Flyers bringing back Ice Girls, holding tryouts Oct. 5
Randy Miller
NJ.com
September 30, 2014
PHILADELPHIA – There were more loud boos again Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center when the Flyers’ new all-guys ice cleaners skated out with shovels during a first-period stoppage.
And then a message on the scoreboard led to a big cheer.
The Ice Girls, loved by Flyers fans but fired after last season amid reported complaints, are returning for the Oct. 9 regular-season home opener against the Devils.
Actually, a new team of 10 Ice Girls will be hired from a tryout that will be held at noon on Sunday, Oct. 5 at the Flyers Skate Zone practice rink in Voorhees.
Candidates can register beforehand at PhiladelphiaFlyers.com or in-person on the day of the tryouts. Participants must be at least 18 years old.
The constant booing during the ice guys frequent on-ice appearances during the Flyers’ first two preseason games led to a change of thinking.
“When Flyers fans voice their concerns, we listen, because they are undeniably the most passionate and knowledgeable fans in all of sports,” Flyers COO of Business Operations Shawn Tilger said. “After two preseason games evaluating the program, we’ve decided to welcome the return of the Flyers Ice Team, beginning on opening night. We’ll look to assemble a team that is fan friendly, and represents the Flyers well both on the ice and in the community.”
‘My girls’ shine as Vancouver Stealth’s new Bombshells
by: Gord Kurenoff
Vancouver Sun
September 29, 2014
Not since Meg Ryan’s OMG moment in When Harry Met Sally have you seen excitement reach this heightened level.
In fact, it was easily the most epic thing I did all month, but to keep peace at home I pulled a Pinocchio and told my wonderful wife it ranked a distant second!
When Jared Harman, the savvy director of business development at Langley’s award-winning Events Centre, asked if yours truly would like to help select this season’s Vancouver Stealth Bombshells, I was waiting for Ashton Kutcher to show up at any moment with his Punk’d camera crew.
So, let me get this straight — no joke intended: The National Lacrosse League team wants this Sun scribe to judge beautiful women while they dance right in front of me, in gym wear, for three or four hours?
Pausing just long enough to make it look like I have a life outside of work, yours truly said OK, hung up the phone, screamed “yahoo,” did a few fist-pumps, back flips, cartwheels, hyperventilated — you know, all the typical things calm people do.
Fast forward to Saturday morning at Let’s Dance Studio on Granville Street. Almost three dozen calendar-ready women are stretching and getting ready for dance team tryouts. They are so busy loosening up they don’t notice me (smile) as I drool and strut by like a proud peacock to the judges’ table where we will eventually have to inform almost half of this group to come back next year.
Stealth owner Denise Watkins, a mother of three and a whiz in sports management, explains that the Bombshells have to be respectful, friendly, team-oriented, and readily available to help at charity-fundraising events and committed to improving as a precision dancer and Stealth ambassador.
“To be clear, we aren’t looking for strippers. We don’t allow twerking or anything indecent,” says Watkins matter-of-factly. “They can be sexy, but the Bombshells have to be family-acceptable and role models for young girls.
“They have to be able to mingle with fans and represent our team and city at minor lacrosse and community events. They have to be more than just a pretty face or pretty body. And they have to understand the market we’re working and living in.”
The NLL Colorado Mammoth, for example, has a sexed-up dance team called the WildBunch that arrives at Denver’s Pepsi Center on Harleys. Not all of their body parts appear as natural as their megawatt smiles (judging by the glossy photos in my wallet), but what’s not to like about a crew that does country and hip-hop routines? (And now that I have experience selecting dancers, I’m available to help out in the Mile High City. Just saying!)
So does that mean the tamer Bombshells will appear on tractors petting baby sheep in the more-conservative Langley area?
“You’re going to be trouble today, right?” grins Watkins, who also flushed my ideas of introductory group hugs, parting hugs, kisses for the winners, one-on-one picnics, fantasy pools or runner-up adoptions.
The other male judges on the panel — Stealth coach Dan Perreault, president and GM Doug Locker, chief financial officer David Takata and TSN Radio anchor Matt Baker — seemed to like my ideas, but stopped very short of verbally endorsing them. (Likely just shy. First-timers, eh?!)
Bubbly Alexis Whatley, who danced with the Bombshells last season and is back as choreographer, put the women through their brisk paces. You soon realize this dance thing takes endurance, grace, physical fitness, coordination and learning on the fly.
Whatley, who is brilliant and exudes personality-plus, gave the dancers quick lessons in “hair-ography,” shaking their bodies, proper breathing, smiling and groovin’ to catchy tunes like Bang, Bang! You didn’t need binoculars — I had them just in case — to recognize this was difficult work.
The toughest part of the afternoon was trimming the roster. Most of these 20-somethings have been dancing since they were five, and did this because they loved it. There was no mistaking the passion or natural talent.
One sweet girl, who just moved here from Houston — “the small one in Northern B.C., not the big one in Texas” she joked — was my top underdog pick. Her genuine enthusiasm, heart and personality were addictive. Unfortunately she didn’t make the final cut and I was choked up watching her get choked up. Hopefully she keeps practising because I know Langley would love her spirit.
Watkins says she has an emotional attachment to her entire “Stealth family” and often calls the players “my boys.”
I totally get it. Knowing I helped select the new Bombshells, and felt some sort of connection (even if they didn’t), I left the Granville Street studio proud of “my girls.” Otherwise known at home, around my wife, as “those girls.”
See the Bombshells’ tryout photo gallery by clicking HERE.
The Raiders website has been updated with individual profiles for this season’s Raiderettes! Looks like they’ve gone a bit creative with the uniform photos this year. They almost look like illustrations rather than photographs. Fancy stuff!
Click here to learn more about the team.
By Steve McElwee
Centre Daily Times
September 27, 2014
Because State College is the state’s geographical center, when it comes to NFL fandom in Happy Valley, team loyalties extend in every direction and are as diverse as they are fervent. No matter where your football fidelity falls, everyone can agree on rooting for a local kid to make it to the league.
This spring, Leah Cable, a State College native and 2013 SCAHS graduate, was unveiled as one of the newest members of the Philadelphia Eagles’ Cheerleading squad. A long-time trained dancer, Cable is a sophomore at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and said she is thrilled to be able to cement her own legacy in this 66-year-old tradition.
“I am very excited about this opportunity,” Cable said. “I have been dancing since the age of 3 and performed in competitions across a number of states growing up, but all this time I was never really into cheerleading. What drew me to the Eagles Cheerleaders is that they actually do a lot more dancing and they don’t really rely on stunts or on having us fly around.”
“She has been dancing for almost all of her life and I am so excited about this,” said Ellen Cable, Leah’s mother. “This is also a great opportunity for her to pursue a dancing career.”
Cable is more than just a halftime performer. The Eagles Cheerleaders are renowned for their service work, which was a major attraction for the socially conscious Cable.
“In middle school and high school, I was a Pride Ambassador and I have always had a passion for community service,” Cable said. “I also knew that the Eagles Cheerleaders also are heavily involved with community service, they really are the team’s ambassadors, so it was only natural for me to continue that passion as a member of the squad.”
“In order to be an Eagles Cheerleader, you have to be really committed to represent the Eagles brand,” Cable said. “We don’t really look at ourselves as sex symbols, especially when you take into account all of the work that we do, the games, the practices, community appearances and various team obligations. It’s a lot of work, but I really enjoy doing it.”
As a dance major at UArts, Cable is also perfectly suited to apply what she studies onto the field and used her training during the two-month-long audition process.
“A bunch of other students at UArts all went and auditioned and we had learn a whole lot of different dance techniques in class, ranging everywhere from ballet to jazz, tap and hip hop,” Cable said. “There are actually five total girls who are attending UArts who are on the team. We are all really supportive of each other, too. There is also a huge variety of people on the squad like pre-med students and speech pathologists, but my own academic curriculum has been very beneficial toward my role as a cheerleader.” [The others are Becky, Emily, Malia, and Nitara.]
“Even though she has been competing in dance since she was 8, I always get nervous every time she goes on stage,” Ellen Cable added. “But I was ecstatic for her when she made the team, I was extremely excited. She has two older sisters who are also dancers who have been extremely supportive of her and her career path. We are all just so excited.”
While most college students spent the summer either taking classes or working jobs, Cable and the squad traveled to Mexico to take part in the 2015 Eagles Cheerleader Calendar, which was unveiled earlier this month.
“The experience was amazing,” Cable said of the calendar shoot. “We flew down to a resort in Mexico. It was my first time out of the country, and it was just an incredible time.”
With her whole life ahead of her, Cable knows that right now is the ideal time to explore her interests. Her dance degree could lead her to a variety of professions from swinging on Broadway to operating her own studio, but for the time being, she is happy to cheer for the Midnight Green.
“I am just really looking forward to being out there on the field and having that amazing experience of being on an actual NFL field on game day,” Cable said. “This is going to be such a wonderful opportunity.”
Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2014/09/27/4376599_state-high-grad-an-eagles-cheerleader.html?sp=/99/188/220/&rh=1#storylink=cpy
Lots to see on Sports Illustrated. Click here for photos from week 2 and here for photos from week 3. And if that’s not enough, click here to check out their feature on Arizona Cardinals Cheerleader Andrea.
Click here for week 3 photos on NFL.com!
Individual uniform photos and cheerleader profiles have been added to the Bucs’ website. Click here to learn more about this year’s squad!
The Titans have posted individual profiles for this year’s team of cheerleaders. Click here to learn more about the ladies on the team!
Click here for week 2 photos on NFL.com!
With no Jills to lead cheers, the job of drumming up fan excitement falls to the Stampede:
There will be no cheerleading squad doing the ‘Shout’ dance at the Ralph on Sunday. Instead, Bills fans will follow the beat of a 20-member percussion group, the Stampede
By Jane Kwiatkowski Radlich
Buffalo News
September 12, 2014
Something will be missing from the Bills home opener on Sunday.
But there also will be something new.
The Jills are gone.
Welcome the Stampede Drum Line, 20 percussionists who are about to become part of game days this season at The Ralph.
The 35-woman cheerleading squad was suspended earlier this year, after five former Jills pressed suit in April against two management companies and the Bills organization for back wages.
Unlike the Jills, who had been on the sidelines since Daryle Lamonica was traded to the Oakland Raiders in 1967, the Stampede drummers will be stationed in the grandstand, where seven rows of seats that have been removed to accommodate them and their instruments.
“Everybody loves rhythm, and that’s what we are,” said Jack Gaylord Jr., the Stampede manager. “Our members are professional drummers with snare drums, bass drums, tenor drums.”
And if you think beating the drum is an easy task, not so. Gaylord is the longtime promoter of Drums Along the Waterfront, an annual showcase for top-rated drum corps from around the country.
“They will be wearing microphones, performing on cue from game-day operations high above the stadium,” Gaylord said. “Everything must be coordinated with the scoreboard, the music and commercials.”
Tailgating fans will experience the beat of the Stampede in stadium parking lots as half the drum line – 10 percussionists – visits lots on the stadium side of Abbott Road.
The other half will appear in the redesigned concourse behind the Bills Store between Gates 4 and 5 to welcome fans into the stadium.
The Stampede also will welcome the players on the field, lining the tunnel much as the Jills previously had done.
The drummers’ uniforms consist of Bills game jerseys that carry the name “Stampede” and the numbers of Wall of Fame players, worn with knee-length shorts. As the season progresses, the drummers will turn to sweatpants.
The decision to hire the Stampede was made after the drum line performed to rave reviews during the last game of the 2013 season, said Marc Honan, chief marketing officer for the Bills.
“The reviews from the performance were even beyond our expectations,” Honan said. “Right now, we’ve contracted them for game days in the 2014 season.”
The Stampede members will be paid for their performances, Gaylord said.
When asked if Stampede would be compensated by the Bills, Honan declined to comment.
The Bills are not the only National Football League team to offer drum line entertainment.
The 27-member PurrCussion drum line for the Carolina Panthers shares the field with the Topcats cheerleaders.
The New York Jets drum line, the Aviators, wear khaki jumpsuits when they perform at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
The Seattle Seahawks Blue Thunder was established in 2004 and invites guest rock drummers to join performances. This season’s guest drummer lineup includes Scott Rockenfield of Queensryche, Alan White of YES and Matt Cameron from Soundgarden.
The Bills also won’t be the only NFL team without cheerleaders. Six other teams do not have cheerleading squads: the Chicago Bears, the Cleveland Browns, the Detroit Lions, the Green Bay Packers, the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The absence of the cheerleaders disappoints many former Jills.
Omarlla Roulhac was a member of Jills for 13 seasons, from 2000 to 2013 – longer than any other Jill. When she retired at the end of the 2013 season, she was preparing to get married.
This year, Roulhac and her husband, Cordell Roulhac, have season tickets and already have attended two home preseason games. It was the first time the newly retired cheerleader watched a game from the stands.
“When the first game came and there were no cheerleaders, I just felt empty,” she said. “It wasn’t that full game-day experience. There were no cheerleaders doing the ‘Shout’ dance. It was very sad.”
Since the inception of the Buffalo Jills, more than 600 women have at one time another raised pompoms on the sidelines. Prior to the creation of the Jills – from 1960 to 1967 – cheerleaders from Buffalo State College led cheers for many of the games.
The absence of the Jills affects more than the squad and fans who attend home games. There will be no Jills calendar. No Junior Jills program, either. Junior Jills, who range in age from 5 to 17, are taught how to cheer and to dance by professional cheerleaders with the goal of performing on the field in the annual Kids Day preseason game.
“We’ve cheered together and know what it’s like to be on the field and have 80,000 people screaming,” Roulhac said. “We’re at each other’s weddings and in each other’s weddings. We hang out all the time.”
Recently, Jills alumni met for brunch, and talk among the women drifted toward the future, and whether the new owner will bring the cheerleaders back.
“We just kind of hope that things will settle themselves out so that there will be Jills again,” Roulhac said.
Meanwhile, the Stampede’s manager is keeping an upbeat attitude.
“As far as the Jills go, at the game last year we were right there with the Jills down in the tunnel area,” Gaylord said. “The Jills were doing their thing and we were doing ours. We can coexist peacefully on the field.”
