The Charger Girls are online. Learn about them here!

Top: Andrea, Nicole L., Carly N., Melanie, Belinda, Victoria, Tiffany, Tonya, Ashley, Brittany R.
Middle: Katherine, Marisa, Kimberly, Vanesa, Carly S., Nicole M., Ashlie, Emily, Lauren
Bottom: Natalie, Brittany W., Michelle, Casie, Jacquelyn, Marlina, Heather, Giselle

Patriots.com has new photos from the team’s home opener. It looks like the cheerleaders spent a lot of time changing costumes. I wonder why?

Which costume do you like best?

Updated team photo online here!

By Christopher Leydig
The San Mateo Daily Journal
September 14, 2009

Looks can often be deceiving, especially when somebody is sporting cowboy boots, hiked-up hot pants or fitted leotards nearly every night.

Take Thera Santos, a 24-year-old Foster City resident, who, while being an electrical engineer by day, also happens to don an NBA cheerleader outfit for the Golden State Warriors by night. A pristine example of brawn — or rather beauty — meets brains.

“Sometimes my dance life seems like a secret identity,” confessed the petite 5-foot-2-inch Santos. “I never imagined myself as a professional dancer, but I’ve met the best of friends through this,” she said.

Santos, who grew up in Milpitas and attended college at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, presently works at Space Systems/Loral in Palo Alto, inspecting defective satellite components as a failure analyst during her early morning shifts. Previously, she also worked as a failure analyst in aerospace defense with Raytheon in El Segundo, scrutinizing missile duds.

“I’ve just always loved to build things,” said a smiling Santos. “My parents were always supportive of whatever I wanted to do, but it was my mom who put me in ballet and dance classes.”

Those lessons, which began at the age of 3, accompanied Santos for 12 years, but were left behind during high school at Notre Dame in San Jose. With intensified focus and determination to her college studies, Santos reintroduced dance as a minor along with her electrical engineering degree, but eventually substituted it for business.

“To study dance and to practice it are two different things,” she said.

Despite the delusion, Santos stood loyally by her lifelong passion, opting for recreational dance in lieu of the official classes which were not sufficiently exercising the most enjoyable part of the practice: Performance.

Now, with her third successful Warrior Girl audition behind her, Santos can settle into the uniform she never envisioned wearing.

“I never dreamt of auditioning, it was always just a hobby,” she said.

That capricious disposition changed about three years ago, though, when she attended a clamoring, sold-out game-six playoff series and watched the Warrior Girls perform.

“I thought, ‘I could do that,’” she said.

Following the Warriors’ success that year, open auditions turned out especially large, and heartbreaking; a group of about 250 girls were truncated to 16 within a week. But regardless of the odds, Santos’ skill and personal prerogative to always place herself in the instructor’s front row paid dividends. She won her spot, yet even in her third year butterflies still flutter about.

“Every time I perform I get so nervous. Everything changes, it’s always something new. I’m scared of missing a step, slipping or putting my foot in the wrong place,” said Santos, recollecting having to freestyle a forgotten routine for an endless minute.

Of course, working with the NBA is not all stress; there are definitely perks. Santos has had the pleasure of traveling abroad to China, Japan and most recently Italy to perform, teach and promote basketball’s developing leagues around the globe.

“Even with tight schedules, we always find ways to sightsee,” said Santos, recalling how she managed to squeeze in a 6 a.m. trip to the Great Wall of China prior to work hours.

There are now Warriors fans worldwide, but none match the intensity of those who show up to the home games at Oracle Arena. Santos said they are the best, at least when they are not heckling her.

“It’s a tough position sometimes,” she said, citing the bothersome habits of fans who ask for copious pictures, endless hugs, her number or even follow back to her car while she tries to maintain an affable aura. “Oh yes! You have to carry pepper spray.”

Santos is many things, but if she executed a flawless routine in an empty arena with no fans around to see it, would that make her a cheerleader, or just some engineer possessing extraordinary rhythm and questionable access to a vacated stadium? Santos’ answer would be neither.

“My calling in life is to be a role model to someone,” she said. “The good influence that you put on others is most important to me.”

NFL.com’s week 2 gallery includes dance teams from the Bucs, Colts, Cardinals, Bengals, Panthers, Texans, Ravens, and also the Ravens stunt team. Click here to go there now.

By Steve Mazzucchi
Esquire
September 14, 2009

As the 2009 NFL season kicks off, we get the inside scoop on the incredible ending to the Bengals-Broncos game from an almost-Ph.D. who has prowled Cincy’s sidelines for nearly a decade.

For anyone who’s ever chanted “Who Dey,” the finish to yesterday’s Bengals-Broncos battle was simply crushing. With twenty-five ticks left and Cincy clinging to a seconds-old 7-6 lead, cornerback Leon Hall tipped a desperate pass from Denver quarterback Kyle Orton. The ball landed in the arms of unintended receiver Brandon Stokley, who raced 87 yards for the game-winning score. Shortly afterward, we grilled Tara Willson — a surfin’, rock-climbin’, doctorate-pursuin’ Ben-Gals captain — about tough losses, the Bengals’ portrayal on HBO’s Hard Knocks (“I think it’s accurate. What you see, that’s Chad.”), and life after pom-poms (“I’ll finish my Ph.D. in cancer and cell biology next year. I hope to run my own lab one day and work on either colon or breast cancer research. I’m kind of the nerdy one on the team.”)

ESQUIRE: What a heartbreaker of a game. Take us through the emotional roller coaster of the ending.

TARA WILLSON: After Cedric Benson’s touchdown in the last minute, we were totally psyched. It feels different in the stadium this year. With Hard Knocks and the changes the team has made, we were so hopeful. When that ball landed in Stokley’s arms, and he ran right across the goal line, waiting to go into the end zone, it just took the wind out of me. And then our sound guy plays two or three songs back to back, and I was like, I don’t even want to dance right now.

ESQ: You had to keep dancing?

TW: Oh, yeah. I have a little sheet in a fliptop wristband — just like a QB — and I call the different dances out to the girls in my corner of the field. It was really hard to keep smiling. The crowd was so loud, we had the hardest time hearing each other the whole game. And then when that happened, it was silent. I could have whispered to the girls.

ESQ: Besides Laveranues Coles dropping just about everything thrown his way, what do you think the problem on offense was?

TW: I felt like we were on for the most part. Ochocinco and Carson were hooking up fine. Carson was moving around in the pocket. Andre Caldwell had a good game. We didn’t play it safe on third downs. But I don’t think anyone expected Denver’s defense to step up and punch through the line as much as they did. Our defense did a fairly good job, too. We knocked down a lot of passes and we didn’t have too many penalties. Orton had 243 yards and a touchdown, but he only had about 160 and no touchdowns before that last play.

ESQ: Chad Ochocinco had five catches for 89 yards. Do you think he’s finally happy to be in Cincy?

TW: Chad’s Chad, and he loves to talk. But he seems like more of a team player this year. As much as we hated to lose TJ Houshmandzadeh, I think Chad will have a really good season. He had some good yards after the catch today — Marvin’s been pushing that. Chad’s been fairly quiet this preseason, and I think that’s a good thing.

ESQ: A lot of people have picked the Bengals to make the playoffs this year. What does the team need to do to make those predictions accurate?

TW: Um, score more touchdowns (laughs). The team’s motto this year is “Fight Back.” Maybe this is a good thing that they were so close. Maybe it’ll make them more hungry to fight back and dig in and score touchdowns and get the running game going and keep the line strong and the defense hyped, and be ready to rock and roll.

ESQ: You mentioned Hard Knocks. Was it really a good idea for a team that finished 4-11-1 last year to invite a bunch of HBO cameras in to film their preseason?

TW: I was surprised that the team signed off on it. But they’re not afraid to show anything. It’s almost in a way more interesting to do a show with a team like the Bengals, and the seasons we’ve had. How does a 4-11-1 team come back for 2009? I think it’s helped the team — and the fans here in Cincinnati. For fans to see how hard everyone has been working, they get closer to the players. Those are the guys you cheer for every Sunday. I get chills when I watch the show, because there is so much connection for me after eight years on the squad.

ESQ: In your first seven, the Bengals’ overall regular season record is 48-63-1 and they’ve only once finished with a winning record. Is it hard to stay optimistic?

TW: No. I’m supposed to be optimistic, I’m the cheerleader, right? It’s not as fun when there are no fans in the seats in the fourth quarter. But we have wonderful opportunities to do things for the troops and the community — only 10 percent of our time as cheerleaders is spent on the field. But it’s always exciting. I still get goose bumps when the team runs out of the tunnel.

ESQ: Million-dollar question. You guys going to the playoffs this year?

TW: I don’t like the way you’re laughing when you ask that. Yes we are! I feel confident. Fight back! That’s what we’re gonna do.

By Rodney Hart, Staff Writer
Herald-Whig
9/12/2009
[Click here for ginormous version]

Brandi Kilby refused to give up when she didn’t make the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in 2008.

Her hard work and perseverance paid off when she was picked this summer for the 2009 team. One of 11 rookies on the elite squad, the Hannibal, Mo., native says making the world-famous squad is a life-long dream come true.

It wasn’t easy. And before her name was called, Kilby admits she was a bit afraid.

“It was scary to think that I was coming back this year, and I’ve come all this way, it was a definite possibility I might not make it,” says Kilby, 24, a 2003 Hannibal High School graduate.

More than 600 women tried out for the squad in Dallas this summer. Kilby says she used her experience from last year to provide motivation, and she came back more focused and determined.

The women go through several rounds during the tryouts, beginning with a dance routine with five other candidates. Kilby was picked for the 60-day training camp in Dallas, and she could hardly believe it when learning she’d made the team.

“It was kind of surreal,” Kilby said. “Everybody was crying and hugging and it was a huge relief, really.”

Kilby said she’s always wanted to try out for the team. The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders were formed in 1972 and are recognized as much as the iconic football team they support.

The daughter of Cyndi and Mark Kilby, Brandi graduated this year from Southeast Missouri State University with a degree in criminal justice. She’s never been a cheerleader but does have extensive background in dance.

“The traditional way people think of cheerleaders is not what we are,” she says. “There are no chants or routines. We are more like dancers.”

Since being picked for the squad July 31, Kilby has spent her nights learning dance routines in rigorous practice sessions. She’s already appeared with the team during pre-season games in the new Cowboys stadium, and the home opener is Sept. 20.

“It’s the most energetic atmosphere you could ever imagine,” Kirby says. “There are 80,000 people in the stadium and they scream for us when they hear us announced. The energy is just amazing.”

Kirby made it back to Hannibal for Labor Day weekend, catching up with old friends and seeing family. Then it was back to Dallas to prepare for the Sept. 20 debut.

“It’s time to really buckle down and get the show ready,” she said.

Sports Illustrated has a new set of NFL Cheerleader photos, featuring the Saintsations, Falcons Cheerleaders, 49ers Gold Rush, Cardinals Cheerleaders, Sea Gals, and Bucs Cheerleaders. Go there now.

The 2009 AFC are online at atlantafalcons.com! They don’t have profiles up yet, but they do have the team photo and a few individual photos here.

By Melissa Anderson
World-Herald News Service
September 12, 2009

Danielle Westerman, a graduate of Papillion-La Vista High School, recently earned a spot as a Tennessee Titan cheerleader.

Danielle Westerman has been dancing since she was a little girl and now, at age 24, she will continue her love of dancing as a professional cheerleader for the Tennessee Titans football team.

She will be known as a Titan Cheerleader, but Westerman said the squad doesn’t shout out cheers like traditional cheerleaders. Instead, the team does choreography on the field to support the team and entertain the fans.

“To be dancing professionally while representing a national brand and an amazing organization has been humbling,” she said. “I am very blessed to have been given this opportunity.”

In order to become a Titan Cheerleader, Westerman went through a grueling two-month process.

During the preliminaries, all candidates had to quickly learn a routine and were judged immediately afterward. Westerman made it through the day and was asked to come back for the final.

The finals lasted for almost two weeks and consisted of learning routines while being judged on work ethic, public speaking, body type, dance ability and personality, Westerman said. Each candidate then was asked questions about the Tennessee Titans organization.

“This interview also gives the cheerleader coach, Stacie Kinder, some one-on-one time to get to know each woman as an individual,” Westerman said.

After making it past the two weeks of examinations, Westerman and the other finalists performed a choreographed routine as well as an individual number in front of a live audience and a panel of judges. The finalists performed in groups of three or four and were scored on different factors.

Once Westerman made the team, she and her teammates had to pass an extensive fitness test, to ensure that each had enough stamina to dance through a football game, and a written test about the Titans.

“There are 26 incredible women on the team, and every single woman has blown me away,” Westerman said. “Each woman is employed for an incredible company or is currently going to school to achieve very demanding degrees. I have never been around such an amazing group of women who are so accomplished.”

Westerman said she is looking forward to making new friends and becoming involved in community service events.

“I love giving back to the community, and this will give me an incredible opportunity to do so,” she said. “I am also very excited to step onto the field for the first time and to perform for our amazing fans. Dancing for the NFL will be a completely different dynamic than anything I’ve ever done before. I can’t wait!”

Westerman and her teammates had the opportunity to dance at the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 9. Her first preseason home game was Aug. 15 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and her first regular season home game will be Sept. 20 against the Houston Texans.

Westerman was co-captain of the Papillion-La Vista Junior High Cheerleading Squad and also danced on the Papillion-La Vista High School Pom Squad, becoming a co-captain in 2003. She then attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where she danced on the UNO Dance Team as well as for the Omaha Beef Prime Dancers.

While performing with her dance teams, going to classes and working, Westerman also taught hip-hop classes for a local dance studio in north Omaha called Donna’s Dance Studio. There, she choreographed tryout and competition routines for many high schools in the Omaha area.

Westerman also became a backup dancer for a local artist, David Benjamin, when he performed shows at Linoma Beach.

After graduating from UNO with a degree in marketing, Westerman decided to move to Nashville “on a whim for a change of scenery” in March 2008. She will begin graduate school in the spring to become a registered dietitian.

“I hope to open my own business that can incorporate both studies,” she said.

She had never been to Nashville until about two weeks before moving to look for apartments. She said she was looking for bigger opportunities in dance and music and figured the “City of Country Music” would be a great place for her.