2008 Buffalo Jills Fundraiser-revisited

In the spring of 2008, the Jills held their 1st pizza and beer blast fundraiser at SoHo to raise money for their annual Calendar trip. While the event was a huge success, the one drawback was that a significant portion of the 2007 squad wasn't in attendance since many had already chosen not to return in 2008. A change was made with the 2008 squad, holding the Fundraiser in September and as it turned out, the event was an even bigger success than the one in the spring. My favorite part of that was not only that more of the Jills were there, but I didn't have to miss any part of a Bandits game to attend! lol
I arrived early to help set up and it wasn't long before the Jills started arriving with pizzas and wings for the parties from various pizza places in Buffalo. The funniest part for me was when Shana arrived with a box from one certain local place. At the Taste of Buffalo, she had warned me off trying the pizza from this place and when she showed up with a box from there, I had to question her. She hated the pizza from there but loved the wings, which is what she brought.

Jennifer and Lisa

Jessica K (2006) on hand to support her sister Jenica

The 2 Canadians on the squad, Sarah and Anna

Rita and Shana

Kristin M, Rita, and Dana

Danielle, Murissa, and Ashley

Lisa, Anna, Ali, and Katherine out front to greet fans as they arrive

Val, Jess, and Eileen

Liz and Ali, who are still best of friends 6 years later

Kelli, Vincenza, and Anna

One of the funnier moments of the evening came with Jess and Stefanie.There were times, over the years, that Stefanie got caught on camera so focused on the game that she wasn't smiling all that much, something that got brought up in practices on occasion. She and Jess were, and still are, pretty close friends and the three of us were talking about that smiling issue when Jess had a brainstorm for a photo. They decided to pose back to back with a serious face. Jess is rarely without a smile and Stefanie couldn't keep a straight face for the camera.

Jess and Stefanie

You can see all the pics at https://buffaloprocheerbuffalojills.shutterfly.com/pictures/8050
The evening didn't actually end with the Fundraiser for a lot of us. Early in the evening, Lisa made a special request to join her and some of her squadmates for her birthday party across the street at Bayou after she found out that my own birthday had just passed a few days beforehand. Since I knew that Jills alum Jessica D (2006-07), who I was good friends with at the time, was working over there and had already planned to swing by to say hi, I took Lisa up on her offer. We had a little VIP area set up at Bayou and were joined by about a dozen of the Jills, some boyfriends, and even a few alumnae. While there, we not only saw Jessica but Kristen M (2006) who was working there at the time and Lisa and I bought each other shots before the bulk of us went back over to SoHo to finish out the evening. Possibly the most amusing part of the evening was when the SoHo DJ played "Break The Ice" by Britney Spears. Seeing as how that was the song they tried out to in 2008, a number of the girls on the squad started going through the tryout routine only to be completely thrown off when the song didn't follow along with the version that they tried out to. When putting together tryout music, Kelli puts together remixes that can be very different from the original song. Now, I can't share the photos that were taken at the birthday celebration since those are just for Lisa and her guests but I had to share that story. The girls on the Jills in 2008 had a lot of fun together but at the same time, didn't get carried away enough to embarass themselves. There were even a few of the girls who didn't drink so as to ensure the safety of the whole group.
From the Bandettes comes a photo from the 2nd home game against the Toronto Rock. Shown posing for the camera at halftime is the full squad showing off their "Braver Than Brave" t-shirts. The saying is in reference to Tucker Williams, the son of Bandits F Shawn Williams, who was diagnosed with Stage III Burkitt Lymphoma in January and started fighting it with the backing of the entire NLL and its fans.

Bandettes showing off their Braver Than Brave t-shirts