What I do: Emily Compagno, attorney, Raiderette
Edward Guthmann
Special to the Chronicle
the San Francisco Chronicle
April 6, 2009
Emily Compagno isn’t your typical Raiderette. A year before she joined the Oakland Raiders’ popular cheerleading squad in April 2007, she received her law degree at the University of San Francisco and passed the California Bar exam. A criminal defense attorney with a firm south of San Francisco, she balances law with the football games, dance practices, photo shoots and charity work that come with being a Raiderette.
Compagno, 29, grew up in El Cerrito and got her bachelor’s degree at the University of Washington. She’s traveled three times to Africa, including once for a law school internship in a South African township and last year as a volunteer with orphans in Uganda, Malawi and Zambia. She lives in Alameda and would ultimately like to be a legal analyst or correspondent for a major TV network.
“People in the legal field are always surprised when they learn I’m a Raiderette. I don’t broadcast it; I don’t have my team poster in the office. And there’s equal surprise when people first know me as a Raiderette and find out I’m an attorney.
“I’d been wanting to audition for the Raiderettes for a while. The irony is that I didn’t have time when I was in law school, but as a practicing attorney I did. I’ve been dancing since I was 3, so it’s natural to want that part of my life, the love of performing, satisfied. I don’t see it as an alternative or a replacement to my career. It complements my life. It’s just being me.
“Being a Raiderette is a part-time commitment but we call it a “part-time full-time commitment.” It ends up almost taking more time than being an attorney. We hold auditions in April, and then rehearsals begin right away. We fly to Hawaii to do our calendar shoot. We have a mini-camp in May. For the first six weeks we just practice at night. Then weekend practices begin in June and last through the summer until the first preseason games in August.
“There are 36 Raiderettes this season. Everyone works ridiculously hard. We’re known for the difficulty and intensity and sharpness of our choreography. Our placement on the field and our formations are very, very precise. Like, ‘Emily, I want you to back up just an inch.’ Almost like a drill team. We have multiple routines, and they’re always being tweaked to make it fresh. Karen Kovac is our director and head choreographer, and we have guest choreographers creating new routines.
“The Raiderettes were the first NFL cheer team (1960), and our uniform has not changed since then, except for alterations in fit and cut to reflect the times. We wear black shorts that are scalloped and edged with Swarovski crystals at the bottom, and on top of the shorts a silver band with a kind of swashbuckler’s tie – ’cause we’re the Raiders. We have a white top with crystals in the center and billowy long pirate sleeves. A silver vest with crystals, white Carlos Santana boots, silver Mylar poms and our Raiderette medallion.
“A game day starts for me at 6:30 a.m. That’s when I get up. We’re expected to arrive at the stadium in “Stadium Day Face” (makeup), which is different from “Game Day Face” which includes false eyelashes and glitter. Our call time is usually 8:45 or 9 a.m., and that means we’re on the field ready for roll call in our warm-up uniform.
“Then we have a two-hour practice. We’ll practice the player intro routine – what we call “tunnels” when the players come out of the tunnel. We’ll practice the pregame show, when all 36 of us dance in the center of the field. We’ll practice our quarter-break routines, which are in the end zones.
“Then we go back to the locker room and, on a good day, we have like an hour and 10 minutes to eat lunch and totally get ready for the game. Sometime we have professional help with hair and makeup, but we’re taught to do it all ourselves. Then it’s call time for the game. We go into the parking lot in two lines and kind of snake through the crowd and wave. We’re escorted by police officers on two sides so we’re like an insulated caterpillar.
“We’ll always have a prayer before going out onto the field – holding hands and everything. Then we go into the stands and take photos with attendees. We come out on the field, do our pregame show. Do player intro. National anthem. Kickoff routine. And then rally and cheer the whole game. Hopefully we’ll win. Then we flank the tunnel when everyone exits and when the last player’s off the field, we go back to the locker room. It’s a very long, exhausting day. Then most of us usually have dinner together.
“Each NFL team has its own policy about their own players dating their own cheerleaders. And in the Raiders there is no policy against it, though it is not encouraged. Yes, there are successful relationships between players and Raiderettes. But I can’t say any more than that.
“This isn’t a lucrative position by any means. But you definitely don’t do it for the money. You do it because you love it. And you do. It’s absolutely worth it. I would do it if I made nothing.”
Raiderette auditions will be April 19 at Club One, City Center, 1200 Clay St., Oakland. For more information, go to www.raiders.com.
