The Battle for California: the 49ers vs. the Chargers

Fall weather returned to Southern California just in time for the playoff run.  The San Francisco 49ers flew into town to battle their in state rival, the San Diego Chargers, in a game that would determine their playoff fate.  A loss this late in the season would inevitably doom the loser to post season oblivion,

On paper, this game seemed to be an even match between two inconsistent, but talented teams in the midst of their division races.  But in reality, the Chargers showed that the 49ers have a way to go to be considered worthy of such an honor.  Philip Rivers threw three touchdown passes to Vincent Jackson and the Chargers defense stifled the 49ers, giving up only one meaningless touchdown in the last three minutes of the game.   The Chargers soundly defeated the 49ers, 34 – 7.

In the Battle for California…advantage San Diego.

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And now, we begin the stream of consciousness portion of our article.  I have often wondered if people read my articles or if they just look at the photographs.  We shall see, but I am getting ahead of myself.

Last Sunday in Qualcomm stadium, it was announced that the rock band Foreigner would be playing in the Bud Light Power Party at the final home game of the season.  I found it a little curious that they would play a pregame party, but I was up to hear them play.  I am more of a The Clash kind of guy, but a free concert is nice.  I would later find out that they were promoting a new album and during the game, their songs would be played while the Charger Girls danced.

While in the power party, CG Maria informed me that she and a few of the other Charger Girls would be performing along with Foreigner on the stage.  Now that’s cool.  Unfortunately they were scheduled to perform around 4:15 PM and I would already be inside the stadium.  I like to get in early to avoid any potential hassles and being that this was the last game, I was going to try to bring in my long telephoto lens.  If you have read my prior article, Odysseus and the Charger Girls, you may remember my difficulty in doing so.  Other ticket holders have reported to me that they had no issue bringing in and using such equipment recently, so I wanted to see if I could too for this special game.

Fortunately, I was able to bring it in and was able to get some decent shots of the Charger Girls in their famous Blue Velvet Christmas Uniforms.

Okay let’s begin this week’s coverage of the Charger Girls with the Line Captains: Tiffany, Katie, Giselle and Ashlie.

While in the Bud Light Power Party, I met several friends and family of the Charger Girls.  I met Giselle’s parents and her boyfriend.  I ran into Brianna’s mother.  And I had the opportunity to meet Kylie’s grandmother and her father, who knew of me from my personal website, thehottestdanceteam.wordpress.com.  It was nice meeting them and getting to chance to chat with them.

I visit the Power Party often, usually to get a calendar or photo autographed.  But I also hang out there to chat with the Charger Girls and garner a tidbit of information or two.  For example, I discovered Amy is 28 years old (she looks a lot younger, if you ask me!) and has a beautiful daughter.  I usually don’t include photos of children, but I had her permission, so I snapped one with my iPhone 4.

And in talking to the girls, I sometimes answer their questions about the blog or my articles.  Courtney asked me if I was still recognizing a Charger Girl of the Day.  Apparently, she missed out on last week’s honoree and wondered if I discontinued the practice.  I assured her that I still recognize the CGOTD and will continue to do so in the future.

Well I hope she catches this week’s Charger Girl of the Day.

Introducing Courtney, this year’s final Charger Girl of the Day.

Okay.  Let’s continue with the stream of consciousness thread.  Since this is the last game of the season for me, I thought I would include some tidbits of information about the Charger Girls.

Here are a couple of photos of Jessie and Lauren P., both former Clippers Spirit Dancers and current USC students.  I feel obligated to recognize their school because my school, the UCLA Bruins lost…again…to the rival USC Trojans…so this is my way of paying my respects.  Jessie and Lauren P. are two of the nicest Trojans you’ll meet…and two of the most beautiful.

We have many girls who were dancers for other professional squads on this team.  Starkesha danced for the Detroit Automotion for three years and Brianna and Maria are former Inland Empire 66ers Spirit Dancers.   The Inland Empire 66ers are a minor league baseball team and I had a chance to visit them earlier this year for UltimateCheerleaders.com.

And Culture and I have something in common.  She is a second year Charger Girl, but her rookie year was back in 1999…the first year I became a Chargers season ticket holder.  I am not going to venture how old she is, but she looks terrific in the uniform and I hope she is an inspiration for all those women who want to try out but feel like they might be too old.  There’s no age limit here as long as you look good in the uniform.

And speaking of determination, I discovered that Marissa first tried out when Ashley M., whom I talked about a few weeks ago, was a rookie…Ashley M. recently retired from the squad after a six year career, so I applaud Marissa’s determination to keep auditioning and staying positive.  Let this be an inspiration as well.

Emma has quite a following amongst the guys in my section, who like to chant “Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oye! Oye! Oye!” for her.   As a former Australian Rugby League cheerleader, I am sure she is used to the attention.

Another favorite among the boys in my section is Anjelica, a San Diego native who spent most of her life in Colorado.  The most distinctive thing about Anjelica other than her red hair is her deep blue eyes.  She kind of reminds me of Jessica the school teacher in the animated Christmas classic, Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

Okay, we continue our stream of consciousness musings with a few photos of the two sisters on this squad, Lauren O. and Jennifer.

I often mention something or other about California Girls.  In truth, the Charger Girls attract girls from all over the country and I appreciate what they bring to the squad.  Ashlie is from Ohio, Emily is from Michigan and Melissa is from the East Coast.

Oh…and Hannah is from Montana.  Just kidding.  She’s NOT from Montana.  Hannah, like Katie, Michelle, and Marissa, is a native San Diegan.

Hayley and Amy are from the same part of California, the Central Valley.  Hayley is from Fresno and Amy from Merced.

This next group of Charger Girls has one thing in common and that’s they all have very striking eyes.  So here are a few photos of Nicole, Amanda, and Natalie.

Natalie was recently voted the 2011 Charger Girl Pro Bowl representative.  One thing I have in common with Stephanie is a passion for photography.  She has had her images featured in galleries in San Diego.

My general impression of the Charger Girls is that they are all very goal oriented.  I guess you have to be to make the Charger Girls squad because its something that you have to plan, prepare and work hard to achieve.  And in reading the biographies of the girls, you get a sense that some are very accomplished students and will be very successful in their future endeavors.  Two who fit this profile are Kylie and Kimberly.

I remember the first time I met Kimberly.  It was her rookie season and she introduced herself to me in a very straightforward and confident manner.  That left an impression.  Kylie is majoring in Business Economics with a minor in Sociology and Supply Chain Management. I have an MBA and even I don’t want to study Supply Chain Management.

Well I guess I am coming to the end of my article on the Absolutely Fabulous Charger Girls.  Since this is my last Chargers game for this season, I thought it might be interesting to share a few tidbits about them.  They are great ambassadors of the organization and they make coming out to a Chargers game special.

So, I want to say thank you to the Charger Girls one and all.  This has been a great season and I sincerely hope that they all come back next year.

And at this point, I should recognize Director Lisa Simmons and her staff for creating such a beautiful and talented squad of Charger Girls.  This year has been truly special.

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Still reading?  Now there is a reason why I decided to write a more stream of consciousness type of article this week.  Do you remember that I posed the question if anyone actually reads my articles or is just here for the photographs?  Well, I am running a contest and the first three people who answer 10 questions correctly will win an autographed photo of the Charger Girls.  Yes, this is a first for this blog…a secret, in-article contest.  And all you have to do is post your answers in a message to this article on UltimateCheerleaders.com.

So here we go:

1)  Where is Hannah from?

2)  Which Charger Girl is from Ohio?

3)  What year did I become a Chargers season ticket holder?

4)  Who are the two sisters on this squad?

5)  What university did I attend?

6)  I was a history major in college, who is my favorite Greek hero from ancient times?

7)  What’s special about Natalie?

8)  What do the guys in my section like to chant?

9)  What do Colorado and San Diego have in common?

10)  What is my favorite musical band?

All the answers are within or can be deduced within this article.  Some answers are obvious, some are not so obvious.  The first three people who correctly answer all 10 questions and post them as a message at the end of this article will win an autographed 8” x 12” Charger Girl photo.  Message posts have date/time stamps attached to them and that will be used to determine who posted correctly first.

Due to financial constraints (namely mine), this contest is only open to those live in the United States and is for entertainment purposes only.  Contributors to UltimateCheerleaders.com are not eligible for prizes.  This contest may be stopped or discontinued at any point at the sole discretion of the UltimateCheerleaders.com.  Not affiliated with any professional sports organizations, E2K Sports, the NFL or the San Diego Chargers and should not be considered as an endorsement by these entities.