This week, Sports Illustrated gives some love to the ladies of the Clippers Spirit dance team, and the women on the Clippers stunt team, the Fan Patrol. Click here to see what’s up!
M.B. Tuccio, Contributing Writer
Greenwich Time
January 23, 2011
RIDGEFIELD — Lauren Zavarella didn’t buy tickets to Sunday’s AFC championship game in Pittsburgh, but she’ll still have a great view of the action.
And it won’t be from a TV screen, either — it will be straight from Heinz Field — because Zavarella is a New York Jets cheerleader.
A professional dancer who lives in Ridgefield, Zavarella applied for the position through the Jets’ website. She then went through a rigorous audition process to prove she has what it takes.
At this point in her life — Zavarella is 25 — she said it’s a dream job.
Zavarella didn’t start out looking for work as a cheerleader, but rather, for a position in which she could use her skills as a dancer. Knowing she wasn’t too far from New York City, she included that area in her search.
“I just went online and started looking at different options that they had for professional dancers in New York, and I ended up on the Jets’ website,” she said. “I decided to fill out the application and take the risk, and luckily I made it. That was back in 2009.”
While it sounds like a simple story with a happy ending, the audition was quite involved. To become a cheerleader for a franchise in the NFL is no easy gig. The two-week process begins with a large group of applicants. The numbers are thinned through open calls, call backs, and eventually, the finals.
After dancing and practicing given choreography in the preliminaries, the call backs involve a sit-down interview.
“They want to find out about who you are and see if you have the personality,” Zavarella said.
“With only about 35 girls on the team, it’s tough. This past year we started out with about 300 girls, so you definitely have to do the best you can.”
Not only that, Zavarella said, cheerleaders who want to stay on the team must audition each year.
Zavarella’s friends and family were extremely supportive as she went through the audition process.
“They knew from before I auditioned. I told them that I was going to go. They were always telling me I was going to do great,” Zavarella said. “They couldn’t wait to come to a game and see me.”
While it seems jocks and cheerleaders are always together in high school, Zavarella said that’s not true in the NFL.
“We really don’t ever see the players much,” she said. “Our locker rooms are on a separate side of the stadium than theirs. For practices, we practice at night.
“Most of the time when we get there, the players have already practiced. Our paths never really cross much, even outside of working and being at the game.”
After cheerleading, Zavarella plans to teach dance, as she does now at the Academy of Dance Arts in Brookfield. She is also an instructor at The Gymnastic Spectrum in Danbury, which she enjoys very much.
“Of course, I’d love to get married one day and have kids of my own, and teach them as well,” she said.
Zavarella is a popular instructor at the Academy of Dance Arts, where she teaches everything from ballet and jazz to hip-hop. Doreen Rafferty, director of the academy, said kids are drawn to Zavarella’s “warm and bubbly” personality.
“Everyone here is very proud of her,” Rafferty said, of Zavarella’s position as a cheerleader. “We record the games if we are not going to be around, just so we can see Miss Lauren.”
For now, Zavarella loves cheering for the J-E-T-S, Jets! Jets! Jets!
“I’m definitely living in the moment,” she said. “I know this is a time of my life that I’ll always look back on. I can picture myself being like a 50-year-old woman saying, `Back when I was in my 20s, I used to be a Jets cheerleader.'”
By Tom Weir
USA Today
Jan 21, 2011
There has been much ado this week about three of the NFL’s oldest and most storied teams still being alive in the playoffs. But it also might be said that the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers are three of the NFL’s most stodgy teams, since they don’t have cheerleaders.
How can this be? Aren’t all football teams supposed to have cheerleaders? Isn’t there something in the rules about that?
At one time, all three of those teams had official cheerleading squads. For aficionados of high-kicking sideline crews, here’s why they went away:
Pittsburgh: The Steelers had their Steelerettes from 1961-1970, but shut them down when the team moved into Three Rivers Stadium. One could say they’ve been replaced the the Terrible Towel.
The women were recruited from Robert Morris University (then a JC), and had to have at least a 2.0 GPA. You can find some vintage photos at Steelerettes.com.
FanNation.com did a story on them awhile back, and had this quote from original Steelerette Eleanor Lineman Lewis: “The first year, we wore hard helmets as part of our uniform. We started to look more and more like wholesome cheerleaders as time went on.”
Chicago: The Honey Bears were in business from 1976-85, but were axed after the McCaskey family took the helm and decided cheerleaders didn’t fit the team’s rugged image.
Some suggest the Honey Bears’ demise is why the Bears haven’t won a Super since 1985, but that chatter has never caught on the way the Cubs’ various curses have.
Their final performance was to Prince’s Baby, I’m a Star, when the ’85 Bears beat New England at the Super Bowl.
Green Bay: Technically, the Packers still have cheerleaders, but they’re an unofficial group of rotating loaners from either the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay or St. Norbert College.
FootballBabble.com says the Packers had cheerleaders as far back as 1931, recruited from high schools. Then hard-nosed Vince Lombardi, of all people, asked that a professional squad be organized. They were called the Golden Girls Cheerleaders, an apparent homage to Packer’s star Paul Hornung, who was known as “The Golden Boy.”
The Golden Girls were drawn from a dance studio, and included some national champions in baton twirling. They are in the Packers Hall of Fame, but the team did away with cheerleaders in 1988, after a TV station poll found fans were split 50-50 on whether they were needed.
Patriots.com
1/20/2011
[photo gallery]
The Patriots Cheerleaders celebrated the holidays with our troops, visiting thousands of soldiers, airmen, sailors, marines and members of the coastguard in Kyrgyzstan, Qatar and in over a dozen forward operating bases in Northern Afghanistan, traveling via Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters and C130 and C17 airplanes.
On December 19th, the New England Patriots played the Green Pay Packers at the Gillette Stadium. After a big win ending at nearly midnight, six of the Patriots Cheerleaders rushed home to finish packing for their Armed Forces Entertainment Holiday Tour the next day, traveling to the Middle East to spend Christmas and New Year’s with our deployed troops!
Monday, December 20
Arriving at Logan Airport with two suitcases and a carry-on each, three enormous boxes containing approximately 5,000 cards received from our fans in support of our “Cheers for our Troops” drive, and 12 boxes of posters and calendars, the cheerleaders checked in with barely enough time to board before take-off! A big shout out to Wendy and Steve! We couldn’t have done it without you! With layovers in Amsterdam and Turkey to include fifteen hours of flying, we arrived at Manas Transit Center in Kyrgyzstan at 3:00 a.m. to snow and freezing cold weather. We felt like we were back in good ol’ Foxboro!
Wednesday, December 22
After checking in to lodging and a few hours sleep, we “hit the ground running”. We were issued some awesome military boots to keep our feet dry and headed off to our dress rehearsal at “Pete’s Place”. We then went to Wing Headquarters where we received a briefing by Colonels Sones, Brandner and Vega. Following the briefing, we boarded a bus for a cultural tour of Bishkek. We came back to have dinner with the troops, one of our favorite parts of the tours. It’s during meal times that we get to have the most candid conversations with the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, learn about what they do on the bases and about their families back home. After we left the DFAC (stands for dining facility – so many acronyms!), it was back to Pete’s Place for an autograph and photo session. There were so many Patriots fans at this base, and a lot of football fans in general. It was a really fun event! Finally, we headed back to lodging to fight off the jet lag and prepare for the next day.
Thursday, December 23
After breakfast with the troops, we performed our first show of the tour at Pete’s. There was a huge turnout and the audience was awesome! After the hour-long show and autograph session that followed, the cheerleaders had lunch and then boarded a bus for a humanitarian assistance mission at a school in town. I was truly impressed by the philanthropy efforts displayed at Manas. Many of their troops readily, frequently and proudly volunteer their time to not only renovate this school for underprivileged children, but to entertain, collect donations for, and genuinely care for the children. Two busses were full of troops and cheerleaders and the day was spent dancing with excited kids and distributing hats and scarves. We returned to the base, tired but happy after a day of playing with beautiful and happy children. We had dinner with the troops and prepared for our evening show at Pete’s. The evening show turned out to be as successful as the matinee. The crowd was enormous and very loud and interactive! The post-show autograph session lasted for a couple of hours and many of the troops tried on, and took pictures with, the Super Bowl rings!
Friday, December 24, Christmas Eve
After breakfast with the troops, we had a full tour of the base to include Humvee rides! Talk about four wheeling! Next, it was on to the EOD demonstration. EOD stands for Explosive Ordnance Disposal. That’s some pretty intense stuff. When you think you’re in for a tough day at work, try being on the EOD team. Jayson, the team leader, is from Maine, and a huge Pats fan. We got to try on the suits which hard to even stand up in, though once on, the cheerleaders tried out some dance moves. The ladies climbed some ropes, tested out the robots, and learned about different types of explosives. Before we left, the EOD guys presented the cheerleaders with some “beautiful and interesting” calendars from their unit. Thanks guys! They’re displayed proudly in our locker room! Our next visit was with the safety/security department and then it was lunch time. After we ate, we went to an open field and watched a bird demonstration. Birds are very dangerous to aircraft, especially in large numbers (think the Hudson River), so Manas Air Base uses birds of prey to chase away others. We each took turns wearing a glove and let the falcon land on our arms. Next we went to the K9 unit where two of our escorts, Quardrick and Jordan, were brave enough to don the huge bite suit and get attacked by the dog (scary but hilarious!). It’s amazing how well the dogs are trained when I can’t even get mine to sit or give his paw. Lastly, we stopped briefly at a base holiday party and then got fitted for our “battle rattle” – our protective vests and helmets, for our travel to Afghanistan.
Saturday, December 25 – Merry Christmas!
Santa gave us the best Christmas present ever this morning and that was three extra hours of sleep! Instead of a 4:00 a.m. call time like we expected, we got a 7:00 knock on our door instead! We went to the DFAC for breakfast-to-go and waited at the terminal for our flight. After our goodbyes to Q, Danni and Jordan, we flew on a C-130 and landed at Mazir e Sharif, also known as Camp Marmal, or The Mes. There we were greeted by Tammie, Kelli, Nicki, our driver, Aaron and also SFC Matthew Chlosta, who took amazing photos and video for us throughout the Afghanistan leg of the tour! The first thing we did was go to the DFAC, which was adorned with what appeared to be a dozen huge cakes and ice sculptures, and there was even a live band playing! The food was amazing; a real Christmas dinner, just like you’d have at home! It was so festive! After the meal, we loaded into a van and delivered literally HUNDREDS of filled Christmas stockings to troops on the base, as well piles and piles of the cards from our Cheers for our Troops collection. We ended the night at the base holiday party, signing posters and taking photos with the servicemen and women celebrating the holiday away from home.
Sunday, December 26
After breakfast in the German DFAC (there are a lot of coalition forces at this base), we donned our “battle rattle” for our first of what would be many helicopter rides of the trip. Half of us got on a Chinook, the other half on a Blackhawk, and off we went to Khelegay. The cheerleaders signed autographs, took pictures, checked out the M4’s and M16’s (very cool) and also received “Punish the Weak” t-shirts which they’ll wear to practice when they run the dreaded ramps at Gillette Stadium! The group split for three more visits to FOB’s and COP’s (forward operating bases and command outposts, respectively); to PEK, Talawka and OP North. Our last stop of the day, where we would be performing and then sleeping, was FOB Kunduz. We had a quick tour of the base, met some great people, and hurried to prepare for our show. Sgt. Mulryan showed us wonderful hospitality and his troops were an enthusiastic and amazing audience. As we slept in a tent that night, surrounded by barbed wire, reality hit us. We thought about the troops that we had met at the show who had an extremely dangerous mission to perform the next day. Our thoughts and prayers were, and are, still with them all.
Monday, December 27
Rise and shine. We climbed into the Blackhawks to travel to COP Heyraton for a meet and greet and then took some pictures on the MRAP’s (mine resistant, ambush protected) vehicles. Much too soon it was back to the helo’s for departure. We flew to Deh Dadi II, had lunch and prepared for a show. As always, it was a lot of fun and there were SO many Pats fans in the audience!! We left quickly after the show for a flight to Camp Spann. This was a HUGE base for which they had built a giant stage for the cheerleaders’ performance. We had dinner with the troops, a few meet and greets and it was show time with full costume changes. A great autograph signing followed the show and then we had some hot chocolate in the DFAC before bed. Tomorrow is our last day of “FOB hopping”. Can’t wait to see what it brings!
Tuesday, December 28
We were all pretty tired. The jet lag, the cold, the helicopter rides, carrying the gear and the performances are finally catching up with us. We were thinking if we had just ONE full day to sleep and catch up, we’d be ready to start all over again! We just needed to re-charge our batteries. We were really looking forward to our last day of helicopter-travel adventure.
We traveled to COP Gaji, PJT Meymannah and Ghormach. It was there that we presented the flag made of the handprints by the students at the Bowie Memorial School in Chicopee, MA. We presented that same flag to a squadron of Marines in Iraq last year, and Captain Christoper Hermann brought it back to the school when he finished his deployment. The cheerleaders took the flag to the Middle East for IT’S second deployment and presented it to Staff Sgt. Justin Damon of Weymouth, MA, who will carry it back with him when he returns home safely. Our last stop of the day was at FOB Griffin. We met a great group of Navy EOD guys, many coalition forces troops and put on a really fun show. We slept in a super crowded tent (so crowded that I had to sleep with my suitcase ON my bed), got another great feel for real military life, and prepared to head back to our “home base” the next day.
Wednesday, December 29
After sharing breakfast with the Navy EOD crew, we jumped on the Blackhawks and headed back to Mazir e Sharif. Literally minutes after we landed we performed our first show at the base. Poor Stephanie, borderline exhausted and fighting off a cold, she still sang like an angel. I don’t know how the cheerleaders danced with so much energy but their dance performance was perfect and the troops had a great time. We had a little bit of free time so we got to go to the bizarre today, try on some fun hats and buy some souvenirs. The free time ended quickly and it was off to eat and then prepare for another show where we had full costume changes, a large audience and long autograph session. Then it was back to lodging for a full night of sleep! Woo hoo!!
Thursday, December 30
We were sad to say goodbye to our new friends in the Regional Command North but it was time to depart for Qatar to ring in the New Year. We boarded a C17 that read “Spirit of Bob Hope” on the side! What an honor to be in a plane decorated with the name of the man who started morale tours for the military! We landed in Al Udeid where we were met by Wendy and Royal, got through customs and immigration, and drove to Camp As Sayliyah. This is an R&R base (that’s rest and relaxation, not Rock & Roll!), so it’s very nice and very comfortable!. The troops here are treated to many amenities. We knew we wouldn’t be sleeping in tents! When we discovered we didn’t have to walk outside with glow sticks or flashlights to use the latrine we knew we were livin’ big! haha There was even a laundry facility right in the dorm style housing! Clean clothes! Lights out… good night!
Friday, December 31
The morning started with breakfast with the troops. The DFAC was awesome. They even have Krispy Kreme donuts. I’m pretty glad I don’t live there or I’d be in big, big trouble. We had a little personal time to use the computers and reach out to our families and then it was back to the DFAC for a meet and greet. We had a base tour and then prepared for our New Year’s Eve show. The stage was huge, the backdrop an enormous American flag! It was a beautiful way to end a fabulous tour. The countdown began and at the stroke of midnight, the noisemakers sounded, balloons burst and everyone celebrated together! We hurried back to our rooms to pack our suitcases, catch three hours of sleep and then leave for the airport. Sadly, our tour had come to an end.
January 1, 2011
HAPPY NEW YEAR
As we waited in the airport to board our commercial flight back to the states, Amanda, Angela, Kelsey, Patricia, Siobhan, Stephanie and I reflected on all that we had experienced and everyone who we had met over the past two weeks. Though we were tired and anxious to see our families, we realized the days had actually flown by and we were sad to be leaving behind the people we had met, knowing it would be a long time before they got to see their own loved ones. Thank you to Armed Forces Entertainment for giving us this amazing opportunity that we will never forget.
Donning “battle rattle”, flying in Blackhawks, Chinooks, C130’s and C17’s, visiting thousands of troops in Kyrgyzstan, Qatar and over a dozen forward operating bases in northern Afghanistan, sleeping in tents, delivering Christmas stockings and cards, laughing, crying, learning, and most importantly, having the opportunity to shake hands with, and be able to look in the eye and sincerely thank the TRUE PATRIOTS of our nation, our U.S. troops, this tour was truly the experience of a life-time.
To the men and women of our armed forces, we salute you!
The dance team pages have finally be updated on the Toronto Raptors website. This year, they busted out the leggings, über-high heels, and fashionista poses for a totally different look.Click here to check out the new info on the Dance Pak.
Tom Jicha
Sun Sentinel
January 19th, 201
Former Dolphin cheerleaders Jaime Edmondson and Cara Rosenthal are getting another chance to win $1 million on “The Amazing Race.”
Utlilizing the “familiarity breeds ratings” strategy that has worked well for “Survivor,” the CBS reality series is bringing back 11 teams that came close to winning on previous editions.
Edmondson of Fort Lauderdale and Rosenthal of Boca Raton finished second in season 14 when a taxi driver in Hawaii probably cost them the big prize.
The new season, which will be presented in HD for the first time, begins Feb. 20.
While attending an NFL football game, Laura Vikmanis decided she wanted to become a Ben-Gals cheerleader. At age 41, she never thought she would be the oldest cheerleader in the league.
Click here for photos of the Stars Ice Girls on game day!
By Amanda Reed
Enterprise staff writer
Jan 16, 2011
QUINCY —
Less than a year after Stephanie Petronelli of West Bridgewater made the New England Patriots cheerleading squad, the 20-year-old was in the Middle East serenading U.S. soldiers in her sand-covered uniform.
“When I made the team, I didn’t know what to expect,” said Petronelli, of West Bridgewater.
“I had heard about all of the charitable work they did and all of the places they went, but I had no idea,” she said.
Petronelli – boosted by her Brockton roots – sparked her vocal career at age 12 by singing in boxing rings throughout the region.
Her great uncle, Goody Petronelli, trained Brockton boxing champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler in a city gym.
The 20-year-old started cheering for the professional squad in March, and is one of the youngest on the team.
“My friends and mom all told me to try out, so I did,” Petronelli said.
After about a month of try-outs and callbacks, she made the team.
“It’s a part-time job with a full-time commitment,” she said.
From Dec. 20 to Jan. 1, Petronelli and five other cheerleaders from the 24-member squad visited military bases in Afghanistan, Qatar and Kyrgyzstan.
Petronelli performed four songs, and served as the “master of ceremonies” for many of the performances.
As part of their hourlong show – which included singing, dancing and interacting with the soldiers – the crew invited men and women onstage and asked them to audition as if they were trying out to be a New England Patriots cheerleader or NFL football player.
During the “audience participation” segment, soldiers were encouraged to trade the traditional “Twelve Days of Christmas” lyrics for what they really wanted during the holiday season.
Their responses, Petronelli said, were both heartwarming and heartbreaking.
“They wanted plane tickets home, seven days of rest and relaxation and time with their loved ones,” she said.
In Kyrgyzstan, where the group spent about five days, the women visited a school and performed for about 40 underprivileged children. The students made up a dance for the cheerleaders, despite the language barrier.
The Patriots group delivered scarves, presents, Christmas cards and stockings. Petronelli said the children clung to the cheerleaders, hugging them, grabbing at their hands, wanting them to play, she said.
On top of badges, patches and souvenirs that the women received as “thank-yous” from each base they visited, the U.S. Air Force presented them with an American flag.
Being away from home on Christmas and New Year’s Day was particularly somber, she said.
“The troops miss holidays and special occasions all year long,” said Petronelli. “It made us appreciate what they go through and what they sacrifice for us.”
But these teammates didn’t just observe the soldiers – they lived like them, too.
In Afghanistan, the women slept at a different base every night, visiting three to four bases per day.
They donned “battle rattle,” or about 40 pounds of protective gear each time they traveled.
They slept in tents, sometimes on bare box springs, took “three-minute military showers” and rode in Black Hawk helicopters when traveling between remote bases.
“If we weren’t performing, we were wearing armor,” Petronelli said. “We were doing everything that they were doing.”
The squad hails from all over New England and members range in age from 18 to 29. They attend four-hour practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays, in addition to game-day practice and required appearances during the week.
A full-time student at Bridgewater State University and a 2009 graduate of West Bridgewater Middle Senior High School, Petronelli is pursuing a degree in communications.
Amanda Reed can be reached at areed@enterprisenews.com.
Life hasn’t been easy for actress Sarah Shahi
By Luaine Lee
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
Jan. 17, 2011
PASADENA, Calif. – When she started to work, actress Sarah Shahi was as naive as they come. When it came to life, she was wise beyond her years. Growing up in the tiny town of Euless, Texas, she used to imagine what she would do if she were in the place of TV’s protagonists. And she always nurtured a compulsion to perform in musical theater.
She wangled a position with the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, though she’d never led a cheer in her life. And when director Robert Altman came to town to film “Dr. T and the Women,” he took a shine to her. But she had no clue who he was.
At home it was a different matter. Her father was a drug abuser and she remembers she was 8 when her sister was born. “My dad took my mother to the hospital. He came back, picked my brother and I up. He filled a trash bag full of clothes and canned food. He dropped us off at the hospital, and then he didn’t come back.
“At 8 I felt like I had to grow up right then. It was not like consciously I was aware of what he was doing. I thought he was packing clothes for my mom, but I remember they had this dinner for the moms in the hospital who’d just given birth. It was for the husbands and wives. I looked around and all the other husbands were there, except for my mom’s. So I sat with her. I realized he’s not coming back. It’s just us. I have to grow up. And I stopped being a kid after that.”
It’s that combination of innocence and savvy that makes Shahi so good in USA’s new “Fairly Legal,” premiering on Thursday. Shahi plays a moxie little lawyer who knows the score but doesn’t play the game.
After co-starring roles in “Alias,” “Life,” “The L-Word,” and having her baby boy, who’s 18 months old, Shahi says she’s ready for anything.
“I loved being pregnant. I felt like mother Earth, loving any living creature. I felt I could talk to the squirrels. I know there are tons of women out there where pregnancy isn’t easy for them. But it worked for me. To give life, to have another human being live off you, I felt like a woman. I felt so sexy. I laughed every day and cried every day and loved every moment of it. I gave birth at home without any kind of drugs, it was me, a birthing coach, my husband and my mid-wife. I trusted my body and I trusted my baby. I would talk to him before hand. And my husband delivered him and that moment I felt I earned my stripes in a big way.”
It seems that Shahi never takes the easy way. Once she had decided to pursue a career, she and her mom packed up her cherry-red pickup and headed for L.A. She had no idea how she was going to conquer show biz. Her mother stayed three days and was on her way when Sarah had to figure out how to make a living.
It was only a couple of months before she landed a tiny part as a cheerleader. “In the beginning when my dinners were coming from the 76 across the street, little cans of tuna, the struggle is hard, especially in L.A. when all around you are images of people enjoying the glamorous lifestyle. There are certain aspects of my career that still trouble me,” she says.
One of those was being a new mom and carrying the lead role in “Fairly Legal.” The days were long and sometimes she’d see her son for only 30 minutes a day. Shahi treasures every second with her family. Married for two years to actor Steve Howey (he was on “Reba” for six years) Shahi says, “In our hearts we could be school teachers in the Midwest. We’d been together for seven years, and I knew who I was getting.”
The typical family life had not been part of her upbringing. “I remember I loved going over to my friend’s house who had the mom and the dad, because I loved that. I loved being surrounded by the Norman Rockwell version of the family.”
The day she finally decided to disconnect from her father was another obstacle.
“I was 24. I was supporting myself. I was on my own. That day was when they talk about the notches in your belt, that was a big one because I remember the last conversation I had with him, that was not him. He was a crazy man. It was sad how quickly I realized that, it was so apparent. No matter who they are, your biological parents or not, I do believe we pick our parents. I believe in the spiritual world. I believe my child came to me for a reason and that my child came to my husband and I for a reason. And I came to my parents for a reason, and it was the moment when I said, ‘I never had a father, I’m not going to have a father. I’m not going to stop loving him. But this man is not my dad’ And that was a huge adult moment for me, and I felt a big loss.
