the lack of extreme heat, the DPC had quite a workout at the first stop, and needed some touch-ups to their look, so calls of “Does anyone have hairspray?! Does anyone have perfume?” rang throughout. So rather than a rest, the Pride Cheerleaders’ bus ride was more of a chance to attend to their looks, discuss their squad’s “natural bouncy-ness” and the tape that was needed to prevent the dreaded wardrobe malfunctions, and encourage one another, especially the anxious rookies.

The bus stopped to split up the squad. The DPC had be asked to perform at one of the downtown casinos later that week, which is not as straightforward a request as one might think. The members that can perform at a casino have to be 21 or older, and need to have a gaming license. Therefore, a portion of the squad was dropped off at the casino to get their paperwork completed, whereas the rest continued to the next tailgates.

The remainder of the squad was dropped off at an intersection to greet tailgaters, and, at this corner, fans seemed to emerge from thin air to notice the sight of a bevy of beautiful cheerleaders being delivered right before their eyes, like some kind of fantasy portrayed in a beverage commercial. One of the Pride Cheerleaders exclaimed, “Hey, I think we stopped traffic,” and a stream of stopped cars certified the accuracy of her observation.

The DPC visited a series of tailgates as the sun’s increasing warmth lit the morning. The Cheerleaders exclaimed, “Go Lions! Have fun at the game!” as they walked amongst the fans within a couple of hours of kickoff. Walking from one appearance to the next, making sure Cheerleaders and security were aligned, Andrea commented, “That is why the operations part is such work, making sure we have people and places.” Andrea joked, “See how much easier it would be for the Lions to just have us on the field!” The appearances continued, as another DPC street crossing stopped traffic, Andrea laughed about the busy morning, “I wouldn’t even know if I got hit by a car at this point. I celebrate when I get into bed at home at night.”

Adrenaline was keeping rookie Pride Cheerleader Megan from feeling the effects of her early morning that began back in her hometown in Bay City. Megan loves dancing, and learned about the DPC through her friend Shannon, who is in her second year on the squad, serving as a captain. Megan was psyched, saying, “They sold out the last pre-season game, so that was exciting. There were so many fans already. I’m definitely just ready to be in all of the action today.” Megan studies athletic training at Saginaw State, so another aspect of being part of the DPC is learning about Detroit as a potential moving destination post-college. Megan explains, “I like this area, so I was scoping out things to do down here, too. This way, I can make some connections down here for when I graduate.”

Though waking up early was one thing, the actual sleeping prior to the excitement of her first regular season game with the DPC was another. “I could not sleep, I went to bed at three,” remembered Megan. “I work a lot, too, so I have a ton of homework to get done. So while I was lying there, I was thinking “BIOLOGY, BIOLOGY!” and I would turn the light on to read a little bit, because I thought I was just wasting time just sitting there not sleeping. So I would read and then try to fall asleep again, and I would read and then try to fall asleep again. So I had about two hours of sleep. I am okay right now, but once I take my boots off and get in the car…”

While waiting for the portion of the squad that needed to register at the casino, Andrea received a call that they were on their way, but had stopped to visit with fans that had come up from Tampa, Florida to see them. When she heard about it, Andrea knew the fans’ names right away, from knowing from their fan posts following the Pride Cheerleaders on Facebook. Soon, the entire squad was back together, and made their way for photos with one of the Lions’ well-known fans, “Blue Man.”

Director Stacey handed out DPC photo cards as they headed to their next stop, as the stunning Pride Cheerleaders walked two by two; certainly a sight that would convert Noah to be a Lions fan. The DPC are sporting new uniforms this season, as Andrea explained, “Last year, we were conservative, in that the top went went right above the belly button. But the fans wanted something more competitive, ‘NFL-ish,’ and actually, we have logos coming for the belts.” Fans gazed as the Pride Cheerleaders passed, one exclaiming, “When are you going to be on the field?! That is what I want to see!”

Next stop, a combination of meeting more fans and being featured on the local Fox station’s coverage of game day. The Cheerleaders gathered as the cameras of Fox Channel 2 captured their excitement during some “teasers” of their upcoming interview. Sportscaster Jennifer Hammond interviewed Erin, and on the air, Jennifer commented on how the DPC were right up there with the other NFL cheer squads that she sees during her road game travels with the Lions. Erin was poised and calm during the interview, at least on the outside, explaining later that her dad works in local television, “So any time that they need people on set, he grabs me, so I am kind of used to it. But yes, I was nervous.” Like her dad, Erin was a perfect TV pro.

Soon, the Pride Cheerleaders were on their way to their next performance, at noon at the largest tailgate, Elwood. Pride Cheerleader Jenelle was an Ambassador rather than dancer on this day due to a recent injury. Andrea commented, “Jennelle is a phenomenal dancer, too.” Like their first performance, the DPC performed a multiple-song set, but added on thing, their favorite part, the “fan dance.” Unlike Sally Rand, their fan dance is dancing with the tailgate fans for one big finale. The fans didn’t need to be asked twice, and men and women alike jumped in to be part of the moves.

After their performance, the DPC remained within the Elwood tailgate, met with fans, and were ready to head into the game. Wow, such a busy morning, and it is still not even game time yet! Andrea’s bag contained all of DPC’s needs, as she explains, “I keep all of their bags and clutches in mine, so I only go through security.” Throngs of fans filled the streets trying to get into the game, as increased NFL search procedures clogged all of the entrances. But some lucky fans’ waits were eased by their proximity to a couple dozen beautiful fans also waiting in line.

Andrea shared the DPC schedule, “We stay in our seats until five minutes before the half, and then we spread them out into two’s around the stadium. The fans normally just naturally form lines to take pictures, then once halftime is done, we go back to our seats. Then we stay the whole game, we don’t leave, no matter what.”

The Cheerleaders made there way out to the concourses prior to halftime, and Andrea had already received word from home viewers that the squad was shown on TV. The 24 cheerleaders were distributed throughout the stadium’s four concourses in two’s. As the fans emerged, one could see the throngs and the need to keep the Cheerleaders spaced appropriately. Andrea commented, “It is unbelievable, so intense. We had to break these girls into sections.”

The fans handed their kids to the Cheerleaders for photos. Andrea said, “This is the cutest kind of thing, right? Taking pictures with the fans, the little ones, people hand them their babies.”

The game ended, and the Lions victory produced many happy fans. The Pride Cheerleaders exited the stadium for an extended photo session outside Ford Field, including a pre-arranged meeting with the Cheboygan Junior Chargers Junior High Football team, just outside of Ford Field, for photos. Andrea explained, “These kids came all the way down from Cheboygan, Michigan to get pictures with us. They e-mailed us a week ahead of time.” Cheboygan is about as far away in the lower peninsula as you can get from Detroit, so the Pride Cheerleaders fans stretched from Cheboygan to Tampa.

More photos followed, a final strut through the Elwood, and a walk back to the bus, with many fans asking for photos along the way.

So, in super hero terms (and certainly the Pride Cheerleaders, Andrea, and Stacey qualify, comprising an authentic Justice League of Detroit Fan Happiness), the DPC day is sort of the Bizarro World NFL cheerleader schedule. Whereas most squads practice and get ready during the hours before the game, the DPC are made-up, and in-uniform during that time, and taking part in their biggest dance performances of the day. For other cheer teams, kickoff means time to stand on the sidelines and perform, whereas the DPC take their seats as fans. At halftime, often cheerleaders return to the locker room for their rest, but this is when the Pride Cheerleaders have their most intensive fan interactions of the game. And when the final gun sounds, NFL cheer teams generally make the trek to the locker room to finally get out of uniform, but when the clock runs down at Lions games, the DPC get up from their seats and begin another round of fan interaction.

It was finally time for the Detroit Pride Cheerleaders to step back on the bus that had picked them almost eight hours before. Perhaps due to the fact that Andrea knows that the DPC main role is fan interaction, one could not meet a more cordial, hospitable ensemble as Directors Andrea and Stacey, security head Manuel, Andrea’s husband Mark, and, of course all of the Cheerleaders. But more likely, it is because they are all amazing, genuine, nice people. UltimateCheerleaders thanks them all for allowing their day to be covered, and we hope to see the sidelines version of the Detroit Pride Cheerleaders next. After all, look at the numeros Lions: 2009 (no DPCs yet), Lions 2-14; 2010 (about a dozen DPCs), Lions, 6-10; 2011 (about two dozen DPCs), Lions 5-0; 2012 (let’s hypothesize, two dozen DPC on the sidelines), Lions, first ever Super Bowl? The Lions can speak to the Bears Monday night, and learn all about their own dreaded “Honey Bear Curse.”

No matter what, the Detroit Pride Cheerleaders are an undefeated combination of Lions fanaticism, amazing talent, and all around gorgeous-ness, inside and out. Here are some more photos from the Chiefs game. Left click on it to see the entire photo, then left click on that to see all its full-sized goodness.