Ten years ago, the Kansas City Chiefs were the power in the AFC West with three division titles, seven playoff appearances and one appearance in the AFC championship game.  They were coached by Marty Schottenheimer and featured future Hall of Fame players like Neil Smith and Derrick Thomas.  They played a tough nosed, winning brand of football.

The 2009 Chiefs are not those guys.  On Sunday, the new-age Kansas City Chiefs rolled into Qualcomm stadium and were thoroughly manhandled by the reigning AFC West Champion Chargers.  Two touchdown passes thrown by Philip Rivers and two rushing touchdowns by LaDainian Tomlinson were two touchdowns more than needed to put away the Chiefs.  The Chargers scalped the Chiefs, 43 – 14.

I will tell you that the game was so one sided at one point, my side of the field was clear of photographers and TV crews because the action never got out of the Chiefs end of the field for most of the second quarter.  That’s good because it makes it easier for me to get clean, unobstructed views of the Charger Girls…and you know I absolutely hate anything that gets in the way of me, my camera and my Charger Girls!

As is custom, let us start this week’s coverage by introducing the Line Captains, Marisa, Tonya, Ashlie, Marlina.

This week’s Charger Girl of the Day was rocking the big, sexy hair…introducing Carly S.

Okay, some of our readers may know I went to UCLA and this past Saturday, my Bruins played our crosstown rivals, the USC Trojans…and we lost…again.  So, in honor of the Trojans beating my lowly Bruins, here’s my tribute to Troy…former USC Song Girls Nicole M. and Jacquelyn…two of the nicest Charger Girls you’ll ever meet.

And now, let us begin our parade of absolutely fabulous Charger Girls with a few photos of Natalie, Melanie, Giselle, Andrea, Michelle Carly N. and Vanesa.

And we continue our coverage with Victoria, Ashley, Belinda, Heather, Lauren, Katie, Tiffany, and Nicole L.

And let’s close this week with a few photos of Brittany R., Brittany W., Emily, Kimberly, Casie, Ashlie, and Tonya.

The Chiefs game used to be one of the biggest games of the year, but recently it has lost some of it’s luster.  A football team’s fortunes have a way of rising and falling.  And in the AFC West, teams seems to cycle through periods of dominance…the Raiders, then the Chiefs, then the Broncos and now it’s the Chargers turn.  If there’s one thing about AFC West football, teams don’t stay down for very long.  The Chiefs time will come, but not just now.

Well that’s all for a while.  The next game for me will be Dec. 20 which will feature, I hear, the Charger Girls in their blue velvet Christmas uniforms!

Happy Holidays, Charger Girl fans.

For more Charger Girl articles and photos, please check out my blog: The Hottest Dance Team in the NFL.

Last Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles flew into town to play the resurgent Chargers.  They must have suffered from jet lag because when the game mattered, Philly’s finest kicked four field goals in response to the Chargers scoring four touchdowns.  Reports of LaDainian Tomlinson’s demise proved to be premature, as the former league MVP gashed the Eagles for 96 yards and two touchdowns.  Donovan McNabb threw for 450 yards and two late touchdowns, but that was not enough to catch the Chargers who defeated the Eagles, 31 – 23.

With the win, the Chargers move into a first place tie for the AFC West with the fading Denver Broncos.  As for the Eagles, the loss drops them into a second place tie with the New York Giants in the ultra competitive NFC East.

Well, I must say that Eagle fans really support their team as thousands of green jersey clad fans descended upon the aging confines of Qualcomm stadium to cheer on their team.  As if I needed any help, I was reminded that the word “eagles” is spelled, E-A-G-L-E-S!!!  Yes, I applaud their feisty spirit.  Now, let us turn our attention to some Chargers spirit.

Nothing beats California Girls, even if some of them are transplants from Montana, Missouri, Ohio, and Texas.  Oh well, I digress.  Well, let’s start off this week’s coverage with the Line Captains: Marisa, Tonya, Ashlie, and Marlina.

And let me introduce this week’s Charger Girl of the Day…Line Captain Marisa.

Qualcomm Stadium was packed and a rousing crowd of Eagles and Chargers fans made this game feel like the playoffs.  It must have been quite an exhilarating experience for first year Charger Girls, Andrea, Belinda, Brittany R., Emily, and Tiffany.

When it was time to get the crowd fired up, veteran Charger Girls Ashley, Brittany W., Carly N., Giselle, Heather, and Vanesa led the way.

And here are a few photos of Casie, Jacquelyn, Nicole M., Kimberly, Tiffany, Natalie, and Victoria to round out our coverage of the Hottest Dance Team in the NFL.

And here’s a photo of the Charger Girls performing their second quarter break dance routine.

Also spotted on the sidelines was former Charger Girl Ashley W., who was one of the Charger Girl coordinators this week.   As readers may know, she and her mom are the primary reasons why I am a contributor to this blog.  You can read more about her here.

I hope the Eagles fans enjoyed their trip out west.  The weather was nice, San Diego’s beaches were inviting, and California Girls…incomparable.  And by the way, its spelled C-H-A-R-G-E-R-S!!!

To see more Charger Girl photos, please visit my blog, The Hottest Dance Team in the NFL.

I regularly check out the various Charger message boards to see what’s being discussed about my adopted NFL team.  I usually read some interesting tidbit about what the fans think about the Chargers.  Occasionally, I see a few of my photos posted in the inevitable Charger Girl thread.  And on rare occasions, I find a bit of cheerleader serendipity.

Let me explain.  A few weeks ago, the Miami Dolphins came to San Diego to play the Chargers.  And while I was in the Bud Light Power Party, I noticed a group of girls wearing these Dolphin tank tops.  They were all over the place, including taking photos with the Charger Girls…posing for photos with them behind the signing table, which is a no-no for most of us.  It’s a safety reason.

Anyways, I didn’t think twice about these girls because for most games, it is not uncommon for fans from the visiting team to hang around the Power Party.  Well, fast forward to yesterday.  I was perusing the Chargers’ message board and I noticed a photo of the Charger Girls.  I clicked on the photo link, which takes me to a Flickr page and I notice a couple of photos of these Dolphin girls.  I take a closer look and get the feeling that I’ve seen these girls before.  And then it hits me.  I pull up the Miami Dolphins Cheerleader’s web site and to my surprise, there they are…Fabiola, Ashton, Ashanda, Brittany F., Genesis, Tarrin, and Andrea.

I think it’s neat that the Dolphins Cheerleaders came out to San Diego to support their team.  Frankly, I always liked the idea of having the visiting team’s cheerleaders come out and perform in uniform, like you see at the Super Bowl.  That would be quite an interesting sight.  But, I am not so sure that it would be feasible or whether the home team’s squad would want to share the spotlight.

Anyway, I thought I would share this little bit of cheerleader serendipity with our readers.  Thanks to Nathan Rupert for the use of his photos under the Flickr Creative Commons license.  Check out his Flickr page here.

When the Raiders come to town, it’s always a freak show…and not because it’s the day after Halloween.  Raider fans typically paint their faces silver and black, wear funny outfits and act strangely.  I know. I used to be one…let me clarify…I used to be a Raider season ticket holder.  So, I am well aware of the oddities that usually accompany a visit from the Raiders, like the time I witnessed a Raider fan fighting a Charger fan in the parking lot…now, here’s the strange part…the Charger fan somehow extricates himself from the fracas and another Raider fan jumps in and takes his place in the fight.  Now, there are two Raider fans fighting each other.  Strange, but true.

Unfortunately for fans of a competitive fight, there was no such excitement on the field this past Sunday, where the Chargers defeated the Raiders, 24 – 16.  The final score was somewhat deceiving in that the Raiders never really threatened the Chargers after giving up a 21 – 10 halftime lead.

Now let us turn our attention to the real reason why we are all here…the Charger Girls in Halloween costumes!  A Halloween game is one of the most eagerly anticipated because of those sexy outfits.  Our Arizona Cardinals Correspondent, Max, made the trek out west to experience the festivities in person…even though there was Cardinals game on the same day.  Now you know this must be a special event to do that.  And it really is, because the Charger Girls go all out in dressing up for Halloween.

Since this was a special week, I decided to stay the entire game and photograph all of the girls for your benefit.  So, this week, I am going to do something different and show the girls and their Line Captain in the order that they appeared before my section.  But, before we get to that, let me start off this week by introducing my choice for Charger Girl of the Day, Line Captain Marlina.

Let’s start off our parade of costumed Charger Girls with Marisa’s line: Victoria, Nicole M., Brittany W., Marisa, Carly S., Michelle, and Natalie.

And let’s introduce Tonya’s line next: Brittany R., Vanesa, Andrea, Line Captain Tonya, Kimberly, Emily and Ashley.

Up next, Ashlie’s line: Carly N., Casie, Nicole L., Line Captain Ashlie, Belinda, Heather, and Tiffany.  By the way, I think Ashlie looks rather stunning as a Brunette.

And last but not least, Marlina’s line:  Katie, Lauren, Marlina, Jacquelyn, Melanie, and Giselle.

This loss to the Chargers, the thirteenth straight, must be frightening for Raider fans.  Let’s face it.  The Raiders are an organization in disarray, without the leadership or guidance to compete at the highest levels in the NFL.  And that’s a shame, because they were one of the flagship teams of the old AFL and Al Davis was instrumental in the merger with the NFL.  Unfortunately, the game has passed him by.

For Charger fans, we have the Charger Girls, who sustained us during our lean years.  And on this day, the Charger Girls, not play the on the field, were the sight to see. If you weren’t there, you missed something special.

To see more Charger Girl photos, please visit my blog: TheHottestDanceTeam.wordpress.com

Monday Night Football, a packed house, and the first place Denver Broncos coming to town meant that this game was going to be special.  The Denver Broncos sported an undefeated record and the league’s best defense, but all against several teams considered amongst the worst in the NFL.  Surely, the defending AFC West Champion Chargers would be a truer test of whether the Broncos were for real or merely a product of a weak schedule.  The Chargers and Broncos battled back and forth for three quarters, but poor special teams play doomed the Chargers. Journeyman Eddie Royal to return a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns as the Broncos carried the day, 34 – 23.

Well, if the game wasn’t so special, the Charger Girls throwback uniforms were certainly very special.  I see that they have taken their old throwback uniforms and given them a sexier makeover by cropping the top just a bit.  And I like the color scheme.  The girls looked quite nice in yellow and blue.  See for yourself.

Line Captains Ashlie, Marlina, Marisa and Tonya show off the new version of the throwback uniform.

This week’s Charger Girl of the Day really stood out the in images I captured.  Her dance ability, photogenic good looks and vivacious personality made quite an impression, introducing Heather.

Let’s take a look at some of the other Charger Girls modeling the throwback uniform.  Here’s Ashley, Jacquelyn, Emily, Giselle, Melanie, Kimberly, and Lauren

And let me introduce our Brittany R. and Brittany W.

And here are some photos of Carly N. and Carly S.

Our parade of throwback uniformed Charger Girls continues with Andrea, Belinda, Michelle, Nicole L., Tiffany, Vanesa and Victoria.

And let’s complete this weeks coverage of the Charger Girls with a few more photos of Ashlie, Marlina, Heather and Melanie.

Well, I must say the way the Chargers played was nothing special, but the way the Charger Girls looked in their Charger Girl throwback uniforms…that was quite special, indeed.  And in two weeks, we get to see the Hottest Dance Team in the NFL performing in their Halloween costumes.  The last time we featured the Charger Girls in these provocative outfits, we had one of the highest number of hits on our old website.  So, see you in two weeks.

For more Charger Girl articles and photos, please visit my blog: TheHottestDanceTeam.wordpress.com

Mark Twain once said that the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. With temperatures expected in high 50’s/low 60’s, I was thinking that my little excursion to photograph the 49ers Gold Rush cheerleaders would end in frustration. You see, the Gold Rush have, in my humble opinion, one of the best uniforms in the NFL. I love their vest and skirt combination. It’s a hot combination. But with cool temperatures forecasted, would they opt for more cold weather oriented attire?

Fortunately for me, the weather was only a tad chilly at times. In fact, it turned out to be a very pleasant day in San Francisco with plenty of sunshine and beautiful blue skies. The air was cool, crisp and clean, something I am not accustomed to…being from Los Angeles. It was a perfect day for some football…if you are not a team named the St. Louis Rams. A strong defensive effort by the 49ers and their own ineptitude silenced the Rams offense, which gained a pathetic 177 yards. As a consequence, the Niners slaughtered the Lambs, 35–0.

Oh yeah, the nice weather allowed me to get some beautiful photographs of the beautiful Gold Rush cheerleaders.

I got to Candlestick Park early to catch a pregame performance of the Gold Rush in the Bud Light Goldmine. Like many other NFL teams, the 49ers have a special area where the fans are able to meet the Gold Rush and get an autographed calendar. So, I took this opportunity to snap a few photographs while I caught up on the early games that were being shown on the numerous TVs. Here are a few photos of the Desiree, Amber, Eli, Valora, Jennifer and Chris at the Goldmine.

Candlestick Park, like the other two football stadiums in California (Oakland and San Diego), is an old baseball stadium converted for mixed use. Typically the sight lines in these stadiums are odd and at Candlestick the old baseball dugouts are still present. In fact, the Gold Rush climb onto top of these dugouts at kickoff and after the 49ers score a touchdown to perform for crowd. I guess that’s a good way to make use of an obsolete architectural design.

A regular feature in my Charger Girl Game Day reports is the Charger Girl of the Day, which highlights the cheerleader that left the most memorable impression on film. So in that spirit, I would like to introduce the Gold Rush Cheerleader of the Day, Lauren R.

Well, let’s turn our attention to action on the sidelines. Another Gold Rush cheerleader that gave a rather memorable performance was Amy, a four year veteran.

Here are a few photographs of Alexis, Brittany, Cindy, Elizabeth, Lauren D., and Rachel.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this past Sunday NFL players and their cheerleading squads wore special pink accessorized uniforms. Here are a few photographs of Tasha, Carmen, Cassandra, Erica, Morgan and Kelly wearing the pink Gold Rush outfits.

Last year, I made the drive up from Los Angeles to catch a 49ers game and photograph the Gold Rush. One girl who made a lasting impression was Jasmin. I think you can see why from the following photographs.

And let’s close out our coverage of the Gold Rush with a few photographs of Kelly, Amber, Lindsay, Meridith, Tritia, Tasha and Valora.

I love visiting San Francisco. It’s one of the world’s most beautiful cities and there are many interesting things to see and do here. With a resurgent football team and a dynamic squad of cheerleaders, I think I’m going to make visiting Candlestick Park a regular part of my itinerary. And if you are a NFL fan, you should too.

It was another hot, hot Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium.  Fortunately, the temperatures on the field only reached the low 90’s, but for the Miami Dolphins it must have seemed like they were in hot water when the Chargers launched an aerial attack in the third quarter to take control of the game.  Eric Weddle’s interception return for a touchdown sealed the victory for the Chargers, who went on to prevail 23-13.  With the loss, the Dolphins start the season with a 0-3 record and I don’t have to tell you how many teams that started the season with three losses and made the Super Bowl.

This Sunday, I headed down to the Bud Light Power Party to pass out some photos to the Charger Girls and to get a calendar signed for our fearless publisher, James.  While there I met up with an acquaintance and fan of the blog, Jeff, who gave me a copy of Raiderettes: Forty Years of Pride, Poise and Personality, a slick book documenting the history of the Raiderettes.  Apparently, these books were given out at a Raiderette reunion many years ago.  Jeff and I both attended Raiders games in Los Angeles, before becoming Charger converts when the Silver and Black skipped town.  Thanks, Jeff.

The Bud Light Power Party is where the Charger Girls sign autographs and pose for photos with fans of both teams.  For those who have never been to a Charger game, it’s a great opportunity for fans to meet the Charger Girls and soak up the NFL experience.

But enough of this small talk; let’s get on with this week’s coverage of The Hottest Dance Team in the NFL, your Charger Girls.

As is custom, let’s start this week’s coverage by introducing the Line Captains: Ashlie, Marlina, Marisa and Tonya.

This week’s Charger Girl of the Day is truly an international beauty, Giselle.

Last week, we did not get a chance to properly introduce Tonya’s line.  Let us rectify that by getting to know her line in more detail.  Brittany R. was born and raised in California.  She was a member of Orange Coast College’s nationally acclaimed dance team and aspires one day to become a doctor.

Vanesa, a second year Charger Girl, was born and raised in San Diego, California.  She was a four year member of SDSU’s cheer team and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction for Elementary School Teachers.

Andrea is originally from San Antonio, Texas and graduated from SDSU with a degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Fitness, Nutrition and Health.  She tells me that the most rewarding aspect of being a Charger Girl was being able to honor our military by performing at MCAS Miramar for Military Appreciation Day.

Kimberly, an aspiring writer, is currently taking dance classes and studying Literary Journalism at UC Irvine.  Her parents are from Southern Louisiana and her southern heritage has influenced Kimberly’s love for art, music and spicy food.

As I mentioned last week, Emily was raised in South Pasadena and attended San Diego State University.  She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Art with an emphasis in Interior Design and was a member of the SDSU Cheer Team.

Ashley is a 6th year veteran Charger Girl who was born and raised in San Diego, California.  I chatted with her two weeks ago at the Power Party and she tells me that she’s only three years shy of the record for most years as a Charger Girl (which is held by Kathy Perez at nine years, so I am told).  Personally, I’d love for her to break the record…then again, I like seeing Ashley on the sidelines on Sundays.

Now that introductions are complete, let us turn our attention to some of the more memorable images of the week.  Let’s just call this next section, Katie’s section as I have several notable photos of the peppy Charger Girl.

Heather, Casie, and Nicole L. are three Charger Girls that always make for a beautiful and interesting photograph.

Four rookies that always leave a positive impression are Lauren, Belinda, Melanie and Natalie.

And let’s end this week’s coverage with a few photos of Brittany W., Giselle, Jacquelyn and Carly N.

Well, that’s all for this week.  Next week, I’ll be up in the Bay Area to visit my nephew and take in a 49ers game, where I hope to get some photos of the 49ers Gold Rush.  And what’s coming up in the next few months?  Marisa tells me that the Charger Girls have special throw back uniforms for the 50th Anniversary AFL game, Halloween costumes for…Halloween and the venerable blue velvet uniforms for Christmas.  Can’t wait!

For more Charger Girl articles and photos, please visit my blog: TheHottestDanceTeam.wordpress.com

It was hot in San Diego, very hot. The temperature on the field approached triple digits as kickoff approached, rather uncharacteristic for Qualcomm stadium which is situated only a few miles from the beautiful Pacific Ocean. These are the dog days of summer and this is to be expected…along with the occasional wild fire that plagues the area every couple of years.

So after a spate of mediocre preseason football games, the NFL finally returned to San Diego in a big way…for the Baltimore Ravens. Ray Lewis came up big for the Ravens, stuffing Charger running back Darren Sproles on fourth down and two to go in the waning minutes of the game to preserve a 31-26 victory for the Edgar Allen Poes.

Oh well, we’ll get ‘em back in the playoffs. For now, we’ll have to content ourselves with some photos of the Charger Girls, literally the hottest dance team in the NFL.

Now that the Charger Girl bios are up on their website, let’s get to know the Line Captains. Ashlie, a native of Ohio, is in her third year as a member of the Charger Girls and her first as a Line Captain.

Marlina, a fourth year Charger Girl, was the Charger’s Pro Bowl Cheerleader representative last year and owns a cleaning company that specializes in non-toxic, natural and eco-friendly cleaning methods.

Marisa, who hails from Minneapolis, is the daughter of a former NFL player. Last year, she toured the Japan as a part of the “NFL on Tour”. This is her first year as a Line Captain.

Tonya has been a NFL cheerleader for seven years with the Redskins, Cardinals and Chargers. She owns a web site development and graphic arts company and is one of the founders of Sweethearts for Soldiers.

This week’s Charger Girl of the Day is a three year veteran who has been featured on NFL Network’s NFL Cheerleader Playoffs. Introducing, Casie.

Since we are presenting some biographical information this week, let’s start out the cavalcade of absolutely fabulous Charger Girls with our two former USC Song Girls, Nicole M. and Jacquelyn.

Good luck in the 2010 Rose Bowl Game! 😉 I kid, I kid.

Okay, let us turn our attention to the some of rookies on the squad. Belinda was born in Montana and raised in California. She’s studying to be a nurse and takes kickboxing lessons, so watch out fellas.

Carly S. hails from Sacramento, California and spent three seasons cheering in the NBA.

Emily was raised in South Pasadena, a stone throws away from where I live, and was a member of SDSU’s cheer team. Go Aztecs!

Katherine, who likes to be called Katie…and will now be called Katie on this blog, is a native San Diegan. She was a member of the nationally acclaimed Long Beach State Dance Team and a dancer for the NBA.

Lauren is originally from Napa Valley, California and graduated from Sonoma State University with a degree in Economics. She owns two mobile dance companies that teaches dance to elementary and preschool students.

Melanie grew up in RPV, that’s Rancho Palos Verdes to those who don’t know. She attended both the University of Oregon and Oregon State University and was a member of both school’s dance teams. She has been a NFL cheerleader for three years and is a first year Charger Girl. She was the Seattle Sea Gals Pro Bowl representative in 2008.

Natalie hails from Santa Maria, California and has danced professionally in the NHL and ABA. She is passionate about Chinese medicine and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in acupuncture.

Tiffany was born in Taiwan and moved to Southern California at age seven. She attended UC Irvine and was a member of their Spirit Squad. Tiffany has performed professionally in the ABA and the NBA.

Victoria is originally from a small town in the Midwest and is a graduate of Missouri State University. As a junior in college, she studied abroad in Australia and is currently employed as a design assistant for a high end design firm. She also has the distinction of being 2009’s first Charger Girl of the Day.

And now let us introduce some of the veterans on the squad. Brittany W. is in her second year as a Charger Girl and is originally from Newport Beach, California. She is currently pursuing a degree in Communications from the University of San Diego.

Carly N. was born and raised in La Canada, California (I hope your family’s house made it through the Station Fire). She is an honors student at the University of San Diego majoring in Accounting.

Casie is a third year Charger Girl who graduated from the University of San Diego with a degree in Business and Marketing. She is currently the Marketing Coordinator for a software development company.

Exotic looking Giselle is originally from Panama and graduated from the University of Texas (Hook ‘em Horns!). This is her second year as a Charger Girl.

Heather, Templeton, California’s most famous resident, is in her third year as a Charger Girl. She’s a certified personal trainer and an avid outdoor enthusiast. She enjoys snowboarding, kayaking, dancing and photography…I like photography too!

Michelle is a four year veteran Charger Girl who was born and raised in San Diego. She’s a Dean’s List student studying Nursing at SDSU and has performed as a back up dancer for Gwen Stefani during the 2003 Super Bowl.

Nicole L. is a native Southern Californian and in her second year as a Charger Girl. She discovered a passion for travel that has led her to dance professionally for Royal Caribbean International Cruise Lines. For the past seven years, Nicole L. has focused on developing her career in real estate.

Well as you can see from these photos, it was a very hot day in San Diego. I must commend the Charger Girls for enduring the hot temperatures and performing routine after routine in the blazing sun. In fact it was so hot, I almost suffered from heat stroke just watching them dance. But as hot as it was for the fans in the stands or the Charger Girls on the sidelines, I imagine that’s nothing compared to the heat on Charger coach Norv Turner.

For more articles and photos of the Charger Girls, please visit my blog: TheHottestDanceTeam.wordpress.com

Author’s note: Next week, I will complete the Charger Girl introductions by getting photos of those Charger Girls omitted this week.

As a young lad, growing up in Los Angeles, I was a Rams fan.  They had good teams in the 70’s, but somehow found a way to lose to the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs…at least that’s how I remember it.

When I was in college (Go UCLA!), Al Davis and the Raiders packed their bags and moved from the Oakland Coliseum to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.  The Raiders of the 80’s had some legendary and likable characters on that team like Lyle Alzado, Ted “The Mad Stork” Hendricks, erudite Todd Christensen, Howie Long, Matt Millen, Mr. Stickum Lester Hayes et al.

The Los Angeles Raiders were also known for the Raiderettes, Football’s Fabulous Females.  And let me tell you, those Los Angeles Raiderette squads had some very beautiful, talented and sexy girls.  Al Davis hadn’t quite lost his mind yet and he knew to win over Los Angelenos, he’d have to put a good product on the field AND on the sidelines.  I became a fan immediately and a season ticket holder a bit later.

One of the most beautiful and sexy Raiderettes of that era was Gretchen Stockdale, a former St. Louis Cardinals cheerleader who made the trek out west upon graduating from college.  In this edition of From The Archives, we focus on one of the most memorable Los Angeles Raiderettes.  Here are a few photographs of Gretchen spanning her 6 year career as a Raiderette.

Beautiful, articulate and intelligent, Ms. Stockdale earned her law degree from Loyola Marymount Law School and is currently Vice President and General Counsel  for Pilgrim Films and Television, Inc.

What’s hotter than a California wildfire?  The Charger Girls.  But before we begin our parade of sideline beauties, let me start with my annual rant about preseason football.

The third week of the NFL preseason is considered the best because the first string players usually play for a half or more.  In contrast, the fourth week of the preseason is considered the worst, since most teams rest their starters for fear of injuries.  So, what is left is a bunch of third and fourth stringers playing their hearts out to make the practice squad.  Frankly, its terrible football, but then again you get to see some things you would never see in a real game, like the Chargers trying an onside kick on the first play of the game…and recovering it.  Never happens in real life.

For those interested, the Chargers fourth stringers beat the 49er fourth stringers in dominating fashion, 26-7.  The significance of this win?  No starter was injured as a result of play.

Well, onto to what really matters.  The hottest dance team in the NFL, your Charger Girls!

As is custom, let’s start this week’s introductions with the Line Captains, Ashlie, Marlina, Marisa and Tonya.

This week’s Charger Girl of the Day is a former USC Song Girl, introducing Jacquelyn.

I like shooting nice, tight close up shots of the Charger Girls and I rarely include a full body photo.  Well, I thought I would change things up and include one.  Here’s rookie Lauren showing off the full Charger Girl uniform and demonstrating the proper posing technique…notice the toe point.

Okay, let’s get this party started by introducing some of the veterans: Casie, Heather, Michelle, Carly N., Brittany W. and  Nicole L.

And what party would be complete without some photos of the rookies: Carly S., Brittany R., former CGOTD Victoria (I got her name correct this week!), Andrea, Lauren, Melanie and Katherine.

And let’s finish this week’s coverage with a few photos of Ashley, Natalie, Carly S. and Brittany W.

Thankfully, preseason football has come to an end.  And while I love football, I can’t say that having four or five preseason games is a good thing, especially if you are going to charge full price admission to a game that is about as good as a Division IAA football.  The one thing that is worth the price of admission…the cheerleaders who give it their all at a game that is as meaningful as an intra squad scrimmage.

Thank you Charger Girls.

For more Charger Girl article and photos, please visit my blog: The Hottest Dance Team in the NFL.