Woohoo, workin’ it in Lob City!
SO happy for these girls. 🙂

I may have to crash a rehearsal and find out what’s doing…

St. Louis Rams
December 29, 2011

Recently, five St. Louis Rams cheerleaders and team mascot Rampage traveled to the Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBML) in Washington to bring some holiday joy to the men and women serving our country and working together to keep JBML as one of the most successful joint bases. Jessica, Jennifer, Emily S., Shannon and Jayne adventured to the base for a weekend full of events and once in a lifetime experiences.

The first stop of their visit was the fire station on base. The ladies saw the new ladder truck that the JBLM Fire Station put into service that very day. They received an inside look at the procedures and protocols for the fire fighters. Not only were they given a tour of the station, there were also able to ride in the truck, as well as the ladder bucket, up to its full 100 foot height.

For Jessica, this was one of the highlights of the trip. “As an emergency room nurse, I was honored to visit the fire station on the base and get an up close and personnel look at what pre-hospital care is all about,” she said.

Next, the group went to the McChord Main Store to sign autographs and take photos with fans. Rampage also provided lots of entertainment to the younger Rams fans on base. Rampage was the first NFL mascot to come to the Main Store to visit with soldiers and their families.

“I was also truly honored to meet the people who have sacrificed their lives to protect us, our soldiers,” said Jessica about spending time in the Main Store. “Those men and women are truly inspirational, and I am honored to have met them.”

During the meet and greet, two of the biggest Rams fans on base came out dressed from head to toe in Rams gear. They were rewarded with tickets to the Monday Night Football game in Seattle, as well as pregame field passes.

“One of my favorite moments of our trip was giving two soldiers tickets to the Rams vs. Seahawks game during one of our appearances,” Shannon said. “They were so excited to spend some time off base and cheer on the Rams at the Monday Night Football game!”

The next day, the ladies were able to experience shooting training on a gun simulator the way soldiers qualify with the M16. They got some pointers from the professionals before trying it out themselves. “We were able to get a sneak peak of the day in the life of a training soldier, and I can say that it was an eye opener for me,” said Jessica. “While visiting the gun simulation, I actually surprised myself and found that I can actually shoot an M-16. I hit not one, but several targets! I had a great experience.”

After shooting practice, they visited the unit that maintains and repairs the Howitzer gun. They were treated to a demonstration on how to load and aim the cannon-like gun and were then given the chance to try it out themselves.

After the weekend, each member of the Rams organization walked away with a memorable experience. “It is always such an honor to meet the men and women who serve in our military and personally thank them for everything they do, especially during the holidays,” said Shannon. “Visiting Joint Base Lewis-McChord allowed us to meet several military personnel. We were not only able to show our appreciation for them, but we had the chance to really get to know everyone we talked to.”

Click here to check out the latest photos of Santa’s elves on CharlotteObserver.com!

Catching Up With…Laura Vikmanis
By Lauren Bishop
Cincinnati.com
Dec. 28, 2011

[Photos]

At 43, Cincinnati Ben-Gal Laura Vikmanis is the oldest cheerleader in the NFL. She’s also the only one whose life will soon become the subject of a movie and a book.

Vikmanis of Springboro made national news this year when a video about her on Yahoo.com told the story of how the dietitian and 42-year-old single mother of two teens became the NFL’s oldest cheerleader two years ago.

Hollywood came calling, and by the end of March, she had sold the rights to her life story to New Line. The studio has hired screenwriters Emily Cook and Kathy Greenberg – whose credits include “Gnomeo & Juliet” and “Ratatouille” – to tell the story of show she became the NFL’s oldest cheerleader after the collapse of her marriage.

The film likely is still at least two years away, but Vikmanis’s memoir is due out March 20 from Ballantine Books, a division of Random House. Vikmanis wrote the book, titled “It’s Not About the Pom-Poms: How a 40-Year-Old Mom Became the NFL’s Oldest Cheerleader and Found Hope, Joy, and Inspiration Along the Way” with Brooklyn-based author Amy Sohn.

Sohn’s books include the novels “Run Catch Kiss” and “Prospect Park West” and a companion guide to HBO’s “Sex and the City” titled “Sex and the City: Kiss and Tell.”

“I met her last March and we just clicked instantly,” Vikmanis said of Sohn. “There’s a lot of fun and interesting insight into the NFL cheerleading world.”

The book also delves into Vikmanis’s marriage, a topic she said she can’t discuss in detail until the book comes out. But she said it’s highly personal.

“I’ve totally opened myself up,” she said. “I know there’s a lot of judgment out there, and I just hope that people look at the broader picture, which is, if you’re struggling with something, it doesn’t mean you’re going to be struggling the rest of your life. You can turn yourself around.”

The book’s release will coincide with a national book tour that includes dates in Greater Cincinnati.

In the meantime, she’s trying her hand at blogging on SkinnyMom.com under the heading “A Mom to Cheer For” about topics like avoiding weight gain during the holidays and gifts for fitness-minded people. And fans can still see her at Bengals games.

The Bengals’ last home game is Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. And after that, she said, “I’m definitely trying again out next year.”

As expected, there is lots of holiday goodness in this week’s gallery. Click here to check it out!

This week’s gallery includes the Seahawks, Cowboys, Redskins, Chiefs, Titans, Ravens, Patriots, and Colts. Click here to go there now.

So it’s the week between Xmas and New Year’s. There’s nothing going on at work, so I’ve spent a productive morning perusing the pages of Tebowing.com. I came across the photo below and thought to myself “Self, this would be so much more awesome if the Laker Girls were Tebowing too.” I know a few of the Laker Girls. Perhaps I shall ask them if this would be possible. And then I had another thought: You know what would be even better? If it was the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders instead. You know that photo is out there.

Auditions for the Arizona Rattlers Sidewinders Dance Team are just around the corner! Do you have what it takes? Click here to learn more about the team!

The Houston Texans Cheerleaders wore their new Santa Suits during the Texans home game on December 18th. Click here for photos from AZFamily.com.