In her fourth season, Anne B is the perfect fit as Titans Cheerleaders captain

Sometimes, using only a measuring stick just does not measure all the right components. When Titans Cheerleader Anne B worked for a year at Disney World, based on solely on height, “I was too tall to be Tinkerbell and too short to be a princess,” Anne says. Well, anyone who spends any time with Anne will find that she is a just the perfect character combination, with Tinkerbell qualities of being light, airy, along with her own special brand of pixie dust to brighten those around her, while adding the girl next door qualities with an option to pump up the glamour beyond the realm of any old ordinary princess.

UltimateCheerleaders is pleased to feature the super wonderful Anne as she and her Titans Cheerleader sisters hit the field for one last home game today. Anne is in her fourth season as a Titans Cheerleader and her first as captain. Anne is a native of Miami, but then moved to Knoxville, and attended Middle Tennessee State, graduating with a degree in Textiles and Merchandising. Anne’s year working at Disney World involved doing merchandising in the Magic Kingdom, like their store windows. Though Anne’s height prevented her from being Tinkerbell or a princess, if she had the chance, there would have been a couple characters that she would have liked to have donned the costume. “I would be Chip or Dale; that would be fun!” Anne says.

Anne’s started dance very young at age three, and Miami had the advantage of getting instruction from excellent dance teachers. “Some of my first teachers were a lot of the teachers that were on ‘So You Think You Can Dance,’ Anne recalls. “Like Mia Michaels was my first dance teacher from Miami, so then I ended up dancing at her brother’s studio.”

Dance continued for Anne after she moved from Florida to Tennessee. “I danced in high school, and then in college I was in a dance company, and then I was a dance teacher for that company as well,” Anne smiles. “Dance has always been the thing.”

So does Anne hope dance will always be a big part of her life? “Yes, and that is why this is hard to give (Titans Cheerleading) up because I love the costumes and the make-up,” Anne says. “You feel like you are dressing up, and giving that up is such a hard thing.”

So did Anne make the Titans squad her first time she went through auditions? “I did, I didn’t expect it!” Anne remembers. “I had no idea. I found out about tryouts about a week before. And then I tried out, and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I am going to make it!’”

And this season, Anne was one of four brand new captains for the Titans Cheerleaders. Being named captain was also something that was a surprise for Anne. Does she like the new role and responsibility? “I do!” Anne responds. “It’s been different, just having to be in charge of everything. Now instead of relying on somebody else to know what dance to do, even though I try to rely on my girls a little, and where we need to be at a certain time, now you have to KNOW. And I really have to follow the game a little more than I did before.”

Anne not only loves her on the field time with the Titans Cheerleaders, but the unique experiences it brings. For instance, when I spoke to Anne prior to the late October Halloween game, she had just filmed a commercial along with Pro Bowl Titans Cheer alumnus Brooke. “Because of Titans Cheerleaders, I shot a commercial on Friday for Papa John’s with Brooke. It was really fun; I have never done anything like that.”

The commercial was filmed to be shown during CMT broadcasts of “Making the Team.” The eight hour shoot provided an extra unique opportunity for Anne. “I actually had a speaking role which was real cool,” Anne says. “I kick this plate out of this kid’s hands and I say, ‘Let’s make this tailgate better!’ And then Brooke says ‘YEAH!’”

How many times did Anne have to say her line? Anne responds, “I think like 30. It was a lot and then close-up ones where it was the ‘beauty shot’ and I had to say it. And then there was a dance party when the girl brings the Papa John’s pizza. There was only five of us, it was small. I liked it! I could do it again!”

For Anne, this was just part of the varied experiences of being a Titans Cheerleader. “Just the different things you get to do, like the trip we went to Seattle to Fort Lewis. It was so much fun to go visit the troops. ‘Waiting for Wishes’ is one of the appearances I did last year for critically ill children and they have all of the celebrities of Nashville,” Anne explains. “Or just the friends, just the memories. I love it.”

Due the time commitments of Titans Cheerleaders, Anne has been happy to move this year from managing a retail store to being an inside sales rep for Dell enterprise servers and such, which has more standard hours.

Anne is also very family focused. She gains inspiration from her mom and her most prized possession is her sister. But I had to ask about her super classy high end pets! A dog named Bentley and a cat named Prada. Anne starts with the doggie, “Bentley is huge! He is a Saint Bernard, so he is like the size of a car. We almost named him Captain Jack Sparrow; I am kind of a child at heart. So he was going to be Captain Jack Sparrow, and then Harry Potter, then I was like ‘Bentley, BENTLEY! We like Bentley!’”

Anne continues, “And then Prada, she was sitting next to my sunglasses, and kind of looked cute. So I was like Prada, PRADA! And it worked.”

So despite the fact that the Magic Kingdom may have found her too small to be a princess and too tall to be Tinkerbell, the magical world of Titans Cheerleaders finds the Anne is just the perfect fit in every dimension for her role. Bubbly and articulate, Anne amazingly can fit the role of girl next door or swimsuit super model glamorous. And for her last game today of her season number four, certainly it will be full of emotions for Anne, as she explained, “I still get goose bumps when I get out there and the music starts. You just never get used to that feeling.”

Best wishes for an excellent 2014 Anne! And of course, thank you to Stacie Kinder, the Tennessee Titans Director of Cheerleading/Entertainment, and Robbie Bohren of the Titans for all of their assistance!

There are more photos of Anne B from the Titans Cheerleaders Halloween game at this link, and check out Anne’s videos below at the Titans web site:

http://www.titansonline.com/media-center/videos/Behind-the-Pom-Poms-Titans-Cheerleader-Anne/131fa4e5-3059-4496-ab90-672a203acfed

http://www.titansonline.com/media-center/videos/Anne_B_2013/3a4634ea-a9d4-44fc-9fe7-cc14bc1cf29f