By Alexandra Caulway
Telegram & Gazette
Athena Lazo, center, listens to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in a segment of “The Hero.” The show airs at 8 p.m. Thursdays on TNT
Athena Lazo went from Shepherd Hill Regional High School to the Patriots football stadium, and now she has landed herself a spot on TNT’s new series “The Hero.”
Hosted by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the reality show tests strength, courage and integrity through a series of challenges and temptations meant to throw the competitors and find a true hero based on America’s votes.
Lazo is a Southbridge native and moved several times throughout the Worcester area as she grew up. A former NFL cheerleader, she currently works as community relations director for a fitness center. Originally, Lazo wanted to be on “The Hero” to give the lesser-known side of cheerleading a spokesperson; she wanted to talk about the social aspects, expectations and eating disorders many of the girls struggle with. But her motivation shifted when her 26-year-old brother suffered a stroke. He was diagnosed with a brainstem tumor at the age of 4 and is paralyzed on the left side and almost completely deaf.
The family was inundated with medical bills after the stroke, and Lazo knew she needed to do this for them. “I got an email for an open casting call,” she said. “The audition was in Boston and it was the same day as my grandpa’s birthday. I decided last-minute to stay home with my family and sent in my résumé and a blurb about why I wanted to be on the show.” She has always enjoyed performing, even when faced with rejection. “Perseverance and hard work are what make a hero,” she said.
In 2008, she tried out for a spot on the NFL cheerleading squad and got turned down. But that didn’t dissuade her from trying again. “Three-hundred eighty-three girls walked in and eight earned a spot,” she said of the auditions. “It’s not easy. Everyone thinks it’s all glamorous and all smiles, but it was one of the hardest things I ever had to go through.” She was on the team for three years and left with a retirement ring.
The entire experience on “The Hero” has been overwhelming for Lazo. “So far, things have been crazy. I gained 500 Twitter followers overnight,” she said with a laugh. As for working with “The Rock,” Lazo found him to be down-to-earth and honest. “You always see him with that enticing smile,” she said, “and it actually never leaves his face.”
On Episode 2, which aired last week, the contestants were taken to Colon City, Panama. “The challenge in Colon was the craziest,” Lazo remembered. “We ran for over two hours. I was teamed with Hero Rachel, and thank goodness she spoke Spanish!” Their task was simple, but not easy: find the location of a photo handed to you by Johnson, who arrived by helicopter. “You didn’t know where you were supposed to go,” explained Lazo. “Our location ended up being hidden in a 15-story building. It was kind of really scary — they just dropped us in the middle of the city with dirty streets and wild dogs everywhere.”
Throughout the challenges, Johnson pops up with random “temptations,” or large sums of money the contestants have the option to take. “You have to decide if you want to be there for your team or for yourself,” Lazo said. “It was hard because we were competing against each other, but we had to work as teams.”
For her, the most difficult part of being on the show was being open-minded and trying to let other people see that she was a good person. “You start living the second you stop caring what other people think,” Lazo said. “I’m here for my brother.”
Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleader Jen
From WTSP.com
The Indianapolis Colts don’t typically get a whole lot of attention in West Michigan, but that’s changing this week as 26 of the team’s cheerleaders invade the lakeshore.
The cheerleaders are shooting their 2014 swimsuit calendar in the Saugatuck-Douglas area, as part of a deal with the local visitors bureau.
“We just happened to be driving down the road in Indy and found a billboard on the side of the road that had beach, sun, sunset, sand, everything we were looking for and I thought maybe we should go up to Michigan to shoot our calendar,” says Kelly Tilley, manager of the Colts Cheerleaders.
The Saugatuck-Douglas Visitors Bureau says Indianapolis has been a key tourism market for the lakeshore.
“We’ve just had a flood, an increase of visitors from Indianapolis coming here, and from Indiana in general,” says Felicia Fairchild, executive director of the Saugatuck-Douglas Visitors Bureau. “There’s such great visitors here, we want to make sure more of them know about us.”
Some Colts fans may be wondering why their team’s cheerleaders came out to a neighboring state to do the photo shoot. Tourism officials say it starts with a nice beach and it doesn’t hurt to get a free place to stay.
The Beachway Resort gave them an offer they couldn’t refuse.
“I’m giving them the rooms, free lodging for about 40 rooms so that is a big benefit for them,” says Kathy Wilson, owner of the Beachway Resort.
“You can’t go wrong with a pretty girl on a beach, so it’s an easy sell for us,” says Tilley.
It’s the first time the Colts cheerleaders have taken the photo shoot out of state.
“I want them to look at the cheerleaders, but then I want them to look at the scenery and say ‘hey, that would be a great place to visit,'” says Fairchild.
The Colts Cheerleaders’ calendar will be released in early August, before the first preseason game.
The Calgary Stampeders Outriders got off to a very wet start at a pre-season game against the BC Lions this past Friday.
[Calgary Stampeders Outriders]
From Last Night – Amanda at Brooklynettes Auditions
The new team (with hats!)
I think I see a trend developing.
The Vixens Dance Team was created to support and promote The Philadelphia Fight Organization and does so by providing high energy entertainment at all home games, doing promotions to spread the FIGHT name, and attending charity events and volunteering in communities in Pennsylvania as well as New Jersey.
The Captains
The Veterans
The Rookies
Natalie
Alisyn
Kelly
Our good friend, and former Philadelphia Soulmate, Lindsay Rodolico held a dance workshop last month. The event featured two classes: one fro adults and one for those under 17. Current and former Soulmates and former Eagles Cheerleaders were just some of those in attendance.
