Bandette of The Week Erin H

This week, we take a look at one of the captains as our Bandette of The Week. Erin H has been on the Bandettes for 5 seasons now and a captain for 3 of them. Born in Toronto, Erin's been dancing since the age of 5 and it's hard to imagine her quitting anytime soon as dancing is what brings her the most happiness. A few years ago, she was asked what TV character she was most like and her response was Quinn from Daria though self-absorbed, Quinn's primary trait, is hardly a word one could use to describe the Bandettes captain. You can read more about Erin at http://www.bandits.com/bandette-08_erinh.cfm and check out her 2005 video at http://s17.photobucket.com/albums/b87/bandettes/2005/?action=view&current=BSPOT_erinh_low.flv as well as her video from last season at http://www.bandits.com/multimedia.cfm?id=302&media=video

Buffalo Jill of The Week Amanda P

With tryouts for the 2008 Buffalo Jills coming up soon, it bears repeating that a girl who didn't make the cut one year could come back the next year and make the squad. This is the second week in a row we're taking a look at someone who didn't make the squad in 2004 but came back in 2005 and, thankfully not only for her but for her legions of fans, nailed a spot on the squad. Dancer Amanda P, who was found on one end of Aimee's line next to Jenica, is just finishing up her 3rd season with the Jills, a career that, so far, has included a national magazine shoot with FHM. In 2006, she was part of a group of cheerleaders to appear in the magazine and narrowly missed getting named "America's Sexiest Cheerleader" based off the photos in the magazine. The only reason she missed getting that award was the fact that FHM missed one important thing in the shoot....her pretty smile, something that certainly would've won her the contest. You can read more about Amanda at http://buffalojills.net/bios/amandap.html

Help the 2008 Jills fund their swimsuit calendar trip

This Saturday, March 1st, the 2007 Buffalo Jills will invade SoHo's on Chippewa in downtown Buffalo for a fundraiser to help fund the 2008-09 Buffalo Jills Swimsuit Calendar trip. Cost is $20 and you can get tix through any Buffalo Jill, at the door, or by calling the Jills director Stephanie M at 716-888-9798. The tickets cover all you can eat and drink from 6-9 on wings, pizza, beer, and wine.

Vote for Nicole, tryouts, Bandettes

First of all, there's a website out there that's running a poll for people to vote for their favorite Pro Bowl Cheerleader at http://www.angelfire.com/nj/nflcheer/probowl08.html Obviously, there's only one right way to vote...for Nicole. This 4th year vet was voted to represent her squad at the Pro Bowl by her squadmates this past season and will hopefully be back in 2008 to continue cheering on the Bills...and maybe share a few memories from Hawaii.

Speaking of being back in 2008, here's just another reminder that Jills tryouts are coming up

All audition dates are closed to the public. Only young ladies participating in auditions will be permitted in audition area. Videotapes are not accepted for auditions, all candidates must be able to attend all audition dates in person.

There is an open, required workshop for all interested Dancer and Ambassador Jills on Sunday, March 30th, 2008 at 10am. Ending time will be determined by number of attendee’s. Please come early to check-in. The actual audition dance routine will be taught at this workshop as well as learning all the requirements for both the Dance squad AND the Ambassador squad. There is no fee for this 1st workshop. You will not be judged at this workshop however; it is still important that you look your best because video and photos are taken. There will be a short question and answer period during this workshop to help you understand what to expect throughout auditions and what is expected of a Buffalo Jill.

More info at http://buffalojills.net/audition.html

Please keep in mind that if you missed the cut in a previous year, that doesn't mean you can't make it this year. Just from the 2007 squad, we have Amanda P, Autumn, Katie K, Keisha, Amanda F, Katherine, and Lisa who didn't make the squad their first time out but came back and nailed spots on the roster. Katie K even made co-captain this past season.

Also, just a reminder for anyone going to see the Bandettes at this weekend's game against Philadelphia, gates are opening at 6pm as opposed to the old 6:30 time. The reason for this...Bandettes posters will be available and the squad will be stationed at the top of the east bank of escalators to sign them from shortly after 6 until about 7pm. Make sure you show up early because we will have to cut the line off by 7 so the squad can make it to their locker room in time to get ready for their pregame performance.

Bandette of The Week Amanda Z

Amanda Z is the first rookie to get honored as Bandette of The Week in 2008 and maybe, if she plays her cards right and gets lucky, she'll one day be helping run the Bandits in addition to cheering for them as she's working towards a degree in sports administration. Beyond that, she's also really into gymnastics and has displayed her gymnastic abilities during the games this year, doing flips during a few of the on-field routines. Check video #8 of the Swarm gallery for an example and check http://www.evilempirelacrosse.com/ for some photos from the Swarm game that show her in a backflip during another routine. You can read more about Amanda at http://www.bandits.com/bandette-08_amandaz.cfm

Buffalo Jill of The Week Katie K

She has a smile that could light up Ralph Wilson Stadium during a total eclipse and she's been with the Jills for 3 seasons now. Katie K, the co-captain for Aimee in 2007, ended her 2006 season as a part of the group that toured Iraq, a trip that she can look back on years from now with a scrapbook filled with not only pictures, but uniform patches from the troops that the group visited. She started off the 2007 season thrilling not soldiers, but some legendary athletes at the Sabres Alumni game in Jamestown where she and rookie Katherine greeted fans and even got to drop the puck for the game. She considers herself to be a bit goofy yet does a great job of covering that up for the most part....except when she questions directions from someone who knows what he's talking about (sorry, Katie....couldn't resist...lol) You can read more about Katie at http://buffalojills.net/bios/katiek.html

Bandits-Swarm pics

The 3-4 Buffalo Bandits returned home for the first time in a month Saturday night to a daunting task to say the least. Missing 2nd leading scorer Kevin Dostie and starting goaltender Mike Thompson, the injured squad had to face off against the 6-0 Minnesota Swarm. A 9-6 halftime deficit was overcome by a 5-goal 3rd quarter and the hometown Bandits knocked the Swarm from the unbeaten ranks with a 16-14 win.
The game wasn't all that was tight as the Bandettes took to the field for the first time in a month and showed no signs of rust as they helped keep the crowd pumped up to help the home team to the win. They started the evening early as the gates were opened at 6pm, a half hour early, and they greeted the fans and posed for pictures as the fans showed up for the game. http://s17.photobucket.com/albums/b87/bandettes/2008/Swarm/
The Bandits and, of course, the Bandettes are back at the HSBC Arena on March 1st when the Philadelphia Wings come to town. Gates will again open at 6pm as the Bandettes will be signing their posters at the top of the east escalators before the game.


3rd intermission routine was choreographed by Korinne

Bandette of The Week Korinne

When Korinne left the Jills early in the 2006 season, it came as a shock to pretty much everyone who knows her. Her dazzling smile has been lighting up the sidelines of Buffalo's pro sports teams since 2000. She spent 4 seasons cheering on the Buffalo Destroyers as a member of the Bombshells, 2 + seasons on the Jills, and prior to this season, spent the 2003 season as a Buffalo Bandette. Thankfully, she couldn't stay away for long as she decided to try out to rejoin the Bandettes this past November. Cheering is the one area of her life she's been pretty decisive in as she's a young lady who is still learning about herself, her goals, and her likes. Four different majors in college before graduating with a BA in Communication and a different favorite food virtually every year prove that it's a woman's prerogative to change her mind. One thing she's never changed her mind about is how much she loves performing as she's been dancing since before she could walk. You can read more about Korinne at http://www.bandits.com/bandette-08_korrine.cfm

Buffalo Jill of The Week Natale

Natale first entered our consciousness back in 2002 when she first joined the Jills. A 3-year career that ended following the 2004 season wasn't enough for her, or us, as she returned to the squad in 2006. She has kept herself pretty busy in more ways than one during all this time. She's currently working on her Master's Degree in Childhood Education after already earning her Bachelor's. Maybe once she's finished with that, she can finally take the time to learn karate, something she's been anxious to learn ever since her rookie season. Beyond that, she put in some serious work with the Jills since the end of the 2006 season. She was a part of the group that went to Iraq last February and March as well as part of the group of Jills that went down to South Beach for last year's Super Bowl and even scored a spot on TV as part of a swimsuit fashion show aired on CBS the Friday before the Super Bowl. The video for that fashion show can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8rOXB9zF4k You can read more about Natale at http://buffalojills.net/bios/natale.html

Super Bowl pics

Obviously, the Bills didn't make the Super Bowl this year. However, that didn't decrease the demand for the Jills by any means. On Super Bowl Sunday, Q103 in Albany brought 2 of the Jills to town for some Super Bowl festivities. Amanda P and Jenica were on hand autographing posters and calendars as well as posing for lots of pictures which you can check out at http://www.wqbk.com/page.php?page=super%20bowl

The demand isn't letting up, either. This weekend, some of the Jills will be on hand at the Buffalo Auto Show on Saturday and Sunday http://www.buffaloautoshow.com/ and there will also be a quartet on hand at a celebrity bowling tournament on Saturday https://www.buffalodreamfactory.com/Celebrity_Bowling_Event.html

Bandette of The Week Karla

We open up our 2008 edition of the Bandette of The Week with a pretty familiar face. Besides being a contributing member of this site practically from the beginning, Karla spent the 2000-2002 seasons on the sidelines at Ralph Wilson Stadium as a member of the Buffalo Jills. This is also her 2nd stint with the Bandettes after spending 5 years with the squad prior to taking the last couple seasons off. Dancing is her passion as she's been doing so for 23 years now. The only thing surprising about her longevity in dancing is the fact that she actually took a couple years away from the pro cheerleading ranks. You can read more about Karla at http://www.bandits.com/bandette-08_karla.cfm

Buffalo Jill of The Week Rachael

This time around, we take a look at one of the senior members of the Jills Ambassador Squad. Rachael spent her rookie season as a dancer on current Jills coordinator Nichole's line. She made the dance squad again the following year as she and close friend Autumn sported matching outfits for tryouts. However, a busy schedule helped her decide to leave the dance lines over the course of the summer but remain on the squad as a member of the Ambassador Squad where she's now served for 2 seasons. She remains pretty active though as she showed, at the 2006 Jills Softball game, that she's an ace pitcher. Away from the diamond, she just loves to have fun and that even extends to being the subject of photos. Anyone looking through gameday photos this past year may find some members of the Ambassador Squad in a few poses in which they look to be "hamming it up for the camera." Any of those pics that included Rachael were the brainchild of this cute 3rd year vet. You can read more about Rachael at http://buffalojills.net/bios/rachel.html

Bandettes web page updated!

The new 2008 Bandettes Web page is now updated complete with a group photo (taken prior to the Open Practice) and pages for each individual Bandette. Also, the group photo includes the entire squad...no one was missing for the group shot this year. Check it out at http://www.bandits.com/bandettes.cfm (registration required)

Buffalo Jill of The Week Amanda K

Admittedly, it's been a few years since the Jills have boasted having a doctor in their ranks but Amanda K has broken that streak. This dancer, who spent her gamedays dancing between Omarlla and Eileen, is an animal lover who turned that love into a career as a veterinarian. Dr. Amanda, as she's known to some of her fans, is no stranger to the sidelines or to dance. Plenty of experience in grade school in dance gave way to a couple years at Mississippi State's Pom Squad, a group of elite cheerleaders who not only performed with the regular squads, but choreographed their own material for performances away from the other squads. You can read more about Amanda at http://buffalojills.net/bios/amandak.html