Chargers Head Cheerleader: Time to Put Up or Shut Up Against Jets
By Steve Mazzucchi
Esquire
Honestly, are there two hotter playoff teams than the Jets and Chargers? Rex Ryan, the Sanchize, and Co. have won six of seven, while Norv Turner, LT, and friends have won eleven straight. The last time they lost, Tiger Woods was a clean-cut family man.
And while Charger Girls captain Marisa has been behind them all the way, she’s not the first family member to don powder blue — her father spent the final year of a decade-long NFL career with the team. When she’s not shaking her pom-poms, Marisa studies kinesiology at San Diego State — and talks to us about some of the “worthless” hype from her team and Jets coach Rex Ryan, some of the other big games this weekend, and why LaDainian Tomlinson could join her cheerleading squad.
ESQUIRE: Whew, eleven straight wins. But the Chargers have been hot going into several recent playoffs and fallen short. Are things different this year?
MARISA: I don’t want to be cocky, but I’ve never been so confident in the team. We’ve made the playoffs all four of my seasons, but this year, I don’t have one doubt in my mind. We have all the right weapons going right now. Philip Rivers is having his best season yet, Vincent Jackson’s playing great… We’re so used to hearing Shawne Merriman’s name and LT’s name, but the whole team is stepping up. And for the first time, everyone’s walking in healthy. We’ve normally been banged up.
ESQ: Besides the established stars, who else needs to come up huge?
M: Jackson, for one — biggest Pro Bowl snub ever, huge playmaker. Malcolm Floyd. Legedu Naanee — he’s been a huge contributor in the wildcat formations. Darren Sproles, the little man, has been getting more recognition. Without punter Mike Scifres and kicker Nate Kaeding, we probably wouldn’t be where we are today. I think Nate’s gonna have a bit of revenge, because he missed one at the end against the Jets in the playoffs a few years ago, and we lost.
ESQ: Merriman’s light-switch tattoo: Do women think that sort of thing is hot or not?
M: Oh my gosh. Hot for now — as long as he can live up to that “lights out” thing this weekend. If he can’t turn the lights out, it’s worthless to me.
ESQ: New York has the top rushing offense, and you guys aren’t exactly, um, lights out against the run. Concerned?
M: We really have to step up the run defense, put the ball in Mark Sanchez’s hands, and get on the rookie — make him make decisions he doesn’t want to make. Our front seven are going to be a huge help, but our cornerbacks have also been amazing the second half of the season, not giving up huge plays over 20 yards. Our twelfth man — the fans — will be going wild, and that will be in our defense’s favor, too.
ESQ: Jets star cornerback Darrelle Revis vs. Jackson. Who walks out alive?
M: Jackson. Five-eleven doesn’t beat six-foot-five. That’s all I gotta say.
ESQ: Does your father have any thoughts on this matchup?
M: He’s not worried at all. He’s so excited. He was just talking about Sanchez being a rookie QB, how he’s really made a name for himself, but, “It’s time to send him back to New York.” Sanchez is from Southern California, so I’m assuming he’ll have a lot of fans in the stadium. He was actually at our playoff game against the Colts last season. Already scouting….
ESQ: Rex Ryan’s mouth has been about as big as his waistline lately. Does he need to just shut up and coach?
M: You can talk as much as you want, but it really comes down to Sunday and what happens on the field.
ESQ: On the flipside, there’s the slim and silent Norv Turner. Is he underrated because he looks like an accountant?
M: Ha-ha, I don’t know. Slow starts the past two seasons have gotten him on people’s bad side, but he’s kind of shut them up now with his third straight AFC West championship. He really knows what he’s doing — he’s got us to this point.
ESQ: If you Google “LT,” the first thing you see after his NFL.com profile is Slide Electric Glide. Is it the new Super Bowl Shuffle?
M: It is! We really want to do it on Sunday. We were all trying to pull it up on our phones so we could practice it. It’s been the talk of the town. That’s a side of LT we don’t get to see. Maybe we’ll see him on Dancing with the Stars. He could be on the Charger Girls, too. I’ve heard talk of them playing it at the game, instead of the San Diego Super Charger song, because they’re both pretty… cheesy, I guess you could say.
ESQ: Who’s winning this weekend’s other matchups?
M: Vikings-Cowboys — that one’s hard because Romo and the Cowboys are really hot right now. But I’m liking the Vikings — at home, Brett Favre, experienced Hall-of-Fame quarterback. A couple weeks ago, I would say Saints over Cardinals, but they seem to have lost a bit of their fire. Colts-Ravens, I’m excited because I think they can take Peyton down — meaning if we win, the AFC championship would be here. Even if the Colts win, they’ll be banged up, so I feel good about that game, even in Indy. I was sort of hoping we could get revenge on the Pats for beating us twice in the playoffs, but they are out already, and I’m fine with that.
