It Jelly time! Anjelica “Jelly” Kaylor was one of my all time favorite Charger Girls to photograph and the years she was on the squad were a fun time. Tall. Beautiful. Photogenic. Talented dancer. Great smile. These are all the ingredients for a great model/dancer. I loved photographing her…she was special.
Here are some bonus photos of her. Enjoy.
A few years ago, I was in attendance at the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders final auditions and I had a blast covering the event. It is another pageant style audition and there’s a lot of dancing and entertaining as it is more of a showcase than a preliminary dance audition, where there is a lot of dance instruction and repetition before a panel of judges. Not this audition. It was two hours of non stop dance action.
The Miami Dolphins final auditions are usually open to the public and if you have a chance to go, do so. It’s a lot of fun and you won’t regret it.
Many years ago, the PAC 12 held their annual basketball conference championships at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and I could understand why the conference would do so. Los Angeles was pretty much the central location for all of the teams and it was a relatively new stadium in the most media centric city on the west coast. But for whatever reason, the venue rarely sold out and the conference decided to move the championships to Las Vegas.
But while the championships were in L.A., they used to have a battle of the bands contest before the two scheduled teams were playing and they featured the spirit squads of both teams. And I attended one of these sessions and took this image of a pretty UCLA dance team member.
So enjoy this college edition of Flashback Friday.
I have been covering the Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders auditions since 2009 and they regularly attract some of the most beautiful girls in area. This photo was taken in 2016 and it is of one of the most photogenic girls at the auditions, Darby. She went on to make the squad and she has become one of my favorite Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders to photograph. And if you want to see more photos from that year’s auditions, click here.
In this edition of Flashback Friday, we take a look back at the 2016 Los Angeles Rams Cheerleaders final auditions, which were held at The Forum in Inglewood, California. In the first year back in Los Angeles, the Rams Cheerleaders attracted a large and distinguished group of candidates. There were former cheerleaders from the Laker Girls, Clippers Spirit, Charger Girls, Chivas Girls, the UCLA dance team, USC Song Girls and a host of other local semi professional dance teams. It was a special day and the setting made for some wonderful shots.
I may have posted this before, but it’s worth seeing again. This was one of the first videos that I made with my iPhone 5S and iMovie. I’d say it turned out okay for a first timer, but I came to the conclusion that you can’t take photos and take videos at the same event and do both well…at least I can’t. Photos it is…for now.
Merry Christmas, cheerleader fans! In this special edition of Flashback Friday, we feature one of my all time favorite Charger Girls…Angela M. She was such a wonderful cheerleader to photograph and I was able to relate to her in a way that led to many special photos. Sometimes, you just click with someone photographically speaking, and Angela was one those people.
Here are a few more of my favorite photos of Angela.
Yes…Angela was a very special Charger Girl.
Happy Holidays! To all of those who are reading this and are Charger Girl fans…and who among you wouldn’t be…here are some photos of Charger Girls past wearing their iconic blue velvet Christmas uniforms.
Enjoy!
The Ladies of Ontario Fury was a program that spawned many major league cheerleaders and one of them was Alex, who is currently a Los Angeles Rams Cheerleader along with a few other former members of this squad. Check her out on Sundays at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum cheering on the Rams.
A few days ago, I was in attendance at the 2019 Rose Parade, where I snapped this photo of a lovely Washington Huskies cheerleader. Absolutely gorgeous. They had many beautiful cheerleaders on that squad and I can imagine we will see one or two on the Seattle Sea Gals in years to come. But for now, we will have to enjoy them while they cheer on the PAC 12 Football Champions.
Here’s a bonus pic showing the entire squad.
Last year, I said that 2017 was a year of change and it was, but it was not anything like the type of change we saw in 2018. The Me Too movement and other social currents have indelibly impacted professional cheerleading and not for good, in my opinion. Numerous lawsuits by former cheerleaders have highlighted the darker side of the profession and the traditionally low compensation paid to these performers has been an embarrassment considering that league revenues have never been higher. Exposing these issues in such a public manner has left many with a very negative and, perhaps, unfair assessment of the current state of professional cheerleading.
These events have led to the termination of some long time directors of cheerleading and a reevaluation of the profession itself. Many changes ensued, such as the role and nature of professional cheerleaders with respect to game days and tangential events like calendar shoots and in suite appearances. Additionally, dance teams have reconsidered the utility of those hyper sexy and provocative uniforms that have defined the endeavor.
Skin is out and modesty is the new reality lest the NFL and NBA run afoul of new social norms aggressively advocated by progressive minds. In 2018, you do not want to appear to be promoting out of favor beliefs no longer tolerated by some people, especially if you are a multi billion dollar corporation.
There are voices, such as HBO’s Real Sports and several newspapers such as USA Today who question whether or not professional cheerleading should exist at all. Let me state unequivocally that I am not in favor of eliminating professional cheerleaders. I enjoy them immensely and in 2018, it’s okay to say so and to like what they do, but I feel like I am in the minority and a sea of change is growing that will inextricably alter what we fans have come to love and enjoy.
The times they are a changing, and in my opinion, not for the good. Back in the late 70’s and early 80’s, the existence of professional cheerleaders represented a certain female sexual liberation and there were movements to force them to conform to a certain modesty based belief system. That attempt came from social conservatives who decried the overtly sexual nature of cheerleaders. In 2018, that effort have been supplanted by voices on the left who expect people, in particular young women, to adhere to progressive belief systems mandating how a women should act and dress in modern times. It strikes me as ironic that the political forces attempting to repress professional cheerleaders are now the extreme left.
And why should cheerleaders conform to someone else’s ideals, i.e. progressives or anyone else, that have no vested interest in professional cheerleading? It’s 2018 and it should be perfectly acceptable for young women to become cheerleaders and dress as they want, overtly sexual or otherwise. No one is coercing them and from all intents and purposes, these women know what they are getting into from what I hear. They know what’s going on and choose to do so.
OutkicktheCoverage.com: In Defense of Cheerleaders and Cheerleading
Now I am not advocating that cheerleaders should be exploited, financially or sexually. Cheerleaders should be paid commensurate with their value to the organization and I believe what cheerleaders bring to the NFL or the NBA is significant and valuable.
Pay them.
And I am certainly not advocating that it is acceptable for cheerleaders to be exploited sexually and be put in situations where they might be. Organizations should protect them and ensure their welfare while performing their duties, just like you would look out for the welfare of the players or coaches.
Protect them.
Protect them from exploitation and hostile environments. It is the right thing to do…do we really need to say this in 2018 and overtly state what we all know should be done?
This is my assessment of professional cheerleading in 2018. And why is this relevant for a retrospective on the top 10 cheerleaders photos? Because I have experienced the negative consequences of this reality as I covered professional cheerleading for UltimateCheerleaders.com. In the current environment, the NFL, NBA and other sports leagues have undergone a retrenchment as a result of all this negative publicity and have attempted to staunch the bad press while they address this new reality. And this retrenchment means less media opportunities for people like myself who are trying to provide some positive publicity to an endeavor under siege. And there is less content out there as a result.
As for myself, the number of events that I have covered in 2018 have trickled down to a scant few as a result of this new environment and perhaps next year, I will cover even less as I know that there are many teams and organizations that are considering more severe changes to that which we all love.
That is the future of professional cheerleading.
On to my favorite photos of 2018.
10. The University of Georgia Marching Band at the 2018 Rose Parade
I like this photo on several levels. I like the symmetry between all the flag bearers in formation. I like the bright colors that are so strikingly vibrant. But what I like the most is the attractiveness of brunette flag bearer in the center, whose shapely curves so perfectly define the feminine form.
9. ???
One of the hottest cheerleaders at the 2018 P.R.O. Convention in Atlanta was a Tennessee Titans Cheerleader named Jojo. She kind of reminded me of Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, the actress who played Tony Montana’s sister Gina in the movie Scarface. I was very impressed with Jojo’s looks and dance ability and wanted to schedule some one on one time to take a few posed photos for my convention coverage, which we were able to do.
I was even more impressed with her that she excused herself back to her hotel room to change into her uniform skirt, which was much more attractive and presentable than the blue dance pants she was wearing. That said to me that she took pride in her appearance and wanted to look her best and in my opinion, this attention to detail makes all the difference between those cheerleaders who stand out and those who do not…and Jojo stood out in Atlanta.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this edition of Flashback Friday and if you want to see more photos of Jojo, check out her 2018 P-R-O Convention All Star feature.
Even though I attended only a handful of events last year, I must have taken near 15 thousand images or more at the three big events. So even though the events were few, the hours I was present and the number of images taken were numerous. Here are some of the contenders that didn’t make the top 10.
It’s MVC Grace again.
I just noticed that there seems to be a lot of blondes in this list.
There were close to 300 girls in attendance at the 2018 P-R-O Convention and one girl stood out as the freshest face and the girl who enjoyed being a pro cheerleader the most…can you tell who that was in the photo below? When Cheer Directors say they are looking for someone who stands out from the rest, someone who displays unrivaled showmanship, you can see what they mean in the following photo.
Here she is again, the freshest face in professional cheerleading, rookie Houston Texans Cheerleader Sierra.
And here’s our section of Charger Girl audition hopefuls…well, I think all of them made the squad, so maybe that should be just “Charger Girls”.
Lots of great photographic opportunities at an audition.
I hope 2019 is a better year than 2018 and that I will be able to attend a few more events but I think we’ve seen a turning point for professional cheerleading and it’s not good.
The Ladies of Ontario Fury were the dance team of the Ontario Fury soccer team. They supported the Fury by providing the game day entertainment, community outreach and through public appearances. They were a valued commodity in marking the franchise and they will be missed.
This is a photo of one of the hottest Ladies of Ontario Fury, Brittany who happened to be a beauty queen in addition to a professional cheerleader.
I took this photo of one of the most interesting candidates at the 2016 Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders auditions. I thought she was one of the most attractive girls at the auditions and she was a decent enough dancer, but she did not make the final cut if I recall correctly.
In this edition of Flashback Friday, we take a look at one of the hottest cheerleaders at the 2016 P-R-O Convention in Atlanta…San Antonio Silver Dancer Erika. She had this bubbly personality and innocent look about her, but she could really portray a sultry look when posing. This is one of the more playful images from that photo shoot.
I read that after the 2017-2018 season, the San Antonio Spurs abruptly decided to end the Silver Dancers and go with a coed squad…so very sad and disappointing.
Yeah…the times, they are a changing.
I get to see a lot of beautiful cheerleaders at the annual P-R-O Convention in Atlanta and in 2015, one of the prettiest cheerleaders in attendance was a young and memorable Jets Flight Crew cheerleader named Tara. She left a lasting impression and for good reason. A couple of years later, Tara would try out for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and make that squad…and the DCC seem to select only special girls and Tara was special.
Here’s a couple of bonus pics. If I recall correctly, I took these photos after the convention had officially ended. Tara and a couple of Jets Flight Crew cheerleaders had a later flight back to New York (they usually leave early on Sunday) and I asked her to pose for me before the staff took down this backdrop. We hurried up and got these photos…the very last of that convention.
In this edition of Flashback Friday, we take a look back at 2013 Charger Girl Jessica. Jessica was also a member of the 2013 Anaheim Bolts Dance Team and that squad had a number of girls who would go on to big league cheerleading squads, like the Charger Girls, Clippers Spirit, Los Angeles Rams Cheerleaders, and the Laker Girls…pretty much all of the major league dance teams in Southern California.
That 2013 Anaheim Bolts Dance Team was coached by Lynae De Leon, a former Clippers Spirit dancer who had a reputation for developing dance talent as Director of the Anaheim Bolts Dance Team and later as the Director of the Ladies of Ontario Fury. Jessica was one of Lynae’s girls who made it up to the big leagues and all of them were special.
Here’s a bonus pic of Jessica as an Anaheim Bolts Dance Team member.
In this edition of Flashback Friday, we take a look back at one of the most popular Charger Girls of all time…Marlina Moreno. She always seemed to get a lot of attention from the people in my section, Field Level 39, and from the people who sneaked down into our section to get a better look at the lovely Miss Marlena.
This photo was taken at one of the last Halloween dress up days. The Charger Girls used to dress up in these costumes if game day fell within a day or two of Halloween, but they seemed to stop dressing up after the 2009 season. I think that might have been because the Halloween costumes got to be a little too skimpy or overtly sexy. In October, we have great weather in Southern California and one year the girls were wearing some costumes that showed a lot of skin. Perhaps that’s what did in this festive tradition. I don’t know for sure, but I know that there were many fans who were very disappointed.
As for me, I didn’t mind so much because I feel the regular Charger Girl uniform is a classic, one of the most remarkable and second only to the venerable Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders uniforms.
But getting back to Charger Girl Marlina…here’s another photo from that Halloween dress up game day.
Yeah, I’m not sure why I’m posting this photo of Laker great Kobe Bryant in a blog dedicated to professional cheerleading except for…it’s Kobe “freaking” Bryant. Okay, there are a couple of Laker Girls in the background.
I went to Fiesta Lakers to shoot the Laker Girls and look who showed up…true story.