A few decades worth of Dolphins Cheerleaders uniforms
It was something special back on the first weekend in December as the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders from the past, present and future held their final rehearsal inside the Dolphins Indoor Practice Facility for the alumni halftime show which they performed at the Dolphins-Patriots.
This Dolphins Cheerleaders hold their reunion every three years as alumni from the 1970s, 80s, 90s and 2000s, as well as our young future cheerleaders, were in attendance. In all, there were more than 350 participants rehearsing to “strut their stuff” on to the field.
See more photos from the rehearsal and the performance here.
There’s even more on the uniforms at The Line Up’s new Blog.
It’s the 20th anniversary of the Milwaukee Bucks Energee! and the team has put together a retrospective of all the uniforms over the years.
The look from 1995
(Still about two weeks behind on the photos!)
So I went to Falcons-Bucs game back on January 3rd. In the middle of one of the worst cold snaps in Florida history. The temperature at the Bucs game never rose above 46, making it the coldest day game in franchise history.
The Bucs Cheerleaders donned jackets and pants, and smiled through the whole game, even when they were shivering.
Sahara spotted me in the stands as soon as the game started.
Tiffany still has my favorite smile in all of Pro Sports.
Sahara again. The Cheerleaders ditched their jackets for the halftime performance
Halftime
Captain Fear has the best seat in the house.
[Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleaders Official Site]
Indoor football team holds tryouts for dance squad
By Pat Muir
Yakima Herald-Republic
By the time I arrived at the Howard Johnson motel for the Yakima Valley Warriors dance team auditions, the 19 young women trying to make the team had been hard at work for more than an hour.
“We already did across-the-floor combinations, split checks and kick checks,” Crystal Chestnut, the dance team coordinator, told me.
Drat — I had been so looking forward to across-the-floor combinations.
I jest, of course. I don’t know a box step from a pas de bourrée. This was new territory for me, here in this fluorescent-lit conference room on Saturday. It was me, Chestnut, team entertainment coordinator Krista Coplin, team owner Mike Mink and a couple of other team officials. And, of course, 19 aspiring dancers wearing little more than spandex shorts and sports bras.
From where I was sitting — a Howard Johnson’s conference room that was starting to smell a little sweaty — there wasn’t much glamour to it. Team officials ran the dancers through drills. Then had them audition in pairs. Then had them do it all again. Frankly it looked like hard work.
“One, two, three, four,” Chestnut shouted to her charges. “Come together! Release! Release! There you go.”
It was enough to make a guy wonder why anyone would put themselves through this. Even those who make the dance team aren’t going to be paid, at least not during the team’s first year. They’ll have to practice for two hours twice a week and give up plenty of their lives to be part of this team.
The dancers, who ranged in age from 18 to 28, were uniformly polite and cheery when you asked why they wanted to be part of the team. The answers ranged from “I just love to dance,” to “I want to be a role model for young girls.”
“It’s like every girl’s dream to be a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader,” said 18-year-old Allie Stiffler of Naches. “But what are the odds of that?”
While the accuracy of her “every girl’s dream” statement may be a bit dubious, its sincerity was off the charts — she would have loved to be a Cowboys Cheerleader. But she’s realistic. So instead, here she was trying out for the Yakima Valley Lady Warriors Dance Team.
The Warriors are a new team that will play in the American Indoor Football Association. Its first game should be in April in the Yakima Valley SunDome.
My favorite prospective team member on Saturday was Kristine Gimlin, a 28-year-old mother of five from Prosser. She surprised me and the judges with her energy. I mean this mother of five was straight bringin’ it on every routine.
“She’s been the best dancer so far,” one judge said.
“Amazing energy,” said another.
“Yeah, she’s a firecracker, that girl.”
That’s not why she was my favorite, though. What I liked most about Gimlin was her answer about why she wanted to be on the team. Being part of a team, she said, is its own reward.
“I wish there were 19 spots, so everyone could make it,” Gimlin said.
When I left, after several hours at the audition, the team officials still hadn’t made their final decisions. But I was right there with her, wishing all 19 could make it.
By Steve Mazzucchi
Esquire
Honestly, are there two hotter playoff teams than the Jets and Chargers? Rex Ryan, the Sanchize, and Co. have won six of seven, while Norv Turner, LT, and friends have won eleven straight. The last time they lost, Tiger Woods was a clean-cut family man.
And while Charger Girls captain Marisa has been behind them all the way, she’s not the first family member to don powder blue — her father spent the final year of a decade-long NFL career with the team. When she’s not shaking her pom-poms, Marisa studies kinesiology at San Diego State — and talks to us about some of the “worthless” hype from her team and Jets coach Rex Ryan, some of the other big games this weekend, and why LaDainian Tomlinson could join her cheerleading squad.
ESQUIRE: Whew, eleven straight wins. But the Chargers have been hot going into several recent playoffs and fallen short. Are things different this year?
MARISA: I don’t want to be cocky, but I’ve never been so confident in the team. We’ve made the playoffs all four of my seasons, but this year, I don’t have one doubt in my mind. We have all the right weapons going right now. Philip Rivers is having his best season yet, Vincent Jackson’s playing great… We’re so used to hearing Shawne Merriman’s name and LT’s name, but the whole team is stepping up. And for the first time, everyone’s walking in healthy. We’ve normally been banged up.
ESQ: Besides the established stars, who else needs to come up huge?
M: Jackson, for one — biggest Pro Bowl snub ever, huge playmaker. Malcolm Floyd. Legedu Naanee — he’s been a huge contributor in the wildcat formations. Darren Sproles, the little man, has been getting more recognition. Without punter Mike Scifres and kicker Nate Kaeding, we probably wouldn’t be where we are today. I think Nate’s gonna have a bit of revenge, because he missed one at the end against the Jets in the playoffs a few years ago, and we lost.
ESQ: Merriman’s light-switch tattoo: Do women think that sort of thing is hot or not?
M: Oh my gosh. Hot for now — as long as he can live up to that “lights out” thing this weekend. If he can’t turn the lights out, it’s worthless to me.
ESQ: New York has the top rushing offense, and you guys aren’t exactly, um, lights out against the run. Concerned?
M: We really have to step up the run defense, put the ball in Mark Sanchez’s hands, and get on the rookie — make him make decisions he doesn’t want to make. Our front seven are going to be a huge help, but our cornerbacks have also been amazing the second half of the season, not giving up huge plays over 20 yards. Our twelfth man — the fans — will be going wild, and that will be in our defense’s favor, too.
ESQ: Jets star cornerback Darrelle Revis vs. Jackson. Who walks out alive?
M: Jackson. Five-eleven doesn’t beat six-foot-five. That’s all I gotta say.
ESQ: Does your father have any thoughts on this matchup?
M: He’s not worried at all. He’s so excited. He was just talking about Sanchez being a rookie QB, how he’s really made a name for himself, but, “It’s time to send him back to New York.” Sanchez is from Southern California, so I’m assuming he’ll have a lot of fans in the stadium. He was actually at our playoff game against the Colts last season. Already scouting….
ESQ: Rex Ryan’s mouth has been about as big as his waistline lately. Does he need to just shut up and coach?
M: You can talk as much as you want, but it really comes down to Sunday and what happens on the field.
ESQ: On the flipside, there’s the slim and silent Norv Turner. Is he underrated because he looks like an accountant?
M: Ha-ha, I don’t know. Slow starts the past two seasons have gotten him on people’s bad side, but he’s kind of shut them up now with his third straight AFC West championship. He really knows what he’s doing — he’s got us to this point.
ESQ: If you Google “LT,” the first thing you see after his NFL.com profile is Slide Electric Glide. Is it the new Super Bowl Shuffle?
M: It is! We really want to do it on Sunday. We were all trying to pull it up on our phones so we could practice it. It’s been the talk of the town. That’s a side of LT we don’t get to see. Maybe we’ll see him on Dancing with the Stars. He could be on the Charger Girls, too. I’ve heard talk of them playing it at the game, instead of the San Diego Super Charger song, because they’re both pretty… cheesy, I guess you could say.
ESQ: Who’s winning this weekend’s other matchups?
M: Vikings-Cowboys — that one’s hard because Romo and the Cowboys are really hot right now. But I’m liking the Vikings — at home, Brett Favre, experienced Hall-of-Fame quarterback. A couple weeks ago, I would say Saints over Cardinals, but they seem to have lost a bit of their fire. Colts-Ravens, I’m excited because I think they can take Peyton down — meaning if we win, the AFC championship would be here. Even if the Colts win, they’ll be banged up, so I feel good about that game, even in Indy. I was sort of hoping we could get revenge on the Pats for beating us twice in the playoffs, but they are out already, and I’m fine with that.
It’s a special Sideline Distraction show to kick off 2010 On The Flipside! This exclusive edition features a pair of California women cheering on the sidelines of the AFC West. Host Aubrey Aquino anchors this episode from the Berkeley Marina in Northern California, where we begin with a segment on Oakland Raiderette Emily. Emily is a veteran Raiderette and line captain who upholds the law on her flipside! When she’s not donning the silver and black to cheer on the Raider Nation, she’s in court working as a criminal law attorney, and most people would never guess she can also be found cruising around the Bay Area in her very own Ford Mustang Mach 1.
After that we head south to San Diego to meet San Diego Charger Girl Marlina. Marlina represented the San Diego Chargers at the 2009 Pro Bowl in Hawaii and has also been leading her line on the field this season. On The Flipside, she is a successful businesswoman, founding and running her own “green” cleaning company. Fans may also be surprised to learn that she grew up on a farm, so she has a passion for animal rights and looks forward to one day starting her own animal rescue foundation.
By Nadia Hoffman
The Herald-Zeitung
Heather Easley has had to learn the art of juggling to go along with being the first-year coach of the New Braunfels Monoceras dance team.
Many days for Easley begin at 5 a.m. and don’t end until after midnight.
That’s because Easley is taking her passion for dance to a whole new level.
Easley is in her second year as a member of the prestigious San Antonio Spurs Silver Dancers.
She performs in front of 18,000 fans during the Spurs home games and at public appearances with the team.
But her real passion is in teaching, and the Monceras team is looking to earning more awards at the upcoming competitions.
“It keeps me on my toes,” said Easley when talking about splitting her time between coach and dancer. “I slowly figured out how to divide my time, and I’ve found that it naturally worked itself out.”
Easley’s passion for dance has engulfed the Monoceras squad since she took the helm in August, 2009.
The Unicorn dance team is coming off an award-winning 2009 season.
The Monoceras squad took top honors in the HTE State Championships at Akins High School in February 2009, when they were named Grand Champions, beating out teams from San Antonio MacArthur, Madison, Lee and Kileen.
“As a new coach, I’ve brought a lot of new challenges and a different style to the team,” Easley said. “ The girls want to be challenged this year and they are well deserving of it.”
Although this will be Easley’s first year coaching, she is veteran in the world of dance.
With 19 years of dance experience, which includes dance instruction, the team is bound to have continued success. Not to mention her experience with performing under pressure.
The 11-member dance team started preparing this past summer for the upcoming competition year, as they learned new routines and conditioning both physically and mentally.
The team learned four new routines in two weeks and put in long hours of practice, even over their Christmas break.
Easley’s respect for the Monoceras traditions is what drives her to keep the team working to reach their potential.
“It’s important to myself and the team that we are true to the traditions that this team holds,” Easely said. “But also keep up with the times and not be afraid to make change in order to improve.”
Easley is quick to say that she has embraced the kick team tradition, which is what the Monceras are known for, although she openly admits she is not a kicker.
“It’s a challenge that I’m willing to take on and learn, Easley said.
The Monoceras team were named Kick Champions at last year’s HTE State Championships.
The qualities that the new coach looks for in becoming a Monoceras member may be surprising to most.
“I’m not looking for what one would call the “perfect dancer,” Easley said. “But more for someone who is dedicated and has the drive and commitment for what it takes to be on this team.”
The support from the community is what drives the team to do it’s best during each competition.
Although change is always hard, when it’s good change it’s always welcomed.
“The girls and the community have welcomed me with open arms,” Easley said. “I’m honored to be able to lead this team on to another winning season.”
The team is busying preparing to host the upcoming New Braunfels Invitational to kick off the season, which is set for February 6th.
[Heather at the Spurs Website]
The Colorado Icicles, cheerleaders for the Colorado Ice Indoor Football team, will be conducting open tryouts for the 2010 Icicle Cheerleader Squad on Saturday, January 23rd from 12pm-4pm at 24 Hour Fitness located at 2208 E. Harmony Road, Fort Collins, CO 80528.
Colorado Icicle cheerleaders are professional dancers that provide exciting and fun entertainment during all Colorado Ice Indoor Football home games. Icicle cheerleaders are also actively involved in the community, taking part in Colorado Ice appearances at community events, fundraisers, post-game parties, and other activities throughout Northern Colorado.
“Being an Icicle takes hard work and dedication, but the rewards are so worth it. It is an amazing feeling to cheer on the Colorado Ice players in front of thousands of fans. The Ice fan base is awesome and really supportive of their team,” said Icicle Dance Captain and Head Choreographer Rehannon Crumb.
Participants must be at least 21 years of age by Feb. 27, 2010, have some dance experience and be able to commit to weekly rehearsals, games and related team functions.
Tryout fees are $25 for pre-registered participants and $30 the day of the tryout. Pre-registered participants may pay with cash, check, or credit card; cash will only be accepted the day of the tryout. For more information contact Rehannon Crumb at r.pekny@thecoloradoice.com or go to thecoloradoice.com.
SoJo Event Management, in conjunction with the National Football League’s Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders, announce the newly reformatted Battle of the Beauties event in celebration of the Pro Bowl’s return to South Florida.
Battle of the Beauties, originally held in 2007 as part of the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee’s Super Celebration Series, was named Beauties on the Beach and was a team competition. However, when the Miami Dolphin’s Cheerleaders were asked to host an event for Pro Bowl featuring 26 NFL Cheerleaders – Battle of the Beauties was an easy choice.
“Battle of the Beauties is more than just an event to us, it is a way for us to showcase the athletic abilities of these talented women from across the League,” said Emily Newton, Miami Dolphins Cheerleader Coordinator. “We knew this event would be the best way for the Cheerleaders from around to League to show South Florida, and the visiting fans just how tough and competitive they are. Plus, the women who participated in the event before enjoyed themselves and the family-friendly atmosphere that Soulan (Johnson) had created.”
Battle of the Beauties for 2010 features 26 NFL Pro Bowl cheerleaders in an AFC vs. NFC athletic competition. The two teams will compete in tug-of-war, beach volleyball, flag football, and an obstacle course created by the Miami-Dade and Broward county Fire Departments. In addition, the cheerleaders will perform two dance routines. As an added feature, AFC and NFC cheerleaders will also be signing autographs and taking pictures with the fans. Several current and former NFL Players will also be at the event serving as celebrity judges, emcees, referees and much more. In addition, mascots from NFL teams will also “participate” in various aspects of the competition and be on hand for pictures with the children.
Ocean Manor Resort Hotel, 4040 Galt Ocean Drive in Fort Lauderdale, is the primary venue for both events. Battle of the Beauties is from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and will take over the entire pool, tiki bar and private beach area of the hotel. The VIP Gala is from 7 p.m. to midnight and will be held in four of the hotel’s luxury rooftop penthouse suites, which are highlighted by spectacular views of the ocean and a wrap-around deck.
“We know South Florida has a lot to offer visitors, but we also wanted to remind the residents how lucky they are to live in such an amazing tropical location, therefore Ocean Manor Resort Hotel really gave us the best opportunity to host both events,” said Soulan Johnson, event creator and owner of SoJo Event Management.
Tickets to the event are available via www.battleofthebeauties.net and are set at $10 for general admission to Battle of the Beauties and $50 for admission to the VIP Gala. Following the events, a portion of the proceeds will be split among four local charities: Dwight Stephenson Foundation, Orange Bowl Youth Football Alliance, PlayMaker Charities and Foundation, Inc. and SOS Children’s Village.
Although Battle of the Beauties is primarily based around the competition on the sand, cheerleaders will be available for autograph signings, as will current and retired NFL players. Athletes attending include: Akin Ayodele, Donnell Bennett, Ronnie Brown, Troy Drayton, Anthony Fasano, Doug Flutie, James Pruitt, Andre Rison, Dennis Rodman, Dwight Stephenson and
Lorenzo White.
Date: Friday, Jan. 29, 2010, two days before the Pro Bowl in South Florida
Time: 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Location: Ocean Manor Resort Hotel, located at 4040 Galt Ocean Drive, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33308
On January 16, 2010, the Honorable Bob McDonnell will be inaugurated as the 71st governor of Virginia. Bob’s wife Maureen was a Washington Redskinette for 3 seasons (1974, 75, 76), and has been an active member of the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders Alumni Association (WRCAA) for the past 25 years. The WRCAA and the Redskins band have been invited to participate in the Inaugural parade and several alumni will be attending the Inaugural ball. The Washington Redskins Cheerleaders are not only the “First Ladies of Football”, but now will have a First Lady of the Great State of Virginia.
Group picture taken with WRC alumni and Bob and Maureen on Election Night: left to right: Redskins Cheerleader Alumna Tyra Norwood, Governor-elect Bob McDonnell, First Lady-elect Maureen McDonnell, WRCAA President Terri Lamb, and Redskins Cheerleader Alumna Sherri Paugh.
[Washington Redskins Cheerleaders Alumni Association]
Update: A list of politically connected Cheerleaders:
Debra Brady, the wife of Pennsylvania Congressman Bob Brady cheered for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio, the wife of former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives and current US Senate Candidate Marco Rubio, cheered for the Miami Dolphins.
Dr. Jennifer Horrell, the wife of three-term Missouri State Representative and 2008 Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor Dr. Sam Page, cheered for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Now, who did I miss?
