Something new for the 2007 season was a pizza-and-beer blast fundraiser held at SoHo to help raise money for the following season's calendar trip. That first fundraiser was put together rather quickly, with most of the packed house getting their tickets at the door instead of through one of the girls on the squad. To help out, sponsors and Bills players put up prizes for a Chinese auction and Sabres goalie Ryan Miller donated an autographed hockey stick for a silent auction to help out the Jills in their endeavor. Judging by the turnout, the event was a huge success as SoHo was packed for the entire evening including a pair of former Jills showing up to assist their former squadmates in Kelly Ann (2003-2004) and Danielle M (2005-2006). In future seasons, the fundraisers were held during the season at some point while this one was held the first Saturday night in March, 4 weeks before the Open Workshop at the start of 2008 tryouts. The big negative about the date was that it coincided with a Bandits home game so I had a decision to make. After debating it for a few days, and considering no one was going to the Bandits game with me, I decided to do both, catching the last part of the Bandits game after the Fundraiser.
As it turned out, I had only just gotten a new camera a few days before this event so I was still learning the settings on it and a few photos early in the evening didn't turn out as well as they should have.
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| Amanda P and Amanda F |
With it being so close to tryout time for the 2008 squad, the girls who weren't returning to the squad didn't need to attend. As a matter of fact, the only one who did was Amanda P, which had led me to believe she'd be coming back in 2008. Instead, the next time we saw Amanda after this was on the If I Can Dream Web series put together by Simon Fuller. It's always disappointing when girls you've gotten to know over the years don't return but the one I was perhaps most disappointed about not being there was Aimee, who retired after 6 seasons on the sidelines. The reason for this was something her line did in the Miami game the previous fall. In the 2nd quarter, they lined up in front of my section and blew kisses to the camera so I was curious as to where that came from. As it turned out, Jill D told me it was all Aimee's idea.
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| Jamie, Val, and Katie K |
There were other tales to be told that evening. Late in the season, DJ Jickster took Lisa and Valerie to Cleveland for an appearance at the Bills game there vs the Browns. The weather was pretty rough there before, during, and after the game. They couldn't even make it home after the game as they had to find a hotel room to stay in for the night to wait out the blizzard.
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| Lisa, Jickster, and Val |
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| Three of my favorite 2007 rookies...Jess, Vincenza, and Kaitlin |
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| Angelina and Kelly |
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| Jills alum Danielle M (2005-06) with Katie K and her bf |
See all the pics at
https://buffaloprocheerbuffalojills.shutterfly.com/pictures/9981
From the Bandettes comes a photo from halftime of the 1st game against the Rochester Knighthawks. Just before heading out to perform, a few of the girls posed for photos. Shown grabbing a photo are Chrissy and Chelsea.
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| Chrissy and Chelsea |
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