The Bandits opened off their season this year with a loss in Philadelphia but, with the teams sharing the division, an opportunity for payback would come up quick and the teams faced off again in First Niagara Center in Buffalo. Unlike the season opener, this game stayed close all game long and, instead of a 13-8 loss, the Bandits came through for the hometown fans with a 14-13 win which wasn't decided until Luke Wiles buried a shot with 23.6 seconds left in regulation.
LB, MaKenzie, and Alicia
I started off my evening at the arena with LB's line...Kirsten's line was at Cobblestone for the Bandits pregame party while LB, MaKenzie, Alicia, and Erin were on one end of the escalator bank and Jessica, Amanda T, Cheri, and Kelsey greeted fans coming up the other bank.
Jessica, Amanda T, Cheri, and Kelsey
After grabbing a few photos, it was time to head to the seats to get ready for the game. Of course as the squad was waiting to head out for pregame, some of the girls posed for photos...and I think everyone knows who posed for the most...Stephanie...lol....definitely the biggest camera ham on the Bandettes.
Stephanie and MaKenzie
Kirsten and Chelsea
Of course with 17 very beautiful young women on the Bandettes, they all deserve a lot of attention and they all are getting plenty of camera time as well.
The NFL Buffalo Jills Cheerleaders hold open workshops and auditions for cheerleaders, dancers & models beginning Tuesday, March 5th. Jills Director, Stephanie Mateczun, Nichole Ranney our Coordinator and well-known Choreographer, Kelli Wagner, insure that the Jills are in top-notch shape for game day performances as well as appearances. In addition to mandatory practices two times a week (Tues & Thurs, 6:30-10:00pm) and their full time work and/or school schedules, the Jills participate in a variety of community events that involve the Buffalo Bills, area businesses and numerous charities. The Jills also host three (3) popular Jr Jills programs for young cheerleaders/dancers, a Jill’s golf tournament and other great events throughout the Western New York area. The minimum requirement for auditions is that each young lady needs to be at least 18 years old by the first physical workshop they attend in March. There is no age limit!
Formal dance and/or cheerleading experience are not mandatory but extremely helpful. Not a dancer but have the Jills look and love to be around people? We also have a non-performing squad to compliment our popular dance squad. Our non-performing Jills are “Ambassador Jills” and part of our team 100%! Being a Buffalo Jill requires a lot of time and dedication. You must have a significant amount of availability in your schedule in order to fulfill your commitment as an NFL Cheerleader. Cheerleaders do not travel out of town with the team but do participate in all home games (including Toronto).
This week, we look at 3rd year vet Jessica as our Buffalo Bandette of The Week. Dancing on LB's line, Jess has been kind of a co-captain for her and when LB was contemplating retirement at the end of last season, Jessica made sure to tell me she'd do her best to fill in for her. Thankfully, she doesn't have to do that and the two of them have been almost inseperable ever since they first performed together in Toronto alongside the Jills. Currently working as a fitness trainer, she's hoping to one day become an athletic trainer like Dr Sherri LaShomb of the Buffalo Bandits. When Jessica was in high school, she was voted "friends with everyone" and in this case, it's pretty accurate. Jessica is closest with LB and with Chrissy, but she is the type to go out of her way to help the less-experienced members of the squad get acclimated to whatever they need to do. You can read more about Jessica at http://www.bandits.com/bbio.asp?bandID=JessicaM Jessica's secondary photo is from the pregame party at Cobblestone Bar before the Home Opener. Shown smiling for the camera while working on their raffle tickets are Jessica and Amanda T.
Jessica and Amanda T at the Pregame party before the Home Opener
This week, we take a look at rookie blonde Kayla as our Buffalo Jill of The Week. Dancing on Omarlla's line on gamedays between Omarlla and Jenny, Kayla is working on her degree in social work and psychology with the intent to gets her masters after finishing her undergraduate work. She'd love to travel the world helping people when she's done with her degrees but would also love to stay on the sidelines, even after her cheering days are done, as a sideline reporter like Erin Andrews or Alex Flanagan. When it comes to Jills practices and appearances, a lot of emphasis is put into punctuality and girls are encouraged to try to show up early for these things just so that in case of any issues, they can still most likely show up on time. This is something Kayla was focused on even before the Jills, thanks to her mother. She'd rather be a couple of hours early than even a minute late. You can read more about Kayla at http://buffalojills.com/profile.php?PID=86 Kayla's secondary photo comes from Pro Bowl Dan's visit to Toronto and the tailgate party outside the Rogers Centre. Posing for a photo are Kayla, Omarlla, and Nicole L.
Kayla, Omarlla, and Nicole L
Meet Kayla in this short video shot at Jills 1st cuts with commentary done by Jills choreographer Kelli Wagner.
Shown on the right, see Kayla perform at 1st cuts, showing off her dance movies for the judges.
A married couple from Buffalo will be taking part in CBS' The Amazing Race when the show kicks off for the 22nd time in February.
Thirty-year-old cigar salesman Max Bichler and his wife, 24-year-old pharmacist and former Buffalo Jill, Katie Bichler will be competing with 11 other teams for a chance to win $1 million.
Warm and sunny Hawaii sounds like a dream right about now, right? For Buffalo Jill’s cheerleader Lisa, it will be.
Lisa will travel to the Pro Bowl in Honolulu to represent the Jills. In her sixth year with the squad, Lisa is a native of Buffalo and has been cheering and dancing since she was four years-old.
This year they will be doing a one day clinic on March 23rd from 2-5pm at the First Niagara Center(There will not be a performance during the bandits game). Girls ages 7-17 are welcome to join and spend a day dancing with the Buffalo Bandettes!!! Check it out and hope to see you all there :) Register soon as space is limited!
As far as why no performance during a Bandits game this year..."Just due to scheduling conflicts, also every couple of years we like to do a one day clinic which allows us to keep the price down so girls that may not be able to afford the whole program can join us! Sorry for the inconvenience but we still hope to see you all there!!"
Contact beabandette@yahoo.com for details
This week, we take a look at our first Bandettes rookie as our Bandette of The Week. Cheri dances on LB's line on gamedays and was regarded as quiet when she was in high school. Dancing right alongside LB, who was pretty quiet when she was a rookie, should definitely make her less quiet over time. Away from the squad, she's a health advisor helping others make healthier choices in their lives. When you consider what the job entails, her biggest weakness, caring too much, is actually more of a strength than anything. You can read more about Cheri at http://www.bandits.com/bbio.asp?bandID=CheriG Cheri's secondary photo comes from the Bandits Home Opener and was taken at 1st intermission before the squad went out on the floor. Shown waiting to head out are Cheri, Jessica, Chelsea, and LB.
This week, we take a look at rookie stunner Katrina as our Buffalo Jill of The Week. Dancing on Omarlla's line between Jenny and Nicole L, Katrina is working on a degree in broadcast journalism, a degree which would definitely be of use in Buffalo when you consider the beautiful women reporting the news in Buffalo. She'd fit right in with a former beauty queen and some other beauties on the various stations in Buffalo. It's also kind of a shame that the Jills' annual game against Durf's Dollies ended several years ago. For a number of years, the Jills would play a softball game against a group of firefighters at the Taste of Niagara and Katrina claims to be quite the player. Of course Durf's Dollies didn't exactly play by the rules anyway, doing things like substituting a water balloon for the ball when pitching and things like that. You can read more about Katrina at http://buffalojills.com/profile.php?PID=87 Katrina's secondary photo comes from the September game against New England and was taken early in the 2nd quarter. Shown on the sidelines are Katrina and Kayla facing the field with Nicole L facing the crowd.
Katrina, Nicole L, and Kayla
Meet Katrina in this short video shot at Jills 1st cuts with introduction done by Jills Choreographer Kelli Wagner.
Don't miss video of Katrina (on the left) performing at 1st cuts to show off her dance moves.
After an opening night loss in Philadelphia, the Buffalo Bandits returned home to Buffalo's First Niagara Center and over 15,000 fans to face off against the Minnesota Swarm. The game started off much the way the previous night's game went, with several penalties and an early lead being given up which led to a change on goal. The Bandits fought back and never let the game get too out of hand until, late in the game, they finally started taking the lead, trading goals with the Swarm until they came out on top with a thrilling 13-12 win!
The game itself wasn't all that was exciting as the 2013 Bandettes squad was in action starting with a visit to Cobblestone Bar and Grill for a Bandits pregame party by L.B.'s line. The girls mingled with the patrons while selling 50-50 raffle tickets to help benefit the Bandettes program while Kirsten's line was inside the arena greeting fans while they arrived at the game.
Jess and Amanda T at the pregame party
Camera hams Stephanie O and Chelsea
Inside the arena later on, the squad was ready to perform and that included posing for photos...and after over 8 months away from the camera, Stephanie O and Chelsea showed off their pretty smiles for the camera before anyone else.
Rookie Amanda C smiles big and pretty for the camera
Danielle, Kelsey, Alicia, and Lauren K pose for the camera
Stephanie O and Kirsten in action
Kirsten's line just before the half
See all the pics at http://buffaloprocheerbuffalobandettes.shutterfly.com/pictures/5667
Next up for the Bandettes, they'll be back in action at First Niagara Center on January 26th as the Bandits play host to the Philadelphia Wings in an attempt to get payback for the opening night loss.
We start off the Bandette of The Week series with 4th year vet and 2nd year captain Lauren B. L.B, as she's known, is possibly the most outgoing and talkative of all the returning vets, which is quite the departure from the way she was her rookie season. Near the end of last season, she was telling her squadmates and me that she wasn't sure about returning for a 4th season what with friends like Stephanie G and Krista retiring. Thankfully, by the time tryouts came about, she had decided to return for 2013 in the hopes she'll be dancing at the arena when the Bandits win their next Championship. Of course getting to spend a lot more time with the rest of her friends on the squad is a big bonus as well. You can read more about LB at http://www.bandits.com/bbio.asp?bandID=LaurenB LB's secondary photo comes from the recent Bandits Open Practice at First Niagara Center and was taken between performances when the Bandettes were circulating through the seats to visit with fans. Shown smiling for the camera are L.B. MaKenzie, and Lauren K.
This week, we look at 2nd year vet Melissa as our Buffalo Jill of The Week. Melissa danced on Val's line between Nicole S and Alyssa U and, despite only being a 2nd year vet with the Jills, will have more experience performing in front of large crowds at professional level than anyone in Buffalo if she chooses to return in 2013. Nearly seven seasons as a key part of the Buffalo Bandettes dance team gave fans a look at her dancing talents but it wasn't until after she and the rest of the Bandettes performed with the Jills in Toronto that she thought about cheering in front of even larger crowds at Ralph Wilson Stadium. When most rookies try out, you always tend to wonder if they have what it takes or not and truthfully, at the Open Workshop that year, I did watch the former Bandettes out of the corner of my eye a lot to see how they were picking up the routine. But when you consider the Bandettes normally learn about 20 different performances a season, I had complete faith that Melissa could learn 1 in a week.
You can read more about Melissa at http://buffalojills.com/profile.php?PID=58 Melissa's secondary photo comes from the Bills-Titans game in October and was taken late in the 2nd quarter when Val's line was in front of section 121. Shown getting the crowd revved up are Krystin, Melissa, Lisa, and Kelsey H.
Meet Melissa in this short video shot at Jills 1st cuts back in April.
Don't miss Melissa performing alongside Nicole L at 1st cuts for the judges as they show off their dance moves together.
Finally, don't forget to my article on Pro Player Insiders where Melissa was named Buffalo Jill of The Month at http://proplayerinsiders.com/buffalo-jill-of-the-month-melissa/
This week, we take a look at rookie Ambassador Gabrielle as our current Buffalo Jill of The Week. Gabrielle's big focus outside of the Jills is in art. She enjoys painting in her free time and even has a degree in fine art that she just finished getting this past spring. She also enjoys dabbling in photography like squadmate Loren does. She's also got some talents elsewhere, in music. Jills alumni Aimee L (2003) and Ashlee A (2005) have each taken their singing talents and made a mark on the Buffalo music scene with Aimee headlining The Teasers and Ashlee singing with the Scintas. Will Gabrielle utilize her guitar playing for some extra income or will she just keep it as a hobby? I guess we'll see in time. You can read more about Gabrielle at http://buffalojills.com/profile.php?PID=75 Gabrielle's secondary photo comes from the Toronto game. In a shot taken in the 3rd quarter by Pro Bowl Dan, Gabrielle and Chelsea are shown posing for a nearby camera.
Gabrielle and Chelsea in Toronto
Meet Gabrielle in this video from 1st cuts last spring with introduction done by Jills choreographer Kelli Wagner.
Amanda C, Brianna A, and Brianna N
From the Bandettes comes a photo from last month's Open Practice. Shown posing in the concourse between performances are 3 of the lovely rookies on the Buffalo Bandettes in 2013. Seen are Amanda C, Brianna A, and Brianna N.
It took a little bit but the Bandettes website is now updated with photos and bios of the 17 girls on the 2013 squad. In all, there are 9 returning vets and 8 rookies on the squad with Lauren B and Kirsten as returning captains. Check the site out at http://www.bandits.com/bandettes.asp
Also, with the site up to date, we can put together the Bandette of The Week schedule and, as we've done the past few years, the order will be totally random, with Lauren B leading it off and Kirsten in the final spot, the reverse order of last season.
