The Los Angeles Clippers recent run in the NBA playoffs have energized the city in ways that it has never been before. With the high flying dunks of Blake Griffin and the arrival of future hall of fame point guard Chris Paul, the Clippers have brought a new excitement that has been lacking with the Lakers recent play.
There’s a new sheriff in town and he wears red, white and blue.
The St. Louis Rams have one of the most impressive cheerleading squads in the NFL. Now I may be a little biased because when I was growing up in Los Angeles, the Rams were my favorite NFL team. I grew up watching Roman Gabriel and the Fearsome Foursome. I agonized when the Rams seemingly lost every year in the playoffs to the Dallas Cowboys in the early 70’s. I endured quarterbacks Vince Ferragamo, Dante Pastorini, Bert Jones, and a bevy of pretty boy signal callers. And I remember the Embraceable Ewes, the Rams first attempt at fielding a professional cheerleading squad.
So you can say, I have had a long love affair with the Rams. They were my team as much as I can call any NFL team my own. But when the Rams left Los Angeles in 1995, the realities of teams moving on to greener pastures kind of killed that. I have since become a season ticket holder to the San Diego Chargers, the only remaining team left in Southern California. NFL football is no longer a life or death existence for me. Its just an enjoyable way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
But you never forget your first love and as my “hard core” passion for NFL football has waned, I still have a special place in my heart for the Rams…the St. Louis Rams.
This past Tuesday, I was fortunate to cover the 2012 St. Louis Rams Cheerleaders Final Auditions. And let me say, that passion was rekindled.
The 2012 St. Louis Rams Cheerleaders final auditions were held at The Pageant Theatre in the Delmar Loop district. Fans were lined up well before the doors opened at 5:00 pm. The festivities were scheduled to start at 6:30 pm and would include an interview portion, a swimwear segment and a final dance audition.
This was my first pageant style audition final and I was concerned about where I would be able to shoot from, so I got to the venue a little early to check out the floor plan and the lighting. My concerns were unwarranted because venue was amazing and Keely Fimbres, the Rams Director of Special Events, ensured that I had full access to cover the event.
And it was an amazing event, non stop action from the moment the finals began…but I am getting ahead of myself.
When I arrived the girls were finishing up a last minute run through. Upon completion of the rehearsal, the girls queued up for make up and hair. With 51 finalists, this was a major undertaking, but one well worth the effort for this was not an audition as so much as it was a formal performance in front of a live audience.
While they were getting made up, the Captains arrived. Three of them would be on the 2012 squad and two were retiring from the squad They would be leading off the festivities with a performance, but I took the opportunity to take a few posed photographs of them in their Angela King designed uniforms.
2012 Captain Christa
2012 Captain Ashley
2012 Captain Tiffany
Retiring 2011 Captain Shannon
Retiring 2011 Captain Megan L.
For me, one of the highlights of the year is the Arizona Cardinals Cheerleader auditions. It is an event that I look forward to not only because I get to photograph some of the most beautiful girls in Arizona, but I enjoy the whole vibe that Phoenix has to offer. It’s youthful, hip and a heck of a lot more friendly than my hometown, Los Angeles. And Director Heather Karberg and her staff of Cardinals Cheerleaders always make me feel welcome, so you can say their annual auditions are something that I eagerly anticipate.
And this year, it was worth the wait.
The Arizona Cardinals have selected their 2012 squad. To see who made it, click here.
And to see photos from their auditions, stay tuned…because the only place to see photos of the 2012 Arizona Cardinals Cheerleader auditions is right here!
Just a reminder that the 2012 Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders Auditions are this Saturday at the Arizona Biltmore Resort.
For more information about the 2012 open call auditions, please visit the Cardinals web site here.
Orange County, California is known as a hotbed of athletic talent. The region produces some of the world’s best professional athletes from baseball, basketball, football, softball to water polo. But what you might not know is that Orange County is a hotbed of dance talent as well. The area has a number of dance studios that feed local colleges and universities, which in turn serve as feeder programs to professional cheerleading and dance teams. And one of the newest professional squads is the Anaheim Bolts Dance Team.
The Anaheim Bolts are a professional soccer team that plays in the Premier Arena Soccer League (PASL). In their first year of operation, the Anaheim Bolts wisely chose to field a dance team, mining the talent rich area to fill out their roster of beautiful and talented dancers. I was fortunate enough to attend last Sunday’s season ending game to photograph the Anaheim Bolts Dance Team.
Let me say, that my first impression of this team was amazing. These girls are very beautiful…as is customary with professional cheerleaders…but I got a chance to talk to most of the girls and they’re really nice as well. That is to say that they are not only good looking, but women of substance as well. Well rounded and well spoken, these girls are excellent representatives of the organization because they are not only great dancers, but a vital component in reaching out to the community and marketing the team.
If you think about the two most renowned cheerleading squads in professional sports, you probably would think the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and the Lakers Girls. Why? They represent two of the most successful teams in their respective sports and as such garner the most notoriety. And they are the only two squads that have had movies made about them…at least to my knowledge.
They are the best of the best. And in the NBA, the gold standard is the Laker Girls.
On the last home game of the season, the Chargers hosted the Baltimore Ravens before a Sunday Night Football audience. With the Texans loss earlier in the day, the Ravens entered Qualcomm stadium as the #1 seed in the AFC. At the conclusion of the game, the Ravens held the #5 seed pending the outcome of the Steelers vs the 49ers game on Monday. The football gods are a fickle bunch and apparently so are the Chargers.
In a game that looked like a balanced affair on paper, the Chargers came out strong and dominated the once and future king of the AFC conference. Philip Rivers solved his early season turnover problems to lead the Chargers to victory against the surprisingly ineffective Ravens. Charger running backs scored three rushing touchdowns and the Charger defense forced Ravens QB Joe Flacco into throwing two critical interceptions. In the end, the Ravens were never really in the game as the Chargers pretty much dominated from start to finish. Final score: Chargers – 34 Edgar Allen Poes – 14.
I must admit that the real attraction for me on this Sunday was not the prime time match up of AFC powers. No, it was the Charger Girls in their blue velvet Christmas uniforms, always a fan favorite.
I look forward to the Christmas game every year because I love the blue velvet uniforms. They’re sexy and I love the way the cut of the uniform flatters the feminine form. And apparently I am not the only that like the Charger Girls in their holiday best. Max Max, the road warrior and our former Arizona Correspondent, abandoned his hometown Cardinals (yet again) to join me in San Diego to photograph the hottest dance team in the NFL. He drove out from Phoenix in the morning, tailgated in the Bud Light Power Party, watched the game, and then drove all the way back to Phoenix. For those people who don’t know it, Phoenix is a five and a half hour drive each way from San Diego. The guy is nuts, but I digress.
And yes, the Charger Girls look very sexy in their blue velvets…just ask the group of 10 – 13 year old boys sitting behind me who must have gone through puberty in the span of the game. Yes. The Charger Girls were a big hit in my section and those boys really liked looking at Max’s Charger Girl calendar.
Well, let begin this week’s coverage by featuring the Line Captains: Natalie, Katie, Lauren O., and Tiffany.
Congratulations to Line Captain Lauren O. who was selected as the Pro Bowl Cheerleader for the Charger Girls.
Lauren is a third year Charger Girl and a first year Line Captain. She graduated from Sonoma State University with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and is the owner of two mobile dance companies that teach dance, cheer and creative movement to local school children.
Congratulations Lauren!
Two weeks ago, the Chargers were reeling from six consecutive losses that put them out of the playoff hunt. Two weeks later, the Chargers are riding high after two consecutive wins, reversing their losing streak. The latest victim of the Chargers’ resurgence were the Buffalo Bills, who flew into San Diego to escape the cold.
In a game that should be have been more competitive, the Bills could only score three points on offense while the Chargers rode the arm of Philip Rivers for 240 yards and three touchdowns. The Bills scored their only touchdown on a recovered Philip Rivers fumble, while the Chargers generally stampeded the Bills all day long. Final score: Chargers – 37, Tatonkas – 10.
And speaking of flying in to escape the cold, James our fearless publisher joined me in San Diego to take in all that Charger Girl goodness…and goodness there was.
James doesn’t get out to this part of the country often, so this was a rare treat…being able to shoot the Charger Girls and being able to chat long and ad nauseum about the blog and libertarian politics. The last time James was out here was in 2008, so I hope he took advantage of the opportunity to photograph one of the hottest dance teams in the NFL.
Enough shop talk. Let’s begin this week’s coverage of the absolutely fabulous Charger Girls with the immensely talented Line Captains: Natalie, Katie, Lauren O. and Tiffany.
The Charger Girls are absolutely gorgeous and I absolutely love photographing them. Over the course of this season, I have gotten some great shots and have featured my favorite images in the Charger Girl of the Day segment. And this week, I’d like to feature a Charger Girl who has given me some absolutely amazing shots this year. She’s beautiful. She’s an amazing dancer. And she has eyes that sparkle. Introducing this week’s Charger Girl of the Day…Angela.
I must say that Angela has the most beautiful and elegant high kicks. She makes them look effortless when in actuality, a high kick is a high effort, high torque dance move. Charger Girl Angela, this week’s Charger Girl of the Day and one of my favorite Charger Girls to photograph.
