by Frank Jolley, Sports Editor
Daily Commercial
March 12, 2009
LEESBURG — Deanna Clover has been a performer for as long as she can remember.
She has performed in dinner theaters, danced on cruise ships and as a member of the dance teams for the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League and the NBA’s Orlando Magic.
Clover’s lifetime on stage has allowed her to travel the world as a promotional tool for the NBA and the Magic, and reached a peak this year when she was chosen to represent the team in Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit edition.
Feeling the aches and pains from years of performing and realizing she had likely accomplished as much as she could as a dancer, Clover decided that this year, her fifth with the Magic, would be her final season.
That doesn’t mean, however, that Clover is leaving a business she has devoted most of her life to. Instead of dancing in the limelight, Clover is looking to move into the wings as the dance-team coordinator for the fledgling Leesburg Thundercats professional basketball team.
Clover accepted an offer from Thundercats’ owner Kevin Simmons in December to become the franchise’s first dance-team coordinator. She held tryouts throughout the county and the seven-dancer team was unveiled recently during Eustis’ Georgefest parade.
“Part of my job is to get the Thundercats name out in the public and let them know we’re bringing professional basketball to Lake County,” Clover said. “We’re going to do that by performing at games and by giving dance clinics in the community. We want to be an active part of the community and become a positive influence for young people.
“This team is going to help develop the image people have of the Thundercats, so we want to make a very good impression and be a staple in the community.”
Clover said she decided to make this season her final year as a Magic dancer after suffering a torn labrum and assessing the amount of wear and tear her body has endured over the years. She recently turned 30, and while there is no age limit to be a Magic dancer, the grueling annual auditions to make the team were taking their toll.
Also, because of her commitments to the Magic, Clover was not spending as much time with her family. She has been married for nine years to her husband, Cliff, who she met when she danced on a cruise ship.
In addition to her dancing duties, Clover works part-time at her husband’s real estate business in Kissimmee and she also has taught dance classes at a studio in in Kissimmee.
“The commitment with the Thundercats will not be as big at the Magic,” Clover said. “Outside of the public relations functions, such as giving clinics or taking part in parades, there will be only 15 home games with the Thundercats as opposed to the 41 home games for the Magic. I’m really excited about the possibility of being able to spend more time with my family.”
Simmons said he when he learned about Clover’s availability, he spoke with the Magic’s dance team manager Jeanine Thomas, who recommended that Simmons hire Clover. Simmons said Clover went to work immediately to form a dance team, juggling that with her commitments to the Magic.
“Deanna’s done a great job helping to put a face on this franchise,” Simmons said. “When I started this project, I wanted to move slowly and do things right. Our goal right now is to get the word out about the Thundercats and what better way to that than with a professionally organized dance team.
“Now we have a way to let people know we’re here and I can get down to the job of signing players and putting a product on the floor.”
Simmons said he currently is exploring his options for finding a home for the Thundercats. He has signed three players to contracts, including former Eustis High School standout Jimmy Hudson, and hopes to fill out his roster after the NCAA Tournament and the NBA Draft.
One of the biggest selling points for the Thundercats, Simmons said, will be the cost of attending a game. Whereas a family of four can expect to spend in excess of $100 — and oftentimes more — to watch a Magic game, he believes families will be able to go to a Thundercats game for less than $40.
“We’ll be affordable entertainment,” Simmons said. “I’m hoping to get area businesses on board as sponsors and work together with community leaders to make this Lake and Sumter County’s team. It may take a year or so to get completely established, but I can see the Thundercats becoming something everyone can rally around and take pride in.
“I’m here for the long haul and so are the Thundercats.”
The Thundercats will host the Orlando Kings at 7 p.m. March 21 at the Everett Kelly Convocation Center at Lake-Sumter Community College. A charity game will begin at 5 p.m.
A portion of proceeds from the game, according to Simmons, will be donated to the American Cancer Society.
Final auditions for the 2009 ChivaGirls took place on Wed, Feb 18th. (Yes, I know that was three weeks ago. If it weren’t for this pesky day job getting in the way, I’d have finished this a lot sooner. )
If you missed prelims, you can read all about them here. All of the photos from prelims and finals are right here.
I drove down to the Home Depot Center that afternoon, confident that I knew exactly where I was going. When I got there, I found out that there was an LA Galaxy game that night and there was a lot going on in the parking lot. I told the parking attendant why I was there, and she directed me to Lot 13. What? That’s miles away from the Velodrome!
Get out of my way, lady. I know what I’m doing. I hit the gas, drove right by Lot 13 and proceeded to the Velodrome, where there was plenty of parking. Ha! Did you see all those idiots in Lot 13? Suckers!
(Sidebar: I wonder why the Galaxy doesn’t have a dance team? Switch the red and white for and blue and gold and viola! The ChivaGirls are now the Galaxy Girls It’s not the first time a dance team ever did double duty for multiple teams. (Where is the Galaxy suggestion box? I need to write this down.)
I parked, got out of my car, and immediately noticed that there was something weird going on. There were an awful lot of people around, and none of them looked like future ChivaGirls. Many of them were carrying bicycles. They didn’t look like the sort who would conveniently schedule practice during auditions, so they could ogle all of the dancers.
Inside the building, there was definitely something wrong. Aside from all the cyclists zipping around the perimeter, there were two full on knee pads-and-everything volleyball games in progress. I got the feeling they had all been there for a while. It didn’t look like any of them planned to exit the building in the near future.
Hmmm. This was certainly a puzzle. Was I out of the loop? Had the auditions been rescheduled?
My first thought was “Oh, no! Does Aimee know about this?” So I whipped out my phone and called her to report that dozens of crazed volleyballers were squatting in the Velodrome.
If I had thought about it for even half a second, I suppose I would’ve realized that as the Director of the team, Aimee was the one who booked the location for the auditions. She would of course know if there was some complicated activity going on beforehand.
If the venue had changed, she’s probably the one who changed it. She wasn’t going to answer the phone all freaked out, like “Volleyball! Oh no! Auditions are in less than an hour. Sasha, you have to get rid of all those people!” And then I’d have to get a bicycle pump or something and chase them all away.
(I have been known, at times, to overestimate the importance of my role in certain events.)
Long story short: finals were scheduled for the tennis pavilion, not the Velodrome. Duh.
I got in my car and drove back around to the front, where the parking attendant directed me to – guess where? – Lot 13. I guess that made me a sucker too. I cheated and parked in 10 though. 10 was a little bit closer to the building. I was still a bit twinge-y in my ankle and didn’t want to walk any farther than absolutely necessary. (If you missed out on the whole sprained ankle thing, all you need to know is that there was an small “incident” at prelims that left me with only one working foot. That’s all I care to say about that particular topic.)
When I got to the tennis pavilion I realized – thank you, Lord – there was a ramp to the door instead of the five hundred flights of stairs at the Velodrome. Maybe some things were going to go my way tonight.
Inside, Aimee and the camera crew were getting set up. (There’s a crew filming the ChivaGirls for an upcoming reality show.) The judges’ table was set up on one side of the room. Instead of one long table, there three or five small desks, kind of like the ones you see in elementary school. But bigger, of course.
Nicole and Lauren
Liz, Emi, and Sandra
Many of the girls had arrived early and were busy warming up. Mr. John Peters was also in the house. Judging this time. Not teaching. If you ask me, that kind of sucks. With regular “I have never seen you before and therefore am not biased at all,” judges, you could miss a small step and maybe nobody would notice. Or maybe they’d think one of the other girls messed up instead of you. But when one of the judges is the choreographer, you are sadly outta luck. That guy’s not going to miss a thing. Dang.
Gloria, Aimee, Mr. John Peters, and Lisa
I had arrived early enough to scope out the situation beforehand. It was going to be something of a challenge, photography-wise. The lighting was a bit dim, and the wall opposite the judges was nothing more than a series of glass doors and windows. I worried that I would wind up at the end of the night with 50 photos of my own reflection, and another 50 of the light from my camera flash.
However, I wasn’t the one with the major challenges. The dancers had a bigger problem to deal with. The tennis pavilion is somewhat tent-like and vulnerable to the elements. I imagine in the summers, you can open all the doors and enjoy the weather outside, without actually being outside. But on this particular evening, nobody appreciated the cold weather creeping indoors. All of the ladies were zipped up from ankles to eyeballs. I put on a sweater over my short sleeves and was fine. Then again, I wasn’t wearing a little two-piece audition outfit. I really felt for the dancers. For them, it was going to be a bit like tap dancing nekkid in Antarctica.
On a side note, Juicy Couture must’ve made a bloody fortune on those velour track suits.
At one point, Aimee deputized me to help out with the photos. The girls were instructed to line up on one side of the room, where Gloria was taking Polaroid head shots. After the Polaroid, they had to come to the other end of the room, where I was shooting individual photos. Those photos would be posted on the Chivas USA site when the team was announced the next day.
This is how cold it was in the room: the girls would do the Polaroid, put their warm-ups back on (for the five second walk to the other end of the room), whip the warm-ups off for a quick photo or two, and then jump back into the sweats and zip them up as far as they could go.
A couple of girls tried to get sneaky after the Polaroid. Instead of coming directly to me, they’d try to huddle down for a few minutes to get warm. I don’t know who they thought they were fooling, but it ain’t yours truly. I can see you over there! Don’t be a weenie. Get over here and take this photo like a man!
After the first 9 or 10 girls, I resorted to “escorting” them across the room for the second photo. Not that they wouldn’t have made it there on their own, but I’m a “rip the band aid off” kind of gal. Yeah, you’re freezing your buns off, but it’s only for a minute. Just get it over with.
It didn’t take long to finish with the photos. I like to think that my “warm air is for losers” approach helped move things along. There were a couple of snafus – Gloria ran out of Polaroid film and I missed getting one of the girls, but for the most part, it went well.
- Let’s talk about Gloria for a minute. Who is Gloria? She’d been at prelims too, to help tabulate the scores. Gloria, Gloria, Gloria. I knew I’d seen her somewhere. But where? So far, I know she was on the Beijing Aoshen Olympian (NBA D-league) dance team. But I know I’ve seen her somewhere else too…Hm….
(Note to self: figure that out.)
I was standing off to the side, minding my own business when – holy crap. Lisa Estrada popped up out of nowhere. One minute she wasn’t there. The next minute, she was. I bet this is what the natives felt like when Captain Kirk beamed down from the Enterprise.
Lisa Estrada – for those who don’t know – is the Director of the Los Angeles Laker Girls. I’m sure I’ve previously mentioned my ongoing mission to cover the Laker Girls for the blog. I might’ve even called it “stalking” a time or two. The Laker Girls have been a tough nut to crack.
Here was an opportunity to talk to The Chief Chick-In-Charge Herself.
Oy. What was I gonna do?
I had to say something, right? This might be the only time I ever saw Lisa Estrada in person. I had to at least introduce myself. It’s part of the job. I was uncomfortably aware, however, that I could really screw things up for this whole entire blog. No Laker Girl coverage EVER. I was skeered to talk to her. Most of this is in my head. But I was still skeered.
This reminds me of the time I went scampering across a football field in Oxnard, chasing after Kelli Finglass, Director of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. As I was running after her, half of me was saying “Just do it, honey. This is probably the only chance you’ll ever have to introduce yourself and show that you are not psychotic.” The other half of me was rolling her eyes, saying “For God’s sake, Sasha. You’re a grown woman. Where’s your dignity?”
Apparently I had none. But I did meet Kelli Finglass and she is a lovely woman.
Now history was repeating. I didn’t know if Lisa was staying or what, so if I was going to do this, I had to do it right away. I got ready to scurry over there. Feets don’t fail me now!
But then I stopped. What exactly was I going to say to this woman?
I couldn’t run over there and be all “Hi-Lisa-My-Name-Is-Sasha-I’m-from-the-Pro-Cheerleader-Blog-I-don’t-know-if-you’ve-heard-of-it-Nice-to-meet-you-I-promise-I’m-not-a-creep-See-don’t-I-look-like-a-nice-respectable-person?-Can-I-come-to-a-game- and-do-some-behind-the-scenes-coverage?-How-about-a-rehearsal? -How-about-auditions?-You-tell-me-where-to-sit-and-I-promise-not-to-move-at-all-or-make-any-sound-whatsoever-You-won’t-hear-one-peep-from-me-no-ma’am-Not-one.”
She could very well look down her nose at me at tell me to get lost. I knew she wouldn’t, but still. That lady with the chimp who went crazy and attacked her friend never saw that coming either.
Not that I’m comparing Lisa to a chimp. People are unpredictable, is what I’m getting at. And so are animals.
I decided to head her way and hope for the best.
Then I started thinking about the Laker Girls, and the Laker games in general. As usual, my overactive imagination (and outright narcissism) got the best of me.
What if I accidentally trip Kobe and he breaks both arms and both legs and all of a sudden I’m all over the news as the person who single handedly destroyed the Los Angeles Lakers. I would be universally hated. Publicly reviled. People I work with would throw things at me.
Plus, there are lots of celebrities at Laker games. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t care about gawking at celebrities. To be honest, they aren’t all that interesting. But what if I dropped my camera on Jack Nicholson’s head?
What if I stepped on Victoria Beckham’s foot and destroyed her $5,000 Manolos?
What if I was pointing at something and accidentally clotheslined Lindsey Lohan?
I could get yelled at. Sued. Taken out back and shot.
Lindsey Lohan’s mom is scary!
Only consider the almost unlimited potential for catastrophe!
Then again, I’m in no danger of weaseling my way into a Lakers game, so perhaps I should just calm down about the whole thing.
I decided not to talk to Lisa. Status quo was ok by me.
Incidentally, on a somewhat related note, Amazon.com completely sold out of the Laker Girls movie. They’ve been out of stock for almost two weeks. How many copies of this thing are you people buying???
Right about then is when I overheard three girls talking about how they had to go to Target at the last minute to get some trunks for finals. I guess Target doesn’t carry much in the way of black trunks, so some girls had to go to more than one store.
In my head I was thinking: Let me get this straight. On Sunday, you had a complete outfit for auditions. Today is Wednesday and now half of your stuff is missing? All three of you? Listen, unless all of you live together on a houseboat and it caught on fire and sank to the bottom of the ocean, taking all of your clothes with it, I can’t think of a real good excuse for losing your bottoms right before finals. It’s not like you took them off on the way home and left them somewhere.
Then Laura helpfully pointed out that everyone had been instructed to wear black trunks or shorts to finals, instead of their regular bottoms. Some people didn’t own any and had to go out buy a pair.
Oh.
Well in that case, never mind.
Before I completely change the subject, I have to raise my hand and ask “what is up with that?” I’ve seen auditions where the dancers were made to wear identical outfits, or dress in black. (This is so the girls who shelled out for a particularly fetching outfit don’t have an unfair advantage over everyone else.). But why make them wear black on the bottom and not on the top? There must be a reason for this. I just had no idea what it might be. Why just the bottoms?
No, really. WHY?
I didn’t have much time to ponder that, as it was time for the audition to start. I’ll put that on my to-do list to figure out later. Right after the Gloria situation.
The first item on the agenda was to have the girls do the dance they’d learned on Sunday. You remember the song.
“…La la la get Krazy. La la la get Krazy. La la la get Krazy. La la la get Krazy….”
They performed in groups of three. The original plan was for each group to do the routine twice, but the judges decided that once was enough. This is how the process worked for the dancers:
- 1. Sweats off
2. Dance real fast
3. Sweats back on
Wax on, wax off, Daniel-son.
(That doesn’t have anything to do with anything. I just felt like saying it.)
I wish I’d brought an electric blanket or a hot water bottle. Something to help a sista out.
Finals are when auditions get really tough. Once you whittle it down to such a small group of women, they’ve all got similar levels of talent, presentation, etc. It becomes much more difficult to thin the herd, so to speak. Everyone knows the dance so the judges have to look at other things. Technique. Experience. Polish. Charisma. Charm. Fitness. Maturity. Overall appearance. And of course , you’re looking for some diversity. From what I’ve observed, most teams like to mix it up. Some blondes. Some brunettes. Some tall girls. Some short girls. Girls of different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. Girls at different stages in their lives. It keeps things interesting.
Having said all of that, the judges didn’t seem to be struggling with their scores. They were all in a great mood. Somebody had brought brownies, and baked goods make people happy. The judges were pretty relaxed. This wasn’t one of those auditions where the judges look at you stone-faced like “impress me or die.”
The judges
Meanwhile, I was having some issues. (I know, what else is new, right?)
The guy with the video camera had the primo spot for filming the action. I sat on the floor in front of him for a bit, but it was skewing the perspective in my photos. (Nobody wants to see a bunch of nostril shots.) After a while, I decided to ease in behind the video guy and shoot my photos around him. He was kind of crouched over, so it seemed like a feasible plan.
One thing I didn’t realize was that spot where I was trying to go was right next to Lisa Estrada. Oh snap! What now?
I figure this was the Lord’s way of saying “get on with it already.” Someone once said “When God wants you to do something; He gives you a certain amount of time to get it done. Eventually, if you can’t get take care of business, He’ll take over.”
I was afraid if I didn’t say anything to Lisa, the Good Lord would see fit to drop kick me right at her feet.
The Time Had Come. So I gathered up my courage and said hello.
I have no recollection of what was said after that. All I know is it was quick, and I’m pretty sure I didn’t say anything funny, fascinating, or clever. I’m sorry, ok? It was scary for me. The more I try to be normal and professional, the more I sound like a complete idiot. I am convinced of it.
My impression was that Lisa is a nice lady. I didn’t quite get a read on her, but she seems like good people. I’m still a bit intimidated though. She is a very “together” kind of person, and I SO am not. Unfortunately, I’m about 85% nonsense.
(Sigh) Anywho…
Mandi
Serena
Erica
Brittany, Tiffany, and Nicole
Brittany
Dalila and Amy
After everyone had performed in groups of three, the judges called them back to dance in different groups. They were bigger groups this time, five or six at a time. I’m not sure how they decided how to group the girls. It didn’t look like they were doing all the blondes together, all the brunettes together, etc. One thing I did notice though is the last few groups were mostly veterans with on a couple of new girls mixed in. I think it was to see if the newbie could bring it like the vets. And I guess also to see how hard the vets would fight to keep their spot on the team.
(Please keep in mind that I’ve never judged an audition and am most likely talking out of my rear end.)
Sandra, Alheli, and Serena
Mandi
Amy, Erica, and Liz
Ariel, Tiffany, Marie, and Lauren
The very last part of the audition was freestyle dance. All of the girls lined up and each one had few eight-counts to dance on her own. Freestyle is an opportunity to show off a bit. If you have the highest kicks or the best turns, or can flip from one end of the room to the other, this was the time to do all of that. It also shows what you can do when you don’t have to focus on remembering choreography. You can play around with the music and let your personality come out a little bit.
This part was pretty fun to watch. The music cut off during one girls turn. She didn’t miss a beat, just kept dancing until the song came back on again. Nicely done.
Psst! Lemme let you in on a secret. By this time in the process, the judges have pretty well decided who they want on the squad. This portion of the audition was basically a final chance for the “iffy” girls to influence the final thumbs up/thumbs down vote.
Lauren
Jebbell
Alheli
After freestyle, Aimee gathered the girls around to discuss the next steps in the process. She explained that the names of the 2009 ChivaGirls would be posted online by 5pm the next day. The newly-selected team had no time to waste. They’d jump right into mini camp the following weekend. The first home game is scheduled for March 21st. Yikes – that’s right around the corner!
And then it was over. The girls packed up their stuff and headed out the door. Some stopped on the way to thank the judges for the opportunity. Okay, on paper that might sound like a blatant suck up. But it was a pretty smart thing to do. It shows confidence and good manners and leaves the judges with a positive impression of you. (As long as you don’t act like a total suck-up while doing it.)
After the dancers left, the judges gathered their notes together and went to the office to talk it out. It was sort of anticlimactic.
I went back to the parking lot – and promptly forgot where I’d left my car. You know how that goes. You look around for about five minutes, and then you start to get a bit agitated.
This is where I left it, right?
Or maybe it’s the next lot over.
Or did I park all the way the other side of the building?
What am I going to do if I can’t find my car?
How will I get home?
How will I get to work tomorrow?
What if someone stole it?
What if I forgot to set the brake and it rolled down the hill, through a brick wall, and out onto the freeway???
And so you walk up and down the rows of cars, all casual-like, because you don’t want to look like some maniac who can’t remember where she left the car. This isn’t a needle in a haystack, for pete’s sake. Its 2, tons of metal, plastic and a variety other man made materials. How do you LOSE as 2,000 pound vehicle?
I was about 3 seconds away from a full on meltdown, when I finally found my car. Probably 10 minutes had gone by. It felt like hours.
***
At 5pm the next day, I went to cdchivausa.com. The names hadn’t been posted yet. I hit refresh., but nothing changed.
5:15 – Refresh. Refresh. Nothing.
5:30 – Refresh. Refresh. Nothing.
5:45 – Still nothing. Now I was getting mad.
5:55 – Refresh Refresh Refresh Refresh Refresh Refresh Refresh Refresh Refresh Refresh Refresh Refresh Refresh Refresh Refresh Refresh Refresh Refresh Refresh Refresh Refresh Refresh Refresh Refresh
The list of names finally appeared at 6pm. By then I was totally stressed out, never mind the girls waiting to see if they made the final cut!
For those of you who didn’t lose patience with me and go to the Chivas site to see for yourselves, I give you the 2009 ChivaGirls!
Ah, but wait! There’s a twist at the end of this particular story. Stay tuned. All will be revealed in the near future….
Row 1: Alheli, Amy, Ariel, Ashley, and Dalila
Row 2: Emi, Jebbell, Kelley, and Laura
Row3: Mandi, Marie, Megan, and Monique
Row 4: Nicole, Sandra, Serena, and Tiffany
Boston Magazine
March 6th, 2009
The auditions for the 2009-2010 season Patriots cheerleading squad were held on Saturday at the Dana-Farber Field House At Gillette Stadium. Thanks to some prodding from her sister, Boston magazine online designer Casey McNamara decided to try out even though she had never cheered before in her life.
“My sister literally knocked on my door with coffee in hand that morning,” Casey says. “I knew she was serious, so I quickly got myself glamorized.”
Here’s what Casey’s experience was like.
Bostonista: How did you prepare for the tryouts?
Casey: Shots of Tequila. Just kidding. I couldn’t prepare too much. I was never on a cheering squad or a dance team. I just went for fun. When I got to the stadium, I realized how hardcore all the girls were. All of them had organized dance routines, with moves straight out of So You Think You Can Dance. I had planned to bust some moves just like when I’m out with friends.
Bostonista: What did the crowd look like?
Casey: There was a line of pink, pink, and more pink…and Uggs. Even though it was a windy day, every girl’s hair was in place. I was second-guessing this idea of ours when I looked down at my black workout pants and sweatshirt.
Bostonista: What did you need for the audition, besides Uggs?
Casey: I had to bring my application, resume, and a photo. While the girls had professional pictures, I had a silly photo of my boyfriend and I at the beach. We stood in line while everyone shared previous cheerleading experiences and practiced dance moves. I just stretched awkwardly. Once I registered, they took my photo. I had to strip down to my workout clothes (gray booty shorts and a red sports bra). Other girls wore sequined undies, shiny tights, and sports bras.
Bostonista: What did you have to do for the audition?
Casey: We had a stretching session with a veteran cheerleader, and then learned the choreographed dance for Britney’s “The Circus.” You can see one of the dances here. There was quite a bit of hair flipping going on. I quickly picked that up.
Then girls were taken one-by-one into the judge’s room, where they prepared a freestyle dance in front of a handful of judges, including Ramiro from 94.5, Pat the Patriot, Tracey the cheer coach, and a few others.
Bostonista: How did you feel about your performance?
Casey: My performance wasn’t as great as the trained cheerleaders and dancers. I may have had a few uncoordinated attempts–but I tried my best and had fun doing it, and now I have great stories to tell to family and friends, and readers of Bostonista.
Bostonista: What would you do next time, to improve your audition?
Casey: I’d practice a choreographed dance routine–so I can pull out some real moves during the one-on-one session.
Bostonista: What’s one tip you would give to other women who may want to try out?
Casey: Go in there with your fun personality, meet people, and have a blast. Even if you don’t make it, you will have fun stories to tell. I have a new respect for the hair flipping, high toe touches, and splits. I am still sore!
NFL Navy Tour Journal
Patriots.com
2/24/09
Read our journal sharing the experience the Patriots Cheerleaders recently had while traveling overseas to visit our U. S. military troops who are stationed in the Middle East, Persian Gulf and Africa.
Hey everyone, Brittany here! I am so excited to share with you the experience the Patriots Cheerleaders recently had while traveling overseas to visit our U. S. military troops who are stationed in the Middle East, Persian Gulf and Africa.
The excitement started in early January, when Angela L., Danielle, Jillian, Julia and I were notified by Coach Tracy that we had been selected to take part in an overseas tour with the Navy. We couldn’t wait to see the world, as it was a first-time military tour experience for all five of us.
Jan 27th & 28th, 2009
Packed and ready to roll, we met at Logan airport late Tuesday evening. We said our goodbyes to family and friends, and skillfully reorganized our suitcases to meet the 50-pound bag requirement at the check-in counter. Boy did our carry-on bags get heavy! After what seemed like days, we arrived in Amsterdam to meet up with the second half of our crew; five NFL players and their escort, Dave. We spent a few minutes introducing ourselves to Dave, Noah, Adam, Nick and Tyrone. “The players” or “guys” as we often referred to them, all came from different teams throughout the NFL. At the time of first meeting, I don’t think any of us could have anticipated that these strangers from rival teams would soon become a part of what morphed into an awesome family of NFL representatives. Our group, now doubled in size, boarded the next plane to Bahrain. We were unsure what exactly the next 10 days had in store for us, but were eager to find out.
Jan 29th, 2009
The first two days of traveling seemed a blur as we awoke in a Bahrain hotel room ready to start the adventure on Thursday morning. Our first trip was a journey by helicopter into the Persian Gulf onto a ship called the USS Carter Hall. For most of us, this was our first time traveling in a “helo.” All strapped in, I was initially a little frightened. But after we were off ground, it was really beautiful to see the Arabic Sea, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia from the air.
Once landed on the Carter Hall, we were greeted cheerfully by the crew and took part in a guided tour around the ship. With our cameras out, we clicked away hundreds of pictures as we learned all about the jobs of the sailors on board. We learned that the Carter Hall is called an “Amphibian” ship because it functions both on land and in water. One of the most priceless moments of the night came when Tracy decided to transform from cheerleading coach into a barber, and skillfully gave one of the crew members a sharp “edge up.” We all thought he looked fabulous and Tracy now has a retirement plan from NEPC!
Jan 30th, 2009
Friday morning we awoke to the cheerful sounds of Danielle and Noah over the loud speakers on the morning announcements. With Michael Jackson playing in the background, they offered up the daily trivia question: “The more you take, the more you leave behind.” What could it be? Think about it…. (If you give up, you can find the answer at the end of this blog). And just for a hint, the answer is something that we had to take a lot of while on board the ships. What a workout!
After exploring more of the ships separate departments, we went up on deck to watch one of the special mission crew’s simulate a mission. The sailors and marines scaled the side of the ship, with guns on their backs, on a ladder that lowered them into a smaller boat in the water below. The mission: investigate a suspicious boat nearby. Could it be pirates? Well, this time it was just for practice but these guys are no joke! Go Navy!
After lunch, we said our goodbyes to the Carter Hall and departed via helicopter to our next destination, the USS Nitze. Onboard the Nitze, we were taken to “the bridge,” where we took turns steering the ship! We made our way around the ship and introduced ourselves to the crew. One of the coolest rooms, the command center, looked like a big arcade filled with video games. Obviously, they weren’t games, but rather surveillance mechanisms aimed at keeping the ship safe. We learned that unlike the Carter Hall, the Nitze is a “Destroyer” ship, mainly used for combat.
At dinner, we split up as some ate among the crew in the mess deck, and others with the “XO” or Executive Officer. I must admit, food time was one of the best parts of each day! Every meal we had the opportunity to sit down with the sailors and soldiers on board and learn about their lives, their families and ask the famous question “when do you get to go home?” Despite a little wave of seasickness here and there, we all managed to have a nice evening. We signed autographs and took pictures with our new friends. Best of all, it ended with an ice cream social to honor some members of the crew and to celebrate January birthdays. Yummy! Sleeping was somewhat a challenge, since the bunks were piled three high and allowed minimal room to move! I still can’t figure out how the big NFL guys even fit!
Jan 31st, 2009
Before our departure the next day, we toured the Nitze some more. Again, snapped a hundreds of pictures and said our goodbyes to the awesome crew. Where to next? Back to Bahrain for the night, but not before we had a slight detour to Kuwait. In order to make a transfer from helicopter to a C-130 plane, we were dropped off on an airport runway for about an hour as it became dark outside. We attempted to pass the time away and calm our nerves by playing a little game led by Julia called “would you rather.” She was very creative in her examples and one of my favorites was, “would you rather have velcro facial features or a transparent torso?” Tough one…but you’ll have to decide. Even better, we had a HUGE rice crispy treat that had been given to Tracy onboard the Nitze that was passed around for all to share. Needless to say, we survived!
Feb 1st, 2009
After a good night’s sleep at the hotel, we were ready to head out to the biggest ship yet, the USS Theodore Roosevelt. In our days prior, we had heard so much about this ship and could not wait to perform our first show on what everyone calls the “Big Stick.” This trip, we flew in a COD plane (Carrier Onboard Delivery) and actually got to land on the aircraft carrier! The running joke is that COD actually stands for “Crash on Deck.” It actually felt like a rollercoaster ride, a huge rush! When we got off the COD, the CO (Commanding Officer), XO and tons of the other crew members were there to welcome us. After a delicious lunch and the best chocolate chip cookies ever, we geared back up and headed out to the flight deck. There, we were able to get up close and personal to watch some flight operations take place. Literally, the planes were landing and taking off the ship right in front of our faces! We could feel the heat of the engines and were practically blown over by the wind and smoke.
The rest of the day was just as exciting, as we toured this amazing ship and met the crew. At one point, we all took part in what’s called a daily FOD walkdown (foreign object detection). This is where the crew walks the entire length of the flight deck looking for any objects or material that may damage the plane’s engine if it were to get sucked in. We were pro’s at this walk since the cheerleaders take part in a similar exercise at the end of each practice when we pick up the stray pom-pom pieces off of our practice field!
As the evening approached, we began to anticipate our 1st show! We relaxed for a bit by watching the beautiful sunset and we even saw dolphins and flying fish soaring through the waves. It was quite a sight to see. After dinner, we prepared for our big show in the hangar bay. About 2,500 of the shipmates attended our show and eagerly took part in the audience participation. We had a blast! After the show, we signed autographs and took pictures until well after midnight. Since the Super Bowl didn’t air live until 3:15 a.m. there, we made it our personal mission to stay awake and watch!
Feb 2nd, 2009
After an almost all-nighter (45 min of sleep max) we rallied along to the next day. The crew guided us in a tour of the divisions we had yet to see. It was unbelievable to learn about all of the tasks that take place each day on the TR. When it was time to go, we met back in the Captain’s quarters to say our goodbyes, sign autographs and take part in a special presentation by the TR crew. In addition to being presented with some more awesome coins, the CO presented us all with a Tailhook certificate, to certify that we had successfully participated in a COD wire catch and catapult launch (impending at the time). We are all proud to proclaim ourselves as honorary NEPC Tailhookers!
With that said, let me next describe to you the experience of the catapult launch. Well, truthfully it can’t really be explained so you are just going to have to imagine what it may feel like to go from zero to nearly 140 miles p/hr in less than 3 seconds! Yikes! Back to Bahrain we went, our “home away from home.” After a relaxing night, we were refreshed to head off to our next destination- Djibouti, AFRICA!
Feb 3rd, 2009
The flight to Djibouti was long, approximately 5 hours. As we flew, many of us took turns visiting the cockpit and some of us even attempted to fly the plane! Talk about turbulence! We embarked on Africa with our heads glued against the windows to view the sights from above. On the base, we toured around mostly in an air-conditioned bus since it was so hot outside! Later that evening, we hosted show number two at a recreation club on base called “11 Degrees North.” Again, the troops were pumped to take part in the act and definitely helped us perform a great show for their peers!
Feb 4th, 2009
In the morning, we had fun touring the helicopters and playing with big guns (unloaded of course)! The girls even took part in a friendly game of basketball and hacky sac with some of the soldiers. After lunch, we geared up in our newly purchased military garb and were back off to Bahrain. This time the flight was a bit longer and we took a C-130 cargo plane. We made it into Bahrain by 9 p.m. and spent the rest of the night relaxing on the town with a nice group dinner. Reality was starting to set in that our trip was almost over. Looking around the dinner table, it was an incredible feeling to realize the amazing friendships we had developed with our group and the many people we met along this journey so far.
Feb 5th, 2009
Although Bahrain had been our “home base” for the last 10 days, we had yet to explore outside the local hotel area. Today, that would change! We woke up early and headed out to see a bit of the city. Our first stop was at the Mosque, the largest one in Bahrain! In order to enter this place of worship, we had to dress in traditional Islamic attire with robes and scarves. We were guided around the Mosque and learned a lot about Islam. It was beautiful! After that, we ventured over to the market place known as the Souq, or Souk. Here, there were tons of stores selling everything from gold to singing stuffed camels. We all spent the next few hours getting our shop on! Later on, we went back to the hotel for a quick change and were off to the Bahrain military base. On the base, we felt as if we were on a college campus. It was a cool place. We walked around for a bit and met the CO, while recruiting people to come watch our show. Around 5:00 p.m. we performed our final show of the tour. It was a great way to end a great trip!
Our adventure came to a quick end back at the hotel when we sadly saw off the players and Dave the escort. As they continued on to Greece, we packed up our things to head back home to Boston. During our travels, many of the troops thanked us for taking the time to come and visit them. Our response to them was honest; it was to them that we owed thanks. This trip allowed each of us to gain a much better understanding of the work our troops are doing overseas to protect us all here at home. I think I speak on behalf of all of us Patriots here in New England and around the world, when I say “Thank You” once again to the true Patriots who are out there fighting for our country. This tour was truly a life-changing experience for us all and we can’t wait to go back!
I hope you enjoyed hearing about our travels and if you’re still stuck on the trivia question, the answer is………………………….. “STEPS!”
Cheers & Go PATS!
Brittany
The Oakland Raiders are searching for enthusiastic and talented candidates for their renowned public relations and entertainment team – The Raiderettes – “Football’s Fabulous Females.” Become a part of the prestigious Oakland Raiders by auditioning for the 2009 Oakland Raiderettes Professional Cheerleading Squad.
More at Raiders.com.
Here’s something interesting: the Patriots Cheerleaders added a little twist to auditions this year. In addition to a freestyle section and a DIY choreography round, they’ve also posted the audition routines online. If you’re thinking about auditioning for an NFL team this spring, you might want to check this out. Give the choreography a shot and see if you can hang with the pros.
Heads up! FloridaPanthers.com has been updated with new individual photos of the Ice Dancers. No bios, but they do have uniform shots, swim calendar shots, and an individual wallpaper for each member of the team. Go there now.
Go here to view NBCDFW’s slideshow from the Cowboys Cheerleaders annual Friends and Family show.
The Phoenix Suns Dancers make their first appearance in the Sports Illustrated NBA Dance Team gallery this week. Go check it out!
Patriots.com: Patriots Cheerleaders Preliminary Auditions were held Saturday, February 28 at the Dana Farber Field House, Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, Mass. Approximately 300 hopefuls turned out, vying for a coveted spot on the 2009 squad. After two rounds of competition to include choreographed dance routines, a freestyle segment and an optional tumbling pass, the pool of candidates was narrowed down to 67. Final Auditions will be held Saturday, March 7 at Gillette Stadium. In addition to performing choreographed routines, a freestyle dance and tumbling passes, high kicks, a question and answer segment with the panel of judges and a swimsuit modeling competition will be added. By late afternoon, approximately 45 candidates will be chosen to participate in a two-week intensive training session. The final squad for 2009 will be announced on March 21. Be sure to check back frequently on March 7, as photos from Final Auditions will be posted throughout the day!
