Rapids native now a Minnesota Vikings cheerleader

Wisconsin Rapids Tribune
June 5, 2012

MAPLE GROVE, Minn. — I never was a cheerleader in high school. I chickened out at the door the day of auditions. I was a cheerleader in eighth-grade; freshmen year, many thought I had been the mascot — who happened to be a first-grader.

Not everyone is cut out for a cheerleading squad, but a Wisconsin Rapids native can add professional cheerleader to her resume. If you look at the Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders roster, one smiling face, listed as “Chelsea J.” might look familiar. Last names of the cheerleaders are withheld due to security policies of the organization, said Theresa Baugus, appearance coordinator for the cheerleaders.

Chelsea attended elementary school here and seventh-grade at East Junior High and still has family living in Wisconsin Rapids. She was a student at Dance with Pam from the age of 4 until she moved. Chelsea continued to dance, even after moving to Maple Grove, Minn.

“I was on the University of Minnesota dance team my freshman year, and we cheered at the college football and basketball games on the sidelines,” Chelsea said. “I kind of got a taste for cheerleading. Being part of it on the sidelines, a front-row seat is definitely a fun experience.”

Some of her friends were Vikings cheerleaders and enjoyed it, Chelsea said. She decided to give it a shot.

Auditioning was not a piece of cake. At the first day’s open auditions, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., judges made four rounds of cuts.

“You learn a dance, then you perform it and then there are cuts,” Chelsea said.

Fifty-five women moved on to the two-week intensive training camp — less than half of the original hopefuls. Forget ponytails and sweat pants — the women arrived every day with full make-up and their hair done.

“Every day is like a new audition,” Chelsea said.

There were interviews and tests on football knowledge — and a pageant, which included speaking onstage and a swimsuit segment.

“Definitely, the scariest part for me was the pageant, because I had never done anything like that before,” she said.

Finals included a performance for the public at Mall of America. The winners were chosen by a combination of judge’s scores and online voting. More than 30,000 online votes were cast, according to the organization’s website.

Chelsea is one of 11 rookies on the 35-member squad and attends three, 3 1/2-hour practice sessions a week.

“It’s a part-time job right now,” she said. “I would say on average, 15 hours a week.”

A May 2011 University of Minnesota graduate, with degrees in health and wellness and child psychology, Chelsea also teaches preschool full-time for an organization providing services to homeless children and their families in Minneapolis. Cheerleaders have to have a full-time job, be a full-time student or be a mom. They also participate in about 400 community appearances and charity work.

“You’re surrounded by successful, well-rounded women,” Chelsea said.

Now in the public eye, Chelsea has to “step back and look at (cheerleading) as a job.”

“(I have) to portray a professional, responsible image,” she said. “That’s definitely a big change, to always be very conscious of that.”

And, with much of her family residing in Wisconsin Rapids, the question was bound to come up:

Packers or Vikings?

“I think the bottom line is they were proud I was going to be an NFL cheerleader,” Chelsea said democratically.