To lead off the 2010 Bandits season, they held their annual Open Practice complete with a lot of changes, both on the team and on the Bandettes. Several well-known faces moved on, including head coach Erin J, making Jaclyn the new head coach with Erin Y as her assistant and head choreographer. The Bandettes also featured a familiar face, Beth, who had taken the 2009 season off. As Justina told me, Beth's return was to bring back some luck to the Bandits after a 1st round loss in the playoffs the previous spring. Since the two of them danced together in 2008 when the Bandits won it all, a reunion of the two might help it happen again in 2010.
I made it to the arena just before the start of practice and soon after grabbing a seat, the Bandettes were coming out of the tunnel to perform, giving everyone a 1st look at the 2010 Buffalo Bandettes!
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| Z and rookie LB |
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| Lonna smiles for the camera with her mentor Lauren S |
Out of the 6 faces that were new to the squad in 2010, in addition to Beth, one more familiar face joined the squad. All through the summer of 2009, Lonna, who had been on the 2008 Buffalo Jills, asked me about Bandettes tryouts and for info on the squad. With a lot of hard work, she became a member of the 2010 Bandettes alongside LB, Ashley, Chelsea, and Stephanie G. After their performance, they spent time in the concourses and the seating area greeting fans, signing autographs, posing for photos, and handing out info for their Jr Bandettes program.
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| Chelsea, Lonna, Beth, Stephanie, Alexis, and Justina |
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| Squad photo! |
See all the pics at
https://buffaloprocheerbuffalobandettes.shutterfly.com/pictures/2016
In February, the annual Buffalo Auto Show was held at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center and besides the new model cars on display, one of the draws every year is the chance to meet some local sports celebrities. On Wednesday of the Auto Show, they brought in former Bill Ruben Brown, former Sabres Rob Ray and Gilbert Perreault, and current Bandits superstar Johnny Tavares. With Johnny in attendance, it only seemed fitting for some of the Bandettes to appear as well. When I got there, Meghan, Amanda Z, Alexis, and Lauren B hadn't been there for long themselves and were checking out some of the new cars before they had to go join Johnny for his autograph session. In addition to getting pictures with some of the fans, LB and Alexis were all too happy to get some photos while in the driver's seat of some of the cars.
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| LB checks out one of the new cars |
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| Alexis in a Lexus, of course! |
After the girls were finished posing in some of the vehicles, like Alexis in a Lexus, it was time to go join Johnny Tavares as he signed autographs and posed for pictures with the fans. When we got up there, it seemed a pretty good portion of the Auto Show attendees were already in line getting autograph. The girls joined in, grabbing a photo with Johnny themselves and posing with fans after they got their autographs from him.
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| LB, Meghan, Johnny Tavares, Alexis, and Amanda Z |
Late in the session, as the lines came to an end, Lauren, a rookie on the Bandettes that season, showed a side that recent fans would never expect. She asked Mr Tavares if she could get an autograph for her boyfriend. The request wasn't all that unusual of course but she seemed so timid and shy about it. She's grown a lot since then and her confidence is immensely stronger than it used to be. That's one of the things I love about running this site and working with Buffalo's Pro Cheerleaders. Obviously getting them lots of pics and recognition for their work is key but it's pretty special when you get to see someone grow the way LB has over the years. See all the pics at
https://buffaloprocheerbuffalobandettes.shutterfly.com/pictures/2184
From the Jills we have a photo from last year's Jets game. The Bills have given notice to a Jill every home game and call it their Jill of The Week award...even though without making it an actual weekly thing, it's more accurately the Jill of The Game award. For this game, 2nd year vet Dana, a captain of the Ambassador Squad, got the call. Shown is a photo of Dana coming back off the field after being introduced to the fans.
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| Dana coming off the field as the dancers head out to perform |
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