Nashua native and Patriots cheerleader enjoying Super Bowl

By Albert McKeon
Nashua Telegraph
February 5, 2012

The last few days have been a whirlwind for Brittney-Lynne Stanley.

The 21-year-old Nashua native received a police escort to Logan International Airport in Boston, flew a chartered jet to Indianapolis and has bounced from event to event while preparing for a football game that will capture the attention of millions.

That football game is the Super Bowl. Stanley is a New England Patriots cheerleader, and from the sidelines, she will have one of the best views of the game – in between cheers and celebrations of what she hopes will be many Pats touchdowns.

“It’s so cool,” Stanley said in a telephone interview Friday after she and her fellow cheerleaders finished a dress rehearsal at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis, the site of Super Bowl XLVI.

The squad had just practiced its pregame routine and was part of a somewhat private audience for Kelly Clarkson practicing the national anthem.

From the stadium, the cheerleaders were headed to a team media event, and later a full practice.

The Patriots will be the only cheerleading squad at the Super Bowl, Stanley said. The New York Giants don’t have a squad, nor do they have a mascot, she said.

During the game, the cheerleaders will stand on the Patriots’ side of the field.

Because it’s the Super Bowl and not a Patriots home game, the squad will perform its usual dance routines but to different music, Stanley said. But the cheerleaders still can dance to the team’s signature song, “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne, as well as their touchdown and extra-point songs, she said.

Stanley can’t believe she’s part of the Super Bowl frenzy.

It started with the squad – along with friends and family of Patriots players and staff – receiving a police escort Thursday from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., to Logan Airport.

“It was, like, shocking to see police stopping traffic for us,” she said. “It was a humbling experience.”

They flew to Indiana on a chartered plane and attended a Patriots welcome dinner that night. Team owner Robert Kraft sat with the cheerleaders and relayed that his wife, Myra, who died last year, was a supporter of the squad.

“He is such a genuinely nice guy,” Stanley said. “It was nice to meet the boss.”

On Friday, Stanley attended an event featuring former Patriot Tedy Bruschi, who suffered a stroke during his career, and Spaulding Rehabilitation Center. Then it was off to rehearsal, the media event and practice.

Linda Stanley, Brittney-Lynne’s mother, isn’t sure yet where she’ll watch the Super Bowl, but she hopes a television camera will focus on her daughter just long enough to make the experience complete.

“It would be amazing if I could see her,” Linda said.

It was Linda who encouraged Brittney-Lynne to try out for the cheerleading squad. With the exception of a year in junior high school, Brittney-Lynne had never been a cheerleader, her mother said.

Stanley has danced most of her life. In 2009, she performed in “Swing” with the Teen Actorsingers and previously had choreographed “Once Upon a Mattress” with the Peacock Players.

But Linda told Brittney-Lynne about the Patriots, suggesting that she give it a shot. Brittney-Lynne attended a workshop and then tryouts, ultimately making the squad.

Brittney-Lynne is studying arts and entertainment management, with a concentration in dance, at Dean College in Franklin, Mass., while performing with the cheerleaders. It’s her second year with the squad, and she is one of four captains.

Since touching down in Indianapolis, Brittney-Lynne has been texting her mother about what she’s doing next. Linda doesn’t answer because she figures her daughter is busy, but appreciates the updates.

After the Super Bowl, Stanley and the other cheerleaders will attend a postgame party and then fly home Monday.

She hopes there will be one more party, a championship celebration in Boston.