This week the Knicks City Dancers invade Maxim.com.
It’s been more than 2 years since NFL Europa folded. This is our friend from Germany Michael Fischer’s last look at the league and its cheerleaders. The good news is that there are plans to start a new Arena League in Germany. Details soon!
On the 23th June 2007 in a shortly scheduled World Bowl press conference the NFLE chief Uwe Bergheim made some indications, that a closing of the league isn’t desirable, but an option. I went out of the press center with a bad feeling.
I thought, oh sh*t what happens if the fans find out, what Uwe Bergheim has said a few minutes ago. Probably the fans would demonstrate in front of the NFL Europa department or similar.
The Frankfurt Galaxy has lost against the Hamburg Sea Devils and Dance Team Director Kimberly Cole went to her Galaxy Dancers, built a huddle and said to them: “Girls, enjoy this moment, it can be that this is the last time you’re standing here in the arena!”
Galaxy Dancer Jasmin told me that on the After Game Party. Here are some previously unreleased photos of this evening. I think no words are necessary.
I have spoken with a cheerleader from the Centurions a day after. She told me that some office workers don’t believe that it a closing could be possible.
Nearly on week later – the 29th June 2007 was the black day of American football here in Europe. In a press mail all journalists were invited for a telephone conference about the future of NFL Europe. Uwe Bergheim confirmed that the league will closed.
But the closing plans of NFLEurope were still in the works before the 2007 season. The tax refunds were not enough for the NFL owners. And all insiders should continue their work.
So as it seems nothing else matter. Nothing is to say more concerning this matter and I will close the capital of NFL Europa for all time. I would like say to my cheerleaders:
“Thank you all, you are the best, because you made cheerleading & football so popular. I love you all!”
Now, the existing 5 of 6 former dance teams will be now in a new formation of the new indoor league XFL-A, but more next time.
Enthusiastic and Motivated Members Wanted to Engage Spitfire Fans
Are you full of energy? Can you bring a crowd to its feet? If so, the Windsor Spitfires want you to join the newly created Spitfire Ice Girls Team. The Spitfires are currently looking to add highly energetic, fun and engaging members to the 2009-2010 Ice Girls Team – a promotions, entertainment and fan interaction team.
The Ice Girl members are at the forefront of gearing up the crowd for Spitfires hockey. They welcome fans to the WFCU Centre by distributing promotional giveaway items and engaging in overall fan interaction with energy and enthusiasm during each home game! Ice Girl members will work alongside Bomber, Windsor’s favorite mascot, while posing for pictures, dancing in the isles, handing out prizes and entertaining the crowd.
Applicants for the Windsor Spitfire Ice Girls must be 18 years of age or older and extremely confident in their performance, improvisational and interpersonal skills. All candidates should enjoy performing in front of large crowds and enjoy working in a highly visible environment. Candidates should possess the ability to remain on their feet for the entire game. The Ice Girls will also have a presence and contribute to our community as an ambassador for the Windsor Spitfires which would include attending public appearances such as corporate events, private parties, charity events, trade shows, parades, etc! Qualified candidates can send their photo, age, and contact information to naomi_e_blake@hotmail.com
The Spitfire Ice Girls are also looking to affiliate themselves with a corporate sponsor. The sponsorship would include naming rights to the Ice Girls and allow the corporate partner to work with the development of the Ice Girls (i.e. uniforms and functions). For more information on this sponsorship opportunity, contact Stuart Galloway at (519) 256-943
Drum Roll Please…..
First place goes to Lora Roberts of Northern Virginia, who describes herself as a diehard Ravens and Giants fan.
Second place went to our good friend Donald Wells, former Director of the Redskins Cheerleaders and Wizard Dancers, and now Director of Sponsorships/Marketing for the Sweethearts for Soldiers
Third place went to Mark C.
Fourth place for Valerie.
And fifth place to Matt K.
Mystery uniform #9 fooled some people, but not everyone!
by Christina Butty
NewsFix.ca
To outsiders the life of Toronto Argonaut Cheerleaders probably seems charmed: pretty girls coasting on their looks, dancing and smiling while they throw T-shirts into crowds at CFL games.
It’s surprising what it takes to make their jobs looks easy. Neither illness or, in one case a subway shutdown 10 days before the big Grey Cup game could keep all 36 women reaching practice, as if all the commuter drama wasn’t happening.
Squad member Gian is under the weather, curled up in a ball but keenly watching adjustments and hearing notes for each of the routines.
A feisty blond named Brigitte (cheerleader surnames are withheld at request of the Toronto Argonauts for safety reasons) leads the squad through portions of their dance routines, barking orders like a drill sergeant with a perfect smile on her pretty face.
The girls shift in and out of routines, eyes front like hot, scantily-dressed soldiers. During pauses, however, they smile and joke easily, betraying few signs of stress.
The transitions need work, their coach says, but the average observer is hard-pressed to find the flaws.
Cheerleaders are carefully selected by management. Each member has to audition each year to keep their place. Last year more than 100 women tried out.
Paola has spent nine years with the Argos, four of them as head coach.
“The girls are specifically chosen for their positive attitude,” she said. “Looks and dance are secondary.”
Jessica, who graduated from journalism school, is articulate, smart, and like many of her colleagues, educated. Several of them have university degrees. Their day jobs range from hairstylist to engineer.
It’s also clear that there’s not one specific “type” of Argonaut Cheerleader from the cultural mosaic within the squad.
“If you’re fit, healthy and can represent the brand well you can be an Argo Cheerleader,” Jessica said. “There is no age limit. We all have different looks and represent every type of girl. All of the little girls out there have someone to look up to.”
In addition to sultry on-field booty-shaking, cheerleaders spend up to 24 hours each week fulfilling off-field obligations.
“We do over 400 personal events each year,” Paola said. “The girls must be personable and represent the brand well.”
Appearances ramp up even more during days leading up to the Grey Cup, when the squad is booked solid.
“There are some nights where we are at events until 2 a.m.,” Paola explains. “But we are up every day at 6 a.m. regardless. It’s so much fun. It’s amazing, our chance to represent Toronto in front of all of Canada.”
Leah, new to the Argos squad, knows the seasonal crunch well from time spent with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
“It’s a big chunk of our lives,” she said. “We have to schedule around it. We do tons of promos and volunteer work and attend so many rehearsals and practices.”
Luckily the squad members have each other to lean on for support. Tasha is from Ajax and is experiencing her first year living away from home.
“A lot of girls live in the city, so there is always somebody there,” she said of her colleagues.
Head coach Paola shared a similar sentiment.
“We’re a sisterhood,” she said. “We argue like sisters but we all love each other. It’s an amazing experience and an amazing opportunity.”
After two years on the squad, Tasha has respect for the work ethic of her colleagues.
“I wish people would see the amount of work we put in,” she says. “We don’t just look pretty and shake our pom-poms. We’re all down-to-earth girls.”
By Steve Mazzucchi
Esquire
Think the Niners made the Jaguars look bad this Sunday? This second-year Gold Rusher says they make Bill Belichick look ridiculous each weekend — in more ways than one.
Week Twelve in the NFL represents a critical juncture for any up-and-down team: Fail to emerge within spitting distance of .500, and you can pretty much start booking a long winter vacation — maybe with a Pro Bowl pit stop in Miami. Maybe. But thanks to San Francisco’s 20-3 housing of Jacksonville yesterday, the 5-6 Niners remain in the hunt. Maybe.
That has more than a little to do with their sideline supporters, including Meridith, the most jock-ular cheerleader we’ve met during our season-long survey. This former gymnast works as a football-operations assistant and PT aide while studying for her master’s in sports administration, but she also loves snowboarding, wakeboarding, and video-gaming (“When I play Madden, I make the 49ers look good, don’t you worry”), brings it in flag football (as a safety in one co-ed college game, she ran two picks back for TDs), and last year received her squad’s “tomboy” award (“At our banquet, I had at least twelve bruises on my legs from playing paintball, so everyone was like, ‘Just look at her'”). Not surprisingly, she’s got some strong opinions about San Francisco’s prospects.
ESQUIRE: Your team led 17-3 at the half. Were you worried they might slip up late?
MERIDITH: No. Our defense dominated. Six sacks, two takeaways. After the field goal, I figured that was all the Jaguars would get. We’re normally a running team, but we switched to more of a spread offense, with more receivers, and Alex Smith really showed up this game. I think the offense did a really good job, and so did special teams. The coverage on kicks was amazing. I had a good feeling about it the whole way.
ESQ: The Jaguars compiled 357 yards of offense, yet they only scored three points. How’d that happen?
M: Our defense was explosive the whole game, but in the red zone, we were really on. Patrick Willis and Takeo Spikes I am in awe of, nothing gets past them. We shut down Maurice Jones-Drew like no other. The fans were awesome, and the team was really excited. On one kickoff, Delaney Walker was talking to the crowd, saying “I can’t hear you!” I think the difference is, they’re not thinking about the playoffs so much as winning game-by-game. Of course, it could have been the cheerleaders! It was nice having warmer weather, not freezing our bones off. I think that got the crowd more involved.
ESQ: With 232 passing yards, two TDs, and no interceptions, Smith had probably his best game of the season. Is he finally fulfilling the promise the Niners saw when they drafted him first overall five years ago?
M: Yeah, definitely. When you enter the league as a quarterback, there’s a lot of weight on your shoulders. He’s gotten the trust of the team and some confidence, and he’s gone out and made plays. He also had zero sacks. You gotta thank the O-line, but that’s him, too, like when he moved way out of the pocket to hit Frank Gore for a touchdown. Out of the shotgun, he’s better. He’s gained my trust. That’s really important in case, you know, I get in the game…
ESQ: Speaking of high draft picks, Michael Crabtree’s done pretty well. But how much better would he be if he’d signed before the season, rather than holding out and missing the first five games?
M: Athleticism-wise, Crabtree’s been awesome. I don’t know if you can say, “What if?” He’s making plays, and he’ll get better as the years go on. He had to learn the entire offense, learn his routes, and coming from college to the NFL, it’s a lot faster game, and everybody’s good. He’s done really well in a short amount of time.
ESQ: Which player has surprised you the most this year?
M: With Coach Singletary’s intense attitude, I don’t expect anyone to not do what they’re supposed to do. But Vernon Davis has definitely improved. He has tremendous athletic ability; I think he ran a 4.3 at the combine. He’s grown a lot, he’s found his niche with the team, he’s a completely changed person, and he’s been fulfilling his potential the last few games.
ESQ: Is Singletary the most badass coach to ever rock a turtleneck, or does it just look that way on TV?
M: I was watching him tonight. He does a couple laps around the field before each game to get warmed up. And he could still play. If someone said, “Look, the team needs you on the field,” he could throw on a helmet and pads and take people out. He’s in great shape, and he can wear whatever the heck he wants. I don’t think anyone questions anything he does. He’s a phenomenal person all-around. And I mean, Belichick’s cutoff sleeves, the hoodie that’s way too big for him — he cracks me up, that guy.
ESQ: In the second half, the only scoring came on Joe Nedney’s field goal. Do you find it difficult to cheer during a punt-fest?
M: No, because I love defense. I love watching the guys stop people. If there were no scores and our defense played their butts off and it ended zero-zero, I’d still be cheering as much as if it we were up 45-zip. Defense is when we get the crowd involved, so I’d rather be on defense anyway.
ESQ: Do you find it difficult to cheer in high-heeled boots?
M: I don’t wear heels all that often, so it took some getting used to. But they look good with the uniform, so I’ll throw the boots on any day. The heel is about three inches, and I was like a baby giraffe trying to walk around in them my first season. When it was windy, I thought I might fall over.
ESQ: Ever fallen on the field?
M: In college three or four years ago, I fell off the top of my pyramid, landed on my head, and had to be stretchered off. They thought I broke my neck, but I just had a really bad concussion. I went to a restaurant last year, and this family was like, “Is that her? Is that her?” as I was walking by. This woman grabbed my arm and said, “Did you cheer for Fresno State? Are you the girl that fell?” I was like, “Um, yeah.” And she said, “We’re so glad you’re okay!” It was sweet, but pretty embarrassing that these people remembered me for that. I’m the only one on the team with curly hair, so I stand out.
ESQ: The Niners have lost five games by seven or fewer points, including by three at the Vikings and by four at the Colts, who have a combined 21-1 record. The season’s not over yet, but is there any sense of “What if?”
M: I can’t really say that, because once something happens, you move on. I look at it like, “Let’s win the next game.” Losing in the final seconds to the Vikings was heartbreaking, but you can’t dwell on the past. I think we actually have a really good chance at the playoffs. We have Seattle, then Arizona. We seem to be getting better and better, and I think we’ll play harder knowing the playoffs are in reach. And we also have the Lions. I have a really good feeling about the next few games. Whether it’s in the first quarter or the fourth quarter, I think we’ll find a way to get it done.
Yes it’s starting to be that time of year. The Jills broke out their jackets as the Bills defeated the Dolphins. As usual Phil has the scoop.
By Greg Billing
Dayton Daily News
Wanting some new challenges in life, Laura Vikmanis, a Springboro mother of two, picked up golf and also started drum lessons.
Oh, she also became the NFL’s oldest cheerleader, making the Cincinnati Ben-Gals at age 41.
Vikmanis, a 1986 Fairmont High School graduate, is the oldest Ben-Gal in squad history. She’s been told she’s also the oldest cheerleader in NFL history.
Cincinnati Ben-Gal Laura Vikmanis and her daughters, Alexa and Lija, 11 and 13.“I was at a point in my life where I was like, ‘What do I really want to do? What’s something in my life that makes me happy?’ ” Vikmanis said. “I went to a couple games and saw the cheerleaders and thought that looked really, really fun.”
Vikmanis met a Ben-Gal at a dance class and was encouraged to try out. She made it to the final cuts two years ago, then returned to make this year’s team.
Vikmanis is a registered dietician. Daughters Lija, 13, and Alexa, 11, are competitive cheerleaders.
In her words
“I look at myself as a role model for my children to show them no matter what age or what dream you have, you can work really hard and achieve it.
“I was extremely intimidated because all the girls seemed to be in their 20s or early 30s. … I definitely was surprised how nice all the girls are. You would think with 30 girls we could get pretty catty. But they are all so nice. We’re all very enthusiastic, very social. We all kind of feed off each other.
“It’s definitely comparable (to CMT’s ‘Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team’). They’re a little more intense, for example they have fitness competitions and that kind of thing. … Every practice is a competition to secure your spot on the field. It is definitely comparable to that show. They do a little more than we do, but the glamour aspect and fitness aspect of it is spot on.
“The Steelers game was absolutely the most exciting game to cheer at. I was so grateful to be on the field. The crowd was so loud that even though we’re three feet apart from each other we couldn’t hear each other talking because the crowd was so into it.
“When you’re standing in the tunnel and you see everybody in the stands and hear everybody screaming … it is awe inspiring.
“I’ve done a couple half-marathons but I mostly run for fun. I love weight training. In the summer I’ve been trying to learn how to play golf, and I kind of just for fun picked up some drum lessons.
“My family, I think at first when I told them I was going to try out, were like ‘Oh yeah, that’s something fun to try.’ When I finally made it they were in tears and just so excited. They have been behind me 100 percent. … My children thought it was cool, but I don’t think they understood fully until they went to the game and actually saw me on the field. They think it’s so cool.
“My number one motto I tell all of my clients or anyone interested in losing weight is you can have what you want, just not as much as you want. That way you’re not depriving yourself but you’re also not overindulging. … And eating and exercise go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other if you want to be successful at weight loss.”
By Scott Cronick
Atlantic City Press
Being a cheerleader for the Philadelphia Eagles certainly has its advantages. Performing in front of 60,000-plus fans, watching the game from the sidelines, being featured in a calendar and getting VIP treatment are just a few of the perks.
But for Mays Landing’s Tiffany Monroe, being an Eagles Cheerleader for the past four years and a team captain this year has a deeper meaning. It enabled her to go to Iraq and Kuwait for 12 days over the summer on a USO tour with five others Eagles cheerleaders who visited about 14 bases.
“It was an experience that changed my life,” Monroe said. “I brought them a piece of home, which was really cool. They really appreciate it so much. It really makes you understand what they do for our country.”
The 25-year-old also used her time abroad to help educate students at the Jordan Road School in Somers Point, where she is a health and physical education teacher. Monroe conducted a Veterans Day assembly to help children understand military life better.
The Holy Spirit High School graduate hopes to continue cheerleading for the Eagles at least one more year.
“It’s kind of like I live a double life,” she said.
[Tiffany at PhiladelphiaEagles.com]
The Baltimore Blast Cheerleaders dazzled the fans the Saturday night before last (Nov 21st) as they cheered on their team to victory over the visiting Philadelphia KiXX.
Blast Cheerleaders Director Elizabeth “Liz” Guardalo (center) with former Blast Cheerleaders Joy (left, last year’s calendar cover model) and Amanda (right, current Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleader)
And the Cheerleaders autographs were in high demand.
The Blast Cheerleader next take the field on December 18th when they’ll be sporting their holiday-themed uniforms.
