The New York Knicks have selected the 2009 Knicks City Dancers. Last week, the Knicks opened it up to you to vote for your favorite finalists. In the end, the vote was down to two: Paula and Melissa. During the team’s official announcement party, Paula and Melissa found out that both of them had made the team. Congratulations, ladies!
Click here for photos from the KCDs announcement party.
OKC Thunder: the first day of auditions for the 2009-10 thunder girls attracted women from as far away as Japan and California to Firelake grand Casino on Saturday. Forty-two women advanced to the finals, open to the public, Tuesday in Bricktown. Check out the video and photos.
LAist.com: Over 500 dancers showed up in El Segundo this weekend to try out for the 2009-2010 Laker Girls squad … but no more than 22 of these talented young ladies will make the final cut.
LAist couldn’t miss this opportunity to bring you interviews and video highlights direct from the scene.
If you noticed your portfolio grow last week thanks to your acquisition of Mystic Tan stock, keep in mind that both the Laker Girls and Clipper Girls have concluded open auditions. Buy low, sell high …
Hello, this is totally wrong. Clippers open auditions are THIS SATURDAY, the 25th. Dude, get your facts straight. Dancers, be there or be square!
By Janis Carr
The Orange County Register
July 20, 2009
They came wearing their best dance shoes, brightest smiles and hopes etched into their faces.
Then they danced and spun and leaped for a panel of judges, all for a chance to be a Laker Girl.
More than 500 young women from Southern California and beyond showed up at the Lakers training facility in El Segundo for a chance to land one of 50 coveted spots on the squad that performs at Lakers home games and other functions.
Not all could make it. But they held onto their belief that they possessed the right moves, looks and personality to be a Laker Girl and spent the better part of Saturday showing the judges they had what it takes. Click here for slideshow
. Katie was a Broncos Cheerleader for two years (read her Broncos profile here. She beat out 30 contestants to take the crown, which was passed on by Miss Colorado 2008, Jamie Dukehart-Conti,who was also a Broncos Cheerleader. Katie will represent Colorado in the Miss America Pageant in January.
New information about the 2009-10 Pats Cheerleaders has been posted on patriots.com. Click here to read the profiles, and click here to see the head shots.
Profiles for the 2009 MVC are now online at Vikings.com!
The Tennessee Titans Cheerleaders are way ahead of the curve this season. They just posted headshots last week, and now they’re back with individual profile pages. Click here to meet the rookies, and catch up with the veterans!
Spreading the Word: Cheerleaders in London
Buccaneers.com
Jul 14, 2009 – Their outfits drew looks, as is usually the case, frankly. In this case, however, some of the stares were born of confusion.
As it turns out, a Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleaders outfit is a real attention-getter in London, even more so than those wearing the uniforms expected. That’s true throughout the United Kingdom, actually…and that’s a good thing, because the half-dozen Buccaneers Cheerleaders who recently took a five-day promotional tour of the U.K. were there specifically to draw attention.
“Everyone loved us when we were there,” beamed Kelli Jones, one of the six Bucs Cheerleaders to make the trip in late June and early July along with Cheerleading Manager Sandy Charboneau. “At first, people didn’t really know why we were there or why we were dressed the way we were, because American football is not as big in Europe as soccer.”
Jones and her teammates were happy to fill in the blanks for any interested onlookers: They were in the U.K. to promote the 2009 American Bowl game between the Buccaneers and the New England Patriots. The Bucs and Patriots will face each other in London’s Wembley Stadium on October 25, marking the third consecutive year in which the NFL has staged one of its regular-season games at that site.
The first two American Bowl games in London — Miami vs. the New York Giants in 2007 and New Orleans vs. San Diego last year — were big hits among NFL fans in the United Kingdom. The league expects intense interest in the Tampa Bay-New England clash, too, and the Bucs’ Cheerleaders aimed to add to the growing excitement.
“We were there promoting the game, promoting the Buccaneers and trying to rally support for the game in October,” explained Jones. “So far I hear they’ve sold 70,000 tickets and they’re looking to sell at least 10,000 more. I think with our P.R. tour around U.K. we did a pretty good job.”
Jones and Charboneau were joined on the trip by fellow cheerleaders Anna Duncan, Roseanne Strobel, Tiffany Jimenez, Sara Tetzler and Stephanie Mookas. The Bucs’ most enthusiastic rooters have been globetrotters of late; another group of 12 cheerleaders recently returned form a tour of military bases in Japan and Guam.
The crew that went to Europe didn’t confine their efforts to London; they toured much of the United Kingdom, spreading the word about the Bucs’ impending visit from Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland to Brighton, Sheffield, Newcastle and other spots in England. When the Buccaneers return as a full team in October, their six visiting cheerleaders from the summer will be able to show the rest of the squad around. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleaders plan to arrive in London a week before the game to attend various events and promote the game again.
For Jones, the return visit will be a welcome one. Her advance trip with a handful of teammates was a five-day whirlwind of appearances and sightseeing, and unlike anything she had experienced before.
“I had never been overseas before, so it was very exciting me to make the trip,” gushed Jones. “I can actually say, ‘Oh, I was in London last week.’ How cool is that? It was nonstop but it was totally worth it. How often can you say you went to Europe and you got to see Scotland and all these castles and Buckingham Palace? Everybody can’t say that. It was an awesome trip. All the girls had such a good time.”
They made sure the people they met did, too. That was especially true during a trio of stops in Glasgow, Newcastle and Brighton, where the cheerleaders held clinics on their craft with groups of local children. Conducting such camps is nothing new to the cheerleaders, but it was a novel experience for the kids they encountered.
“It’s always fun to be around kids and see how excited they can be. I think that was probably the best part of the trip. Most of the kids were unfamiliar with American football, and cheerleaders in particular because cheerleading isn’t a big thing in the U.K. So they received us very well. They were so excited for us to be there. That was a lot of fun, hanging out with the kids. The surroundings were different, but kids like to have fun no matter where you are, so that was great. That was probably where we made the biggest impact.”
Whether in schools, on the streets or at Wimbledon — where they were interviewed for a British television network — the visiting cheerleaders did their best to represent the Buccaneers proudly.
“When we’re in uniform, we’re in a Buccaneers mindset,” said Jones. “It’s the Buccaneers, 24/7, no matter where we go. Just walking into a hotel, we know we’re representing the Buccaneers. That is constantly on our minds. We always knew what our purpose was while we were there: to represent the Bucs and the NFL as a whole in Europe. We’re trying to help spread American football around the world.”
That is the NFL’s ultimate goal, of course, and it has found a strong foothold in London. The games in 2007 and 2008 drew huge crowds, and the Buccaneers already have an impressive and loyal fan base in London. From the feedback she and her teammates received during their five days in the U.K., Jones believes this year’s game will prove to be very popular.
“I’m told the previous two games have been sold out, and I think we drummed up some more support with our media blitz,” said Jones. “We at least got the word out, so hopefully that will lead to some word-of-mouth and some added interest. I think it’s going to be a pretty big deal by the time we get there.”
Check out the new threads!
(Like I was going to wait for photos on the Titans website. Please – do I look like an amateur?)
So these are a few photos from the annual Jeff Fisher and Friends Softball Game, which took place last month at Greer Stadium. THis photo is from lcthedog’s album on Flickr. You want to see the rest? Get to steppin’.
