Click here to check out the gallery (and the shoes!)

Patrice Wilding
The Times-Tribune
October 12, 2013

Christine Nezelkewicz thought the toughest part of becoming a cheerleader for the New Orleans Saints would be the grueling, three-day tryouts.

But then she found herself on an airboat in the Louisiana bayou posing with alligators for the squad’s 2013-2014 swimsuit calendar.

The risk was worth the reward for the Scranton native: Ms. Nezelkewicz, a 2002 graduate of Scranton High School who studied fashion merchandising at Philadelphia University, was named the cover girl and appears as Miss April in the popular 14-month publication.

This year’s calendar, the theme of which was “Sportsman’s Paradise,” was shot on location throughout Louisiana. The cheerleaders – called the Saintsations – posed for photos that celebrate hunting, fishing and other sports and also highlighted the Pelican State’s natural backdrop.

“It was something new for me, so I just tried to listen to my director and whatever the photographer would say, think happy thoughts and smile,” Ms. Nezelkewicz said during a recent phone interview.

Around 25 girls participated in the calendar shoot in June, she said, though no one knew if they made it onto the pages until a reveal party held in August.

The achievement is one Ms. Nezelkewicz’s father, Chester, is happy to boast about.

“My dad is my biggest cheerleader,” she said with a laugh. “He carries around my calendar no matter where he goes. He’s already sold a whole box for me.”

The calendar is the icing on the cake for Ms. Nezelkewicz, who always dreamed of being an NFL cheerleader. In high school, she was a basketball cheerleader for four years, and she also was part of Penn State Worthington Scranton’s squad while studying there before she moved to Philadelphia.

After she earned her bachelor’s degree, Ms. Nezelkewicz moved to the South (“I love the warm weather,” she said), where she received certification in vascular ultrasound sonography and lives with her sister, Chelsea Grow, a neurologist.

By day, Ms. Nezelkewicz lives in Hattiesburg, Miss., and works as a vascular sonographer at a clinic with a vascular surgeon. Two nights each week, however, she commutes two hours to Louisiana for Saintsations practice with a couple of her squadmates.

“I tried out when I first moved down here and didn’t make it,” she explained. “But it’s something I’ve always wanted.”

To give herself the edge she needed, Ms. Nezelkewicz enrolled in dance classes and trained for a year and a half before trying out again.

“I’ve never taken dance before, but (these girls) are very skilled, technical dancers,” she said. “I learned basics in a studio with little girls.

“It was overwhelming, but I love that the cheerleaders are role models. No matter how hard it is, keep following your dreams. Work hard and strive for your goals, and it’ll pay off.”

Finding balance between her career and cheerleading isn’t easy, she added.

“It’s a big commitment,” Ms. Nezelkewicz said. “(But) it doesn’t really interfere with my job.”

The process of joining the Saintsations began in April with workshops and dance auditions that drew more than 200 women. After learning a few routines and surviving several rounds of cuts and interviews, Ms. Nezelkewicz was called back with the 35 other girls who were named to the 2013-2014 squad.

Though the tryouts were intimidating, making the team gave Ms. Nezelkewicz hard-earned confidence, she said.

The next few months were a whirlwind of head shots, team-bonding exercises and get-to-know-you retreats, biweekly practices and more. Once football season began, the Saints bested the Atlanta Falcons during the home opener, and the excitement just increased from there.

“The fans, everyone is really nice and really excited, and absolutely give us support at the games and on the field,” Ms. Nezelkewicz said. “I’m excited for my new love for the Saints. … They’re America’s team. The city is so great, and the vibe is good.

“I hope to represent my hometown of Scranton, Pa., well,” she added. “(I) am proud and thankful for my friends and family supporting me while I live out my dreams as a NFL cheerleader.”

Well, that’s what they look like, right? If there was an Olympics of pro cheerleading, this is exactly what Team USA would look like. (This plus a lot of sparkles.) And they would dominate. USA! USA! USA!

Seriously, we should send these ladies to the Olympics. And the UN, and international chess competitions, and things.

(FYI, these costumes were produced by our friend Terra Saunders’ company, Dallaswear.)

We first heard about this group when a UK reader emailed James a photo of this autograph card:

Personally, I was aghast. How could this kind of thing be going on, and here I am, was completely unaware? Those of you who should have told me about this, and you know who you are, should be ashamed.

In my perfect world, every team would send me a copy of their upcoming appearances each month, but alas that is not the case. Thank goodness we can rely on you faithful ones out there to keep us in the loop.

I was immediately curious because I recognized most of the ladies in the photo. I thought it was strange that someone put together an independent team of cheerleaders to go London “coincidentally” the same time as the Vikings/Steelers game. After all, there were more than enough Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders to go around. Did somebody seriously think there was a cheerleader shortage in London? The MVC were everywhere!

So I did a little snooping around, and I think I’ve pieced it together. Here’s the skinny: the league is doing a month-long “Touchdown Tour” in London and south east England, with one stop in Birmingham (a working class town north of the capital). Every few years there’s a lot of hype about having an NFL team in the UK, and I guess this is part of the latest round of hoopla. And “hoopla,” by definition, includes cheerleaders. Or should. Cheerleaders, and a big truck with lots of merchandise, games, big important trophies, and cardboard cutouts of famous football players.

I gather that the league hired e2k to produce a team of red, white, and blue cheerleaders to support the tour. E2k, for those who don’t know, is the company that produces the Charger Girls and the 49ers GoldRush. (Unlike other teams in the league, the Chargers and 49ers contract out instead of producing their own in-house dance teams. So the ladies who direct those teams are e2k employees, rather than employees of the NFL franchise.) E2k also produces the Pro Bowl Cheerleaders every year. So that’s why it was logical to have e2k produce this touring group.

Sidebar: the NFL doesn’t seem to realize it, but they are alienating the heck out everyone who resides more than half a day outside of London. The Scots, the Welsh, everyone north of Birmingham, they all feel rather insulted that the NFL isn’t bothering with them at all. I say ‘suck it up, Brits.’ I can tell you, as a resident of Los Angeles, that you’ll eventually get used to being ignored by the NFL. (Ignored, misled, used as a pawn…need I continue?)

Cheer Team USA consists of eight NFL Cheerleader alumni, five from the San Diego Charger Girls and three from the San Francisco 49ers GoldRush. I don’t know how they chose these particular eight. I’m sure tons of women wanted to go. (Free trip to England!) But I doubt that many could afford to take off an entire month for the tour, so no doubt that narrowed the field more than a little. And of course, they had to have eight who are still in fighting shape and still have (or can acquire) long, flowing cheerleader hair. So here’s who they chose:

(Note: although there are seven women in the team photo, there are eight in the group.)

Amanda
San Diego Charger Girls, 2010-11, 2012-13

Emma
San Diego Charger Girls, 2010-12

Lauren
San Diego Charger Girls, 2010-13
Los Angeles Clippers Spirit, 2008-10

Marissa
San Diego Charger Girls, 2010-13

Megan
San Francisco 49ers GoldRush, 2010-12

Myka
San Francisco 49ers GoldRush, 2011-13

Rachel
San Francisco 49ers GoldRush, 2009-12

Vanesa
San Diego Charger Girls, 2007-10

I’m not sure what this group’s exact name is, but on Twitter, they call themselves the “NFL All Star Team.” That’s a little misleading, but I don’t suppose “NFL Alumni Cheerleaders” has the same ring to it.

I went looking for photos of this group and hit the jackpot on Flickr. God Bless the interwebs!

Click here for 5DII (aka Bill’s) gallery
Click here for Jordi Corbilla’s gallery
Click here for Flakker’s gallery (HUGE collection that also includes many excellent photos of the Vikings Cheerleaders)
Click here for Dave Pearce’s gallery
Click here for Mark Andrews’ gallery
Click here for Tony Grimes’ gallery
Click here for Niz Mohamed’s gallery

This photo is from the Tony Grimes collection.
From left: Rachel, Megan, Marissa, Amanda, Vanesa, Lauren, Myka, and Emma.

Almost all of the photos I found are from the group’s performance at the big rally on Regent Street in the heart of London last month. What you will notice immediately is that a good 75% of the photos are pictures of Amanda. I figure there are a few possible reasons for this.
(A) She’s got some sort of mojo that causes every photographer to fall under her spell
(B) She was all “Outta my way biatches. I’M the star here”
(C) The ladies danced in a relatively tight formation that put Amanda dead center more often than not.
(D) She just happened to be in the spot where the light was best. Considering most of the other girls were in shadow, I’m going with this one. I’m guessing she couldn’t see a thing with that light in her face.

The team is under the direction of E2K producer Lindsay Rosenberg. Los Angelenos may recognize her as an alum of the Los Angeles Clippers Spirit. Perhaps she was chosen for this gig because she is already familiar with the color scheme. (Hardy har har.)

Lindsay retired from the Clippers in 2007 and has gone on to do all sorts of other cool and exciting things in the entertainment industry. In fact, I recall correctly, she was in Iron Man 2, as one of the “Ironettes.” I never saw the movie, but I can only surmise from photos that the Ironettes were pretty badass.

With one game down and one to go, the tour still has a couple of weeks left. Their last stop is a tailgate event back at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, Oct 27th, when the Jaguars host the 49ers. Both of those teams have their own cheerleaders, so get ready for poms out the wazoo.

In addition to that, the league has announced that next year, there will be THREE regular season NFL games at Wembley. I’m sure some sort of tour will hit the road next year as well. And where there’s an NFL tour, there are cheerleaders. I for one, will be keeping an eye out for the red, white, and blue. I hope none of those games involve the Patriots, Texans, or Bills, because all that red, white, and blue would be powerful confusin’. Not that the British know the difference. That weekend, every cheerleader was a Vikings Cheerleader.

Individual profiles and photo galleries are now online. Click here to learn more about the ladies on the team!

By Michelle Nolan
The Bellingham Herald
October 9, 2013

The first pro football game Hannah Vosburgh ever attended was her first game as a Seattle Sea Gal.

That was an exhibition game in August. In her first National Football League regular season game, the Seahawks’ 12th Man – their ultra-loyal fan base – set an authenticated world record for most noise generated by a crowd.

Vosburgh, a 21-year-old Sehome High School graduate, has loved football and dancing since she was in kindergarten, so she said she can’t help feeling all this is a dream.

She recently moved to Renton, where she’s working two jobs as a waitress, and grew up in Bellingham. Her parents are Bellingham’s Jaret Vosburgh, a Snohomish firefighter, and Bonny Ledray, a music teacher in the Bellingham School District. She has three siblings – twin sister Kayla, Sehome senior Austin and Sehome freshman Braden, both football players.

Question: Hannah, what was it like to hear the 12th Man set a world record for crowd noise?

Answer: That was the win against the 49ers, interrupted by thunderstorms. It was just crazy. The fans were so loud I couldn’t even hear the thunder. As soon as I heard about the record (131.9 decibels), I felt so proud of the 12th Man – I really love those fans. We (the cheerleaders) really feed off the fans’ energy. They keep us going.

Q: Did you lead cheers all through high school?

A: I was a Sehome cheerleader as a sophomore and junior. I learned so much from my coaches, Jodi West and Jenny Johnson. They really helped make possible my success. But as a senior, I realized how much I missed dancing, since I had been with Dance for Joy (a Bellingham dance school) for 14 years. I very much wanted to practice jazz and hip-hop dancing, so I went back to Dance for Joy. All this helped prepare me for Sea Gal tryouts in April and May.

Q: What convinced you to try out?

A: I have watched the Seahawks on TV with family members my entire life, but Seattle always seemed so far away. But one day I went to the Sea Gals’ web site, and I absolutely became inspired. I decided to attend auditions in April, and there were 200 women there! They were all gorgeous. Everyone who is on the Sea Gals is required to audition each year, if she wants to return.

Q: Were your nervous?

A: Oh, I was very nervous at first, but I made some friends right away. I’m very outgoing. I did a freestyle routine in the first audition and I was called back. For the next audition, I learned a routine and then I sat for an interview. I thought that was fun. The final audition was live online, with about 70 women remaining.

That same night, they called my number when they announced the Sea Gal roster. It’s 34 women, which I think is the maybe largest Sea Gals squad since the 1990s.

Q: Does it still seem like a dream?

A: It does, especially since at my first pro football game, I was on the sideline dancing and cheering. I still can’t really put it all into words. My face was a constant smile, and I was just blown away with it all. I’ll never forget the feeling of being on the field for the first time.

Q: What accounts for how you work the stadium?

A: We rotate in groups each quarter, so we get to see all the fans. I’m not the youngest Sea Gal – we have women 18 to 36.

Q: Do you get to meet the players?

A: The Seahawks and Sea Gals both practice in Renton, and sometimes players will walk by and say things like “Great Job! Keep it up!” But we sign contracts. We aren’t allowed to date players while we are active Sea Gals, since we are officially considered co-workers. I have a boyfriend, Ryan Occhiogrosso from Ferndale, and he has been incredibly supportive. It helps me so much to have a boyfriend who is supportive of who I am, since he knew me long before I became a Sea Gal.

Q: Do people ever recognize you as a Sea Gal when you’re working?

A: Once in a while they’ll double glance. I acknowledge them with a thank you and a smile, but of course I’m working. People are so nice about it. But I don’t tell people I’m a Sea Gal unless they bring it up.

Q: Are you like the pro athlete who says they’ll have to tear the uniform off him before he leaves a sport?

A: Yes! I love being a Sea Gal so much, I feel I’ll be back each year as long as I can. Eventually, I’d like to become a flight attendant and see other nations. I would love to travel.

Q: Since you don’t perform at road games, would the Sea Gals go to the Super Bowl if the Seahawks do?

A: We sure would! Fingers crossed – go Seahawks!

Jacksonville.com: Jaguars game in London has local business executives preparing for different kind of victory. Local leaders see Jaguars’ trip as a great chance to sell Jacksonville.

Click here for the article and a few photos of the cheerleaders in London.

Click here for misc photos

Click here for photos on NFL.com

Click here for photos on SportsIllustrated.com

Falcons Cheerleaders stunting? You go girls.

Remember Leah Vandale from the Laker Girls and the Patriots Cheerleaders? Well, she’s got a new gig. She reported to the WWE Performance Center on Tuesday to start training for her new job as a WWE NXT Diva.

I will be honest, I don’t know much about the WWE. But from what I understand, the Divas are the female talent in the league, but not all of them wrestle. WWE NXT seems to be the farm league for the regular WWE. So Leah, congrats on the new job!

Leah, who uses the stage name Van Damme, has wrestling roots. Her Dad, Paul Van Dale, is/was a big name in the industry.

Leah is the third NBA dancer (that I know of) to venture into the world of professional wrestling. She is preceded by Clippers Spirit alum Eve Marie Torres, and former Miami Heat Dancer Layla El (who some of you may recall from that season of Project Runway when they had the WWE challenge, and the designer who put Layla an orange one piece got auf’d for basically making a bathing suit).