Here are a couple of galleries for you to peruse
Week 1: Bucs, Chargers, 49ers, Titans, and Falcons
Week 2: Eagles, Saints, Ravens, and Patriots
Juliet Pennington
The Sun Chronicle
August 15, 2013
FOXBORO – David Villegas, a 16-year-old high school sophomore from Roslindale, said luck was on his side Thursday.
Not only did he get to see New England Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady in action on the practice field, but he caught the first glimpse of the new Patriots Cheerleaders swimsuit calendar and got to meet several members of the squad.
“This is crazy,” Villegas said. “First, I thought Brady was hurt and there he was playing today. And then, while we were at training camp, we saw signs saying that the cheerleaders would be at Toby Keith’s – so of course we came here for dinner.”
Villegas and his family were among many training camp attendees who had no idea there was a big to-do at the Patriot Place restaurant and bar, but were happy they picked Thursday to watch their beloved hometown team gear up for the season, which moves another step closer tonight with the exhibition home opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In addition to the unveiling of the new swimsuit calendar, this season’s 24-member cheerleading squad was announced and the young women revealed, for the first time, their new uniforms, designed by Waltham-based crystal couture designer Sondra Celli – star of the popular TLC show “My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding,” now in its third season.
The navy blue, long-sleeve uniforms are adorned with genuine Swarovski crystals (imported from Austria) in red, clear and blue.
Cheerleader Director Tracy Sormanti said she approached Celli because she wanted the new uniforms to be “different and exciting.”
“The uniforms that she created are extraordinary. They are going to jump to life under the stadium lights,” Sormanti said. “We have the best uniforms in the NFL.”
Celli said that more than 100,000 Swarovski crystals were sewn by hand into the uniforms.
“As a lifelong Patriots fan, this was super special,” Celli said at the swimsuit calendar launch party. “To be asked to do it was really an honor. I can’t get over how lovely the girls are. They have great personalities, they’re smart, they’re beautiful and each one came up to me individually and thanked me.”
Celli also designed one of the bathing suits (a crystal-studded camouflage suit for November, in honor of Veterans Day) worn in the calendar.
Rachel Swanson, 22, who lives in Boston and is a first-year member of the Patriots cheerleading squad, said she “absolutely, totally” loves the uniforms.
“I cannot wait to wear them in the stadium,” she said. “I’m a sucker for Swarovski crystals, so this is great.”
Swanson was one of two cheerleaders who landed on the cover of the swimsuit calendar.
“I can’t put into words how excited I was when I found out I would be on the cover,” she said. “It’s the biggest honor in NFL cheerleading.”
And while she was thrilled to be on the cover, so were many of those who waited in a long line to buy the $20 calendar (with 30 percent of the proceeds going to the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation).
“Look at them,” said Russell Tanner, 32, an information systems analyst from Mansfield who was holding up the calendar so his friends could see the cover. “They are smokin’. Man, this was worth every penny.”
Cami Dunn, 14, a high school freshman from Taunton, said she loved the bling-bling designs of Celli and wanted to see what she did with the uniforms. She and her friend Caleigh Hebert, 15, and also from Taunton, said they both want to be Patriots cheerleaders when they are older.
“It seems fun,” Dunn said. “I love cheerleading and I like the Patriots, so it would be perfect.”
After the cheerleaders were introduced individually, a video called “Sideline to Shoreline” that chronicled the making of the swimsuit calendar was shown, and the cheerleaders mingled with those gathered in the back of the restaurant/bar, signing autographs and posing for pictures.
“I’m having a great time,” Villegas said, as he posed for pictures with various cheerleaders. “I was hungry, but now I’m in no hurry to have dinner. I’d rather being doing this.”
Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders Emma, Holly, Kelsey, Mia, Alex, and Jackie made a special appearance at the Four Seasons yesterday. Click here to view the photo gallery!
Although it does seem that it’s a little less freestyle and a little more chroeographed with each with that passes. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! And can you believe it – still no Carlton dance!
It’s family night at the Cincinnati Bengals training camp. Click here to see what the Ben-Gals were up to!
The Beaumont-Enterprise has a fantastic gallery of the Houston Oilers and Houston Texans Cheerleaders. It’s like the universe took one look at me this morning, and decided I needed a little pick-me-up.
But I have to ask, what’s up with the black and white photos? It’s not like color photography was invented in 1984.
This time with photos! Big ups to Karla from the DCC group on Yahoo for the scanned pics of the veterans. Rookie pics (starred) come from Twitter.
I’m sure I’m about to alienate a whole bunch of you, but I refuse to give any member of that family one second more of attention by mentioning them by name. In fact, I pray nightly for their 15 minutes of fame (which, admittedly is up to about 45 minutes now) to end. When? When will it be over? And is there anything I can do to make that happen sooner rather than later?
By Molly Chance
Zap2It
August 15, 2013
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are headed back to CMT with their trademark splits, high kicks, big hair and itty bitty cowgirl shorts. And Zap2it has your first look at the action-packed video super tease for Season 8 of “Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team.”
As Lenny Kravitz’ “American Woman” plays in the background, we see lots of dancing, smiling, beauty preparations, and CMT’s trademark body part closeups, as contenders for the world class cheerleading squad give it their all for a chance to be invited to the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders’ annual training camp.
But it’s not all happy faces, as the preview makes the point that this season, making the team is “not just about the dance.” During panel interviews, where the questions tend to be along the lines of what might be asked in the “brains” portion of a beauty pageant, one judge asks a group of DCC wannabes, “Can you tell us who the vice president is?”
Looks of confusion fall across several pretty faces before one offers, “Obiden?” The look — make that cringe — on DCC Director and extemporary drill sergeant Kelli Finglass’ face is priceless. “It’s hard to undo stupid,” she says.
We also get a glimpse of the bewilderngly brave women who show up to compete with thousands of skilled dancers at tryouts, but don’t quite make the cut — let’s just say they wouldn’t fit into the trademark DCC uniform, or couldn’t win a local dance competition — while dance coach Kitty Carter, never one to mince words, yells at a true competitor, “You’re a hot mess!” Ouch.
Glimpses of tryouts and training camp practice — where rookies compete against veterans for a spot on the world famous team — preview lots of falls, and one major injury that leaves an unidentified blonde sobbing on the dance floor. Meanwhile, Finglass tearfully informs the team, “We lost a teammate today.”
“Who will make the cut?,” Finglass asks at the end of the tease. Here’s a hint: It’s probably not going to be any of the number of women shown with mascara-laced tears streaming down their faces.
Watch the sneak peek video, then tune into CMT Sept. 6 for the premiere of “Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team” Season 8.
