Pats cheerleaders big hit in Seabrook

By Nick B. Reid
Seacoastonline.com
January 19, 2013

SEABROOK — Visiting a local gas station Friday, New England Patriots cheerleaders were already getting fans fired up for Sunday’s AFC championship game.

Brittney-Lynne Stanley, a three-year veteran on the squad from Nashua, and Alanna Perry, a rookie from Andover, Mass., met fans, signed autographs, handed out posters, and promoted a New Hampshire lottery deal on Patriots instant tickets at the Seabrook One Stop.

Stanley has been to the playoffs with the Patriots three times and the Super Bowl once, but she said there’s something special about this year.

“As a team, this is my favorite season experience with the team so far,” she said. “The energy of the fans was really up last game, and we’re hoping to get them louder and on their feet this game, too.”

Perry just experienced her first playoff game. She said the fans had “way more energy.”

“Some of them don’t even sit down the whole game,” she said.

The cheerleaders have a lot on the line this week, too, since a Patriots win over the Baltimore Ravens would mean a trip to New Orleans and front-row seats to the biggest sporting event of the year. A loss means their season is over. Stanley said she is hoping to go back to the Super Bowl for a second year in a row.

“It’s amazing. It’s the biggest game of your life,” she said. “It’s the best experience ever and it’s an honor to be down there. The fans are from all over the world — they’re not just Patriots fans — and it’s really cool to see them all and be on the field.”

The playoffs mean the stakes are high, but, like the players, the cheerleaders said they are executing their jobs as they have been all season long, although maybe with a little added pep.

“We’re really superstitious, so we keep our practice habits the same all year round,” Stanley said. “During the game, we keep doing exactly what we’ve been doing all year, just extra dancing and extra cheering to get the fans pumped up.”

Stanley said she is hoping for the same outcome on Sunday as last year, when New England defeated Baltimore in the AFC championship game to earn a trip to the Super Bowl.

“Another rematch,” she said. “It’s the exact same team we played last year at home, so I’m hoping we can do the same thing we did last year and get the win.”