2011 Angels in the tunnel
Dance Team Captain Lauren
Angel is back for her second season on the squad.
Megan danced on the field at the 2008 Pro Bowl
An Angel looks on at the half-time hot fog eating contest
Cary does some last-second rehearsing
Kirstin with the hair flip
Opening Performance
And don’t miss the Angels Calendar Release Party tomorrow night at TopDog in Cherry Hill.
Last-minute rehearsal
Brett is pursuing her Masters at Drexel University
Alex flies
Christina poses
Jillian is on the Temple Owls Dance Team
The Finalists
The Scoresheet
Andrea Mychaels: Choreographer, Lou Jacobs: Director, BJ Spencer: Part owner of the Soul
By Joe Gacioch
StLouisRams.com
You see them on Sundays on the sidelines at the Edward Jones Dome. They perform dance routines and pump up the crowd throughout the game. Fans can’t ignore the Rams cheerleaders during home games, but it is what they do off the field that deserves the most attention and praise.
Being a Rams cheerleader does not just entail performing at 10 games during a given season; in fact, a majority of the cheerleaders’ time is spent giving back to the community. The squad averages more than 550 hours of community service and 850 appearances in the bi-state region each year, but one of the most impactful community service activities the cheerleaders participate in is national and international military visits.
Recently, Rams cheerleaders Aundrea, Kayla, Raven and Shannon spent a weekend visiting military personnel in the Seattle area. The cheerleaders spent their weekend at two local military bases: Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base. The four girls chosen to represent the Rams cheerleaders on this military visit were busy the entire weekend, hosting meet and greet sessions, signing autographs and selling copies of their 2011 swimsuit calendar.
“Anytime I am asked to represent the St. Louis Rams Cheerleaders, I am extremely honored and grateful,” third year veteran Shannon Ward said. “I feel very passionately about reaching out to our U.S. military and showing gratitude to the men and women who serve our country. It is very special to be able to personally say thank you on behalf of the St. Louis Rams organization.”
When the group landed in Seattle, they went right to Fort Lewis for two autograph sessions that afternoon. They were able to tour the facility and the hangar where Black Hawk helicopters are kept, and they learned how they function from the military men who service the helicopters. After touring the hangar, they went into a simulation center where they had the opportunity to test various equipment and weapons soldiers currently use. The following day the four girls hosted autograph signings at department stores at McChord and at Fort Lewis, and later that evening they attended a holiday show at Fort Lewis. The Rams cheerleaders have been invited to bring a larger group of girls back to Fort Lewis next summer to dance and perform for the soldiers.
“It was a lot of fun to talk with the different families and people who came by,” Ward said. “Everyone we met at the bases was very kind and very grateful we had come to visit.”
The Rams cheerleaders visit military bases two to three times a year, and for some girls, like Ward, this was not the first opportunity they had to meet and thank military men and women for their service. Ward visited Fort Lewis in 2008, and she was selected to go overseas and visit troops in Iraq and Kuwait in 2009.
“I am so honored to give my thanks to our U.S. military, and I am always surprised by the amount of people who come to me to say thank you for coming to visit them,” she said. “It is a very surreal experience.”
While military visits typically involve signing autographs and posing for photos, each trip prents different elements, making them unique in their own way. Ward explained that this visit to Fort Lewis was unique because it was so close to the holidays. They were able to talk with the various troops about when they were going home for the holidays, who they were going to see and what they would do with their time off. The girls were also able to autograph their fair share of Rams holiday gifts.
“I think it is very important that we take time out of our lives to visit the bases and personally say thank you,” Ward said. “I am honored that I had the opportunity to be a part of this trip and personally show my gratitude to these wonderful men and women.”
Our friend Ken Martin, Executive Director of USA Cheerleaders, writes:
I wanted to touch base with you and let you know about an event we were privileged to be invited too on New Years Eve. We were invited to celebrate New Years Eve with the Wounded Warrior Project, over 150 Wounded Warriors, their families and the NYPD.
We met at Ft. Harrison where we were put up at the Army Lodge for the night. We checked in and the girls got ready for the night. I only took 8 girls because we only had 2 rooms, the rest of the lodge was full of the Wounded Warriors. We left about 4:00 to drive over to Mt. Carmel Church, were we were going to meet the Wounded Warriors and their families as they were coming into the church for their catered dinner. There was a catered dinner for everyone, the Friars Club did a comedy show and then the girls performed a Christmas dance and our Bon Jovi dance (Special Request from a Warrior)
After dinner we boarded Four NYPD buses, 2 WWP Vans and 2 other Mini Buses. We then went by NYPD Motorcade to Times Square. The motorcade had over 60 NYPD officers and was amazing!!! The closed down the FDR and the last time they did that was for President Obama, we felt privileged to be apart of it!! We arrived into Times Square about 9:45 pm and entered the VIP area which was reserved for the WWP. The VIP area was under the Ball, next to the Entertainment stage where Ryan Seacrest was doing his show. The Medal of Honor winner Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta even stopped by to pose for some pictures with a few warriors!!!
It was truly an Honor to be invited to this event and we have been the only cheerleading program ever invited to such an event. Spending New Years with the warriors was very humbling and I cant wait to do it again next year, because we have already been asked to return for next year and then we will be putting on our Variety Show at the dinner complete with costume changes, comedy skit, audience participation and more!!!
I am attaching a picture for you in case you want to see how much fun we had and there are a lot more on our FB page!!
[USA Cheerleaders on Facebook]
Back on January 5th at the Airport Hilton, and after nearly a month-long bootcamp, the Semi-Finals for the Philadelphia Soulmates were held.
AJ and Kristina
Notice everyone is wearing black. That’s the color for the night. The blue, reds, greens and sparkles would come out at finals.
Hopefuls had two chances to perform the routine they’d been learning the past month. The same routine they’d perform again at the Finals.
Of the sixty semi-finalists, twenty were cut and forty went on to compete at the Finals at Chickie’s & Pete’s. Those photos are coming soon.
[Soulmates Semi-Final Gallery]
Fox Sports West has a three part video series on the making of the 2011 Laker Girls calendar.
Watch the video here.
[Order the Laker Girls Calendar]
Super Bowl XXI (1987) – New York Giants and Denver Broncos
The Giants have never had professional cheerleaders (although they did have some sideliners back in the late 50s).
And 1987 was after the Pony Express had disbanded, and before the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders were instituted.
From the eight correct entries, we randomly selected Mark from St. Paul, Minnesota to received the autographed 2010 Pro Bowl football.
Mark have to wait a couple of weeks for me to ship his prize, as I am on my way to Hawaii for the 2011 Pro Bowl and looking forward to seeing all the Pro Bowl Cheerleaders.
And a bonus photo the Flight Crew. We’re all pulling for the Jets to avoid another cheerleader-less Super Bowl.
Introducing: Texas Legends Dancers, under the direction of Leslie Shaw-Hatchard
The team began in February of 2010 with 6 dancers. In August of 2010, the team became complete with the addition of 6 more dancers. The dancers perform at all Texas Legends home games at the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco, TX, and can also be found around the DFW making various appearances. To keep up with the girls, please visit www.texlegends.com or search for Texas Legends Dancers on Facebook!
Merry Christmas! From the Texas Legends Dancers!
Natalie and Brooke during 3rd quarter Meet and Greet!
The Legendary Ladies with Dallas Mavericks Owner, Mark Cuban
Getting ready to head out to the court
Shannon is a Special Education Teacher with a Bachelor of Arts in Education, Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Special Education form St. Louis University.
She also is just the 4th (or 5th) Cheerleader selected to go to the Pro Bowl twice. She represented the Rams Cheerleaders last year, as well.
