By Jennifer Bray
Brockton Enterprise
At 23, Stephanie Petronelli, is getting ready to retire.
“You are only supposed to cheer for four years and this is my last year,” said Petronelli, who is one of 24 New England Patriots Cheerleaders.
The West Bridgewater native who recently made national news when she auditioned for a spot on “American Idol,” made the cut and will be heading to Hollywood. An estimated 15 million people tuned into the Fox show.
But getting to work as a cheerleader for one of the most beloved franchises in New England isn’t all glitz and glamour. Petronelli gave us a peek at what it takes to make the grade at Gillette Stadium.
“I do love football, but you have to know the game too,” Petronelli said in an interview in West Bridgewater on Friday. “You have to take a football test and you have to get a hundred,” she said. The six-page exam includes portions where candidates must write the name of every NFL team and list them by conference and division.
“It definitely helps you when you are on the field,” Petronelli said.
Studying is something that Petronelli is used to. She’s in her senior semester at Bridgewater State University, majoring in corporate communications and minoring in public relations.
“All of the girls on the cheerleading team are incredibly well-rounded and educated – we even have a neuroscientist on our team,” Petronelli said.
She has made very strong friendships with her cheering squad. Even after the intense official practices, a lot of the girls will meet on their own time to practice and learn all the choreographed moves, Petronelli said.
“You get very close when you are all going through shin splints and those long, hot August workouts where they make you run up the ramps in the stadium all the way to the nosebleed section,” Petronelli said.
“We also have to be able to do 160 high kicks,” she said. “We are also responsible for working out on our own, it’s mostly about being fit. You have to have a lot of stamina for those four hours when you are dancing back to back during the game.”
The cheerleading team has a trainer as well as a nutritionist. The cheerleaders also take part in events off the field, promoting the Patriots.
“I haven’t met Tom (Brady),” she laughed when asked. “We’ve been on the same field, but we’re not around the players. We are two separate entities and our job is to cheer for them and support them from the sidelines.”
She has seen Tom’s wife, Gisele (Bundchen), from a distance at Gillette and said she is tall, beautiful and elegant.One of the perks of being a Patriots Cheerleader is the chance to model for the New England Patriots swimsuit calendar.
“I went to St. Lucia for the 2014 calendar,” Petronelli said. She’s also traveled to Punta Cana, Jamaica and Aruba for the swimsuit editions.
“After cheering, it’s the second most exciting part of the job,” Petronelli said. “You get to go on vacation and the photo shoots are really exciting.”
As the Patriots get ready to take on the Broncos in Denver on Sunday to play for the AFC title, Petronelli along with the rest of the New England fans hopes that the Patriots win it and head to the Super Bowl.
“I went to the Super Bowl when we played the Giants and it was an incredible experience,” Petronelli said. “Even though we didn’t win, it was still a historic time.”
She said she will miss performing on the field the most.
“When you hear the crowd right before you take the field, that’s the most exciting part,” Petronelli said. When the day comes that she has to watch the Patriots on TV and not from the sidelines, it will be tough, she said.
“To cheer and dance for the best team in the NFL has been amazing,” Petronelli said.
To follow Stephanie’s journey on “American Idol,” you can follow her on Twitter @StephPetronelli.
Former Pats Cheerleader has cutting-edge plan in breast-cancer battle
By Nick Mallard
Lowell Sun
Mike Napier has shaved numerous designs into many a head in his time at Thumbs Up Barber Shop.
Team logos, names, numbers, even celebrity faces — he’s done just about everything.
But a recent visit quickly became one that will be etched in his mind forever.
When Paula McDonald called to schedule an appointment, he thought nothing of it. But when she arrived Jan. 8 with a friend, her story was one unlike any Napier had heard from a customer before.
McDonald — a 40-year-old Lunenburg resident and mother of two — had been diagnosed with stage-3 breast cancer and wanted to do something unique before starting chemotherapy.
“She told me she wanted to do something different with her hair before the chemotherapy made it fall out anyway,” Napier said. “She had mentioned she was a cheerleader and wanted the Patriots logo shaved in.”
What McDonald didn’t mention at first was that the Patriots were her former employers, as she had served as an NFL cheerleader with the Patriots during the 1999 and 2000 seasons.
“We ended up seeing that she was a Patriots cheerleader at one point,” Thumbs Up owner Juan Rivera said. “She was just so spontaneous and bubbly when she was in here.”
McDonald already had undergone a double mastectomy and was looking for a way to lift her own spirits heading into more treatment.
“Knowing that my hair was going to fall out in the next few weeks, I wanted to do something completely out of character, something I never would have done and never will do again,” she said. “With the Patriots being in the playoffs, and being a former cheerleader, I decided shaving the Pats logo into the side of my head was exactly the type of thing that would make the transition to complete hair loss a bit more fun.”
She said several of her son’s friends had been customers at Thumbs Up, inspiring her to choose their services. McDonald said Napier “was great” and she’s thrilled with how the Patriots logo turned out. On the other side of her head, Napier shaved in the breast-cancer awareness symbol.
Rivera said it’s not uncommon for people to come in before big games to get logos and symbols done in their hair. His shop is well known for the quality of its work, but this job will be one everyone there remembers.
“We hope she’s doing well and we think she’s the Patriots’ lucky charm,” Rivera said.
An Orlando Predators Prowler
A Member of the Jacksonville Sharks Attack Dance Team
Vineland resident to rep Eagles at Pro Bowl Jan. 26
From The Vineland Daily-Journal
City resident and Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader Ivelisse Rivera, who has appeared in several popular magazines over the past six years, is ready to say “Aloha” to her latest accomplishment.
Rivera, 25, was recently selected by the NFL to represent the Eagles at the Pro Bowl, which will be played on Jan. 26 in Honolulu. The Pro Bowl is the NFL’s annual all-star game, held one week before the Super Bowl.
Rivera is in her sixth year on the Eagles’ cheerleading squad, and her second as a captain. When she’s not out on the field on Sundays, she spends the bulk of the week working here as a dental assistant.
The trip to Hawaii would top an eventful season, she said.
“It’s amazing,” Rivera said. “We’ve had the best season in a few years here with Chip Kelly as the (Eagles) coach. The fans are amazing. Hearing them cheering and screaming every Sunday keeps us going.”
Rivera is originally a native of Jersey City. She lived in Hammonton for nearly a decade and is a 2006 graduate of Hammonton High School. She’s lived in Vineland the last two years.
Rivera attends school at Camden County College and aspires to become a dental hygienist. She began honing her dancing skills in middle school, learning everything from ballet, to hip-hop, lyrical and jazz dance.
She was unsuccessful during a tryout for the Eagles in 2007, but made it the following year, becoming a mainstay each year since. She is one of 38 cheerleaders on the team, and one of nine captains.
But remaining on the team each year is a challenge. Each member must try out again each year, and more is expected from veterans such as Rivera.
“It’s stressful,” she said. “People think we automatically make it every year because we’re veterans. But it gets harder and harder every year.”
Things get smoother upon making the team. When they’re not on the field for a game, the squad makes various appearances at charities and other functions throughout the region.
One of Rivera’s most memorable games this season was on Dec. 8, when the Eagles played a home game against the Detroit Lions in Philadelphia. A snowstorm dumped 8 inches of snow on the field during the game.
“It was actually a really fun game,” Rivera said. “We had trouble seeing at times, and it got a little slippery, but it was fun.”
Rivera leaves for Hawaii on Monday and joins the representatives of the league’s 25 other organizations with cheerleading teams to participate in a week full of events leading up to the game.
Along with the game, she will participate in “Ohana Day,” an event in which fans get to watch both the players and cheerleaders practice for the game. She will be present Wednesday during a broadcast of the first Pro Bowl Draft, where players will be hand-picked to teams regardless of the conference they play in. Rivera said she will also visit various military bases in Hawaii, and even make a stop at the USS Arizona Memorial, which is the resting place of a U.S. Navy ship destroyed in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Rivera said she didn’t see these lifetime experiences coming after high school.
“Not at all,” she said. “I definitely wanted to be on a professional dance team or be a background dancer for a singer. But dancing is what I’ve always done.”
A Philadelphia Fight Vixen
Come see the 2013 Redskins Cheerleader Training Program Team perform Sunday February 16, 2014. The ladies are ready to show their talents and hard work at the Bethesda Jazz & Blues Supper Club during a Valentine’s Day Weekend Brunch Performance from 11 AM – 1 PM.
This is the second annual Cheerleader training Program. Trainees worked from August until December and learned four different routines, improved on kick and dance technique as well as worked out with Redskins Cheerleader Fitness Expert, Jason Fuller. They will showcase two of the dances they learned, on Sunday February 16th at the show.
Tickets can be purchased at here.
By Jennifer Bray
Brockton Enterprise
Stephanie Petronelli, 22, of West Bridgewater is going to be trying to earn a spot on the show with her singing.
Petronelli was in the Middle East along with some other New England Patriots squad members in 2011 singing for the U.S. soldiers. Petronelli was voted as the prom queen of the West Bridgewater High School in 2008. She has also attended Bridgewater State University, according to a media spokesperson for the school.
The two-night premiere of “Idol” begins in Boston as the judges search for the best talent in the country. Hosted by Ryan Seacrest, the new judging panel includes Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick, Jr. along with in-house mentor Randy Jackson.
You can watch the season premieres of “American Idol” on Wednesday and Thursday night at 8 p.m. on FOX.
Rie O. had a dream to be an NFL cheerleader, so she packed her bags, got on a plane from Japan to Atlanta, and is now cheering on the Georgia Dome sidelines.
Daniela Duron
AtlantaFalcons.com
Rie O. hopped off a plane in Atlanta without knowing anyone, leaving behind her life in Saitama, Japan and beginning a new one in the United States. From the moment she arrived, the 29-year-old was faced with numerous challenges like figuring out how to get a driver’s license, finding where to live and learning how to speak English.
The only thing she was certain of was that she had a dream, and she was here to pursue it.
Despite the language barriers and cultural differences, Rie reminded herself she came to Georgia with a purpose. That purpose was eventually the same place where she found a family and a home away from home — the Atlanta Falcons Cheerleaders.
Having started cheerleading at Senshu University in Japan, Rie’s coach knew she had the potential to succeed as an NFL cheerleader. She advised her to audition to be an Atlanta Falcons Cheerleader, as she told her they were the best cheerleading squad in the NFL.
Although Rie’s coach is the one who advised her to audition, she credits current Atlanta Falcons Cheerleaders choreographer Jakene Ashford as the original source of inspiration that got her where she is now.
“The Falcons visited Tokyo in 2005 for the Tokyo Bowl,” Rie said. “My coach had seen Jakene’s performance at the game and believed that Jakene was the best dancer on the field. She fell in love with the Falcons Cheerleaders because of Jakene’s performance at that game.”
After deciding it was her goal to be on the Falcons squad, Rie went through a process of hiring lawyers to obtain her visa and maintaining two jobs to save up enough money to make the move overseas. After making the team, Rie packed her bags and headed to Atlanta for what she thought was going to be a one-year stay.
Fast forward to January 2014, and she’s just completed her second season with the Falcons and has lived in Atlanta for almost two years.
“During my first season with the Falcons I felt so welcomed and loved that I decided to try out for a second season,” she said. “Upon making the cut for the second season, I knew I wanted to stay here longer. To add to my decision, I won the Green Card lottery. That means that I now have the ability and grant to live here for 10 years or possibly more.
“My experience has been so amazing. I feel reborn. Everything is new to me here and there is so much to learn. I love all of the new friendships I have gained during my short time here.”
Although Rie has fit seamlessly with her American team, she admits cheerleading in the United States and Japan couldn’t be more different. The crowds in Japan stay quiet during the routine as if they were watching a classical performance, while in the United States cheerleaders are meant to get the crowd pumped.
Rie quickly learned this while she was still a cheerleader in Japan, as she would pay attention to techniques used in the NFL during overseas trips that her Japanese squad, the Obic Seagulls, would take. When they returned to Japan, they started incorporating what they call ‘crowd noise’ into their routines and the result was something that still amazes Rie.
“Several years ago, no one was making crowd noise at the games in Japan,” she said. “So we were the very first team to start to leading the crowd noise. The outcome of making crowd noise was amazing. Since that year, the Obic Seagullls started their road to winning four Japanese National Championships in a row.”
After seeing the impact that incorporating new techniques could have on the sport in Japan, Rie has made sure to stay close to her former team so that she can help them continue to grow.
Her cause went full force recently, as 14 of her former teammates recently visited her to get a first-hand look at what cheerleading in the NFL is all about. They accompanied her to practice and stood on the field as the Atlanta Falcons Cheerleaders prepared to perform at the Falcons’ final game of the season on Dec. 29.
After accomplishing her initial goal, she now has her mind set on another goal: bringing her two worlds closer together in any way she can. Aside from being a cheerleader, she also works as a recruiter specialized to help Japanese-English Bilingual people find employment.
“I would love to be the person that makes American football and cheerleading popular in Japan,” Rie said. “I believe that my experience gained here could be just the spark I need to make this dream a reality.”
