In the spring of 2010, the time came for Jills tryouts once more. On one hand, it's exciting to see all the new young ladies trying out to join several veterans. But on the other, it also meant several vets wouldn't be returning which is always sad, whether it was by choice or not. One change in 2010 was that only the main dance captains were named before tryouts so Omarlla, Christina, and Eileen were on their own helping Kelli to teach the routine to everyone that day. Keisha and Amanda had already been named captain and co-captain of the Ambassador Squad, however.
We held the workshop back up at the Conference Center of Niagara Falls and I was one of the 1st to arrive to help set up. It wasn't long before all the captains and team management were there, as well some more people there to help out, including Heather, who had chosen not to return for a second season. As I recall, she was on the fence about it as recently as the Jills comedy show. By the time we had everything set up, vets and prospective rookies alike started arriving. Among the first to arrive was Brianne, an alum who had spent the 2007-09 seasons on the squad but left during 2008 tryouts due to illness. In addition to Brianne returning, we also had a few ambassadors trying out for dance, including Kristen and Nicole, breaking up the Three Musketeers, so to speak.
Gabrielle, Kristen, and Nicole
In all, we had about 85-90 girls showing up to try out in 2010 and we got to meet a few of the prospective rookies, including some who wound up making the squad. Included among those were Gina, introduced to us by Alyssa B, and Natalie, who was doing a daily blog of the tryout process for BuffaloBills.com
incoming rookie Gina with Alyssa
Dance captains Omarlla, Christina, and Eileen off to the side
Jills coordinator Nichole B going over some of what everyone needs to know
Once everyone arrived, we started out with an information session in which squad management went over the format of tryouts and delved into the rules and regulations of what was expected of a young lady who became a Buffalo Jill. With the size of the group and the size of the room, they went over it all once with everyone before excusing the ambassador hopefuls and getting things going with the dancers. The previous season was the 1st one in a long time that the 1st round of tryouts were open to the public and one thing that was brought up was how the same music was played over and over again throughout the day. With that in mind, and due to the fact that, during the season, they'll be dancing a routine on the sidelines to many songs the same way, Jills choreographer Kelli Wagner made a big change. Instead of trying out to one song, Kelli put together 3 different remixes for everyone to learn and practice to. Kelli and the captains taught the dance moves without music at first but then went over them again to music, changing up the songs each time to keep everyone on their toes and to get them used to learning to all 3 songs.
Heather, retired after a season, selling workout gear
rookie hopeful Natalie
You can see all the pics at https://buffaloprocheerbuffalojills.shutterfly.com/pictures/1607
From the Bandettes comes a photo from before the April game against the Vancouver Stealth when the Bandettes were selling autographed lacrosse balls to raise funds for the organization. Shown posing for the camera are MaKenzie, Janelle, and Jennifer. Happily, all three of these ladies will be back in action for the Bandettes in 2016!
In 2008, 97Rock and 103.3 The Edge helped sponsor a new event called the Buffalo Men's Show at the Agri-Center in Hamburg. Following the 2009 NFL season, they put one together again but at the Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls, NY. Before even going up, I was exchanging texts with a former Jill who was slated to be there appearing onstage signing autographs as a swimsuit model. 2006-07 Jills alum Jessica D was happy I'd be there since she didn't think too many people would want to see her. When I arrived, the 1st person I ran into was Kristen, who was helping run the booth for Zoladz limousine where they had a contest going in which the winner would get a tailgate party with some of the Jills that coming fall. If Kristen had been one of the Jills at the tailgate party, she would've had everyone fired up...she's one of the most positive people I know.
Kristen at the Zoladz booth
After visiting with Kristen for a bit, I started checking out the various booths around the event and found most of the Jills near the stage signing autographs and posing for pictures.
Christina, Lisa, Omarlla, and Ayeshia
I kept making rounds around the event to check out some more of it and greet more of the Jills when they arrived, including Amanda and Courteney, the latter of which joined Kristen at the Zoladz booth. She was a fitting choice since her positive energy ranks right up there with Kristen's. I also saw Jessica, briefly, before she was due up onstage for her autograph session alongside another NFL Cheerleader alum, Jaime Edmondson, a former Miami Dolphins cheerleader who had been named Playboy's Playmate of the Month just a few months prior. Speaking of Jaime, she and I have a friend in common...Pro Bowl Dan. who was up in Buffalo again for this event because of Jaime's appearance
Amanda F, Courteney, and Kristen
Vincenza and Keisha
Besides the Jills appearing at various booths around the show, they also had a couple of appearances onstage to do with the 1st appearance being group photos with the fans. All but a few girls were onstage for that and after taking a few photos, I took a walk around the exhibits and ran into Jessica, accompanied by one of the workers for the show to watch out for her as she was posing for photos and signing autographs. Needless to say, I made a point of joking with her about her earlier assertion that no one would wanna see her at all. I took over for her escort for a little while before she headed backstage again after her mother showed up, who I talked with while she waited for her beautiful daughter.
the Jills onstage
Not all the celebs that were on-hand for the event signed autographs onstage. Former Bills G Ruben Brown had his own booth to not only to sign autographs but to talk to people about his annual motorcycle run which raises money for children's athletic programs. You can learn more about Ruben's foundation at http://www.rubenbrownfoundation.com/
Angelina with former Bills G Ruben Brown
After their photo session, it was time for a Jills performance and they kept the crowd enthralled before what was coming up next...
Shortly after Jessica left, the Jills took the stage once more, but not as Jills. Several of the Jills onhand for the day volunteered for the event's Bikini fashion show. Sorry, we don't have any pics to share of that but you can see all the rest of the pics at https://buffaloprocheerbuffalojills.shutterfly.com/pictures/7375
From the Bandettes comes a photo from the April game against the Vancouver Stealth when the Bandettes were doing the annual lacrosse ball sale to help fund the organization. Shown posing for the camera are Stephanie and Abby. Going into what will be her 5th season on the squad, Stephanie is now a captain. Abby, sadly, despite loving her experiences her rookie season, called it a career and won't be joining Stephanie on the 2016 Bandettes.
In late February of 2010, the Eastern Hills Mall was once again the setting for an event put on to help improve people's health, this event sponsored by Kaleida Health, designed to help teach families about staying healthy through dance. I showed up a little late thanks to traffic and the weather myself but the Jills performed before I got there and then handed out info on the Jr Jills program and on Jills auditions coming up. Other groups performed dances as well, including one that put on a West African dance routine and invited several members of the audience up on stage to learn and participate. Valerie and Lisa, there at the event in civvies to support their squadmates, were part of that group that learned some West African dance moves.
Jackie, Ayeshia, Eileen, Loren, and Omarlla at the Day of Dance with a little fan
The 3 Musketeers, Kristen, Nicole, and Alyssa
The evening's appearance was a little bigger, the annual Buffalo Jills Adult Comedy Show at Club Paradise in Blasdell. In addition to the above-mentioned performance, there were 3 comedians who took the stage to entertain the crowd. First up was local comedian Dan Pordum, who put on a show talking about, among other things, how much better Buffalonians handle bad weather than other people around the nation. The 2nd comedian onstage was no stranger to Jills fans as he'd been running the 103.3 The Edge Away Game Parties the past 2 seasons. I'm talking of course about Edge DJ and Program Director James. The final comedian, Jocko Alston, was from Montreal and touched on a variety of topics including how similar dance styles actually are and raved about how beautiful Buffalo women are, based on the solid representation from the Buffalo Jills. Jocko had a few DVDs out on the market and, at the end of the show, sold some with a portion of the sales going to the Jills Calendar Shoot fund, helping cover some of the costs of the Jills' trip to Jamaica in May to shoot their 2010-2011 Swimsuit Calendar. Sadly, Jocko passed away later in the year but while we can no longer see him onstage anymore, we can see more about him on YouTube.
squad photo with Jocko Alston
Of course no Jills event was ever complete without a dance performance and Jackie, Loren, Eileen, Omarlla, and Ayeshia made sure to keep the crowd fully enthralled when they weren't laughing with the comedy acts onstage.
Blondes! Eileen, Christina, Jess, Heather, and Amanda
Pro Bowl Dan with Omarlla, Eileen, Christina, and Jess
One thing that I, as someone who's gotten to know many of the Jills over the years, looks forward to with these events, is when Jills alumni show up to support their former squadmates. I'm not alone in this by any means as current members of the squad get pretty excited to see former squadmates show up as well. This event featured longtime Jills Ambassador Captain Kelly (2002-08) as well as a pair of 2005-07 alumni in Autumn and Rachael, all of whom posed for pictures as if they had never left the squad. There was also one more extra celebrity in the crowd as Pro Bowl Dan made the trip up from Virginia to take in the show and take some photos. For anyone who's not sure who Pro Bowl Dan is, he's been going to every Pro Bowl for the past several years and has been getting a lot of good shots of all the Pro Bowl Cheerleaders for UltimateCheerleaders.com
alums Autumn and Rachael with the last remaining member of their 2005 rookie class, Katie K
See all the pics at https://buffaloprocheerbuffalojills.shutterfly.com/pictures/7309
From the Bandettes comes a photo from before the April game against the New England Black Wolves. Shown smiling for the camera is rookie Brittany as she's stationed to sell game programs. After one of her closest friends spent a season on the Jills, she decided to do the same, but with the Bandettes after getting her family started. Sadly, Brittany followed Jena's example again and called it a career after a season, presumably to spend more time with her young family. Considering how active Jena is as a Jills alum though, hopefully we'll see plenty of Brittany at Bandettes alum events.
Every February. the Buffalo Auto Show is held at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center and besides the new model cars on display, there are events to get involved in. Buffalo is a city well-known for its tailgating prowess, annually ranked in the top 3 in the NFL with Green Bay and Kansas City. Besides their devotion to tailgating, the foods that are served at Buffalo tailgate parties are spoken of around the league. In honor of this, the Buffalo Auto Show, with the aid of radio station 103.3 The Edge, hosted a contest in which 5 contestants put their recipes up for judging.
On this Valentine's Day, Jills vets Kaitlin and Amanda were a part of the judging panel and before sitting down to judge, posed for photos with several of the fans there, including this little lady who hoped to be on the sidelines at the Ralph one day herself. #BringBackTheJills They even ran into a family friend of Amanda's who was there checking things out for his job as a police officer.
Kaitlin and Amanda with a little fan
Amanda and Kaitlin with Tom Ragan from 103.3 The Edge's Shredd & Ragan show
You can see all the pics at https://buffaloprocheerbuffalojills.shutterfly.com/pictures/7292
From the Bandettes comes a photo from the April game against New England. Shown posing for the camera while handling program sales is rookie beauty Syidah, a young lady who has some grand goals for her future. While we hope she accomplishes each of her goals, we still hope to see her on the Bandettes for several more years.
With tryouts finished for the 2 teams we're currently covering, the new members of the squads are being introduced to the public!
First up is the Lady 716ers, who had tryouts a little over 3 weeks ago. Coached by Bandettes alum LaToya and Jills alum Loren, they're taking to social media to introduce the ladies to the public. So far they've introduced us to three of the lovely young ladies who will be performing at Buffalo 716ers games starting on November 28th. Like them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Lady-716ers-383773911753996/timeline/ and follow them on Instagram at https://instagram.com/lady716ers/ to meet Tia, Shannon, and Dolly so far with the rest of the squad being introduced over the next couple of weeks!
Bandettes tryouts were held over the weekend and they've already posted a photo of everyone at https://www.facebook.com/Buffalo-Bandettes-610024352385837/timeline/ Sadly, many familiar faces chose not to return but we have a lot of fresh new faces to get to know and love. Captaining the squad will be Mandy and Stephanie. Behind them, only 4 vets return with MaKenzie, Janelle, Jennifer, and Syidah being the familiar faces returning and 9 brand new rookies!
Occasionally, I would find out about Jills appearances from the ladies involved in them directly. It meant extra exposure for the event, usually charity-related, and more photos taken. 2009 rookie Alyssa was always excited to share appearance details with me and this was one of those appearances she told me about when she saw me the week before at the appearances she was at that I covered. The bonus for me was that it was happening just a few miles from my home and in the afternoon before I had a trip up to Buffalo planned for a Bandits game covering the Bandettes.
Like the September event, this DFT event featured, in addition to 4 of Buffalo's Beauties, former Bills LS Adam Lingner. In addition to autographs and photo ops with Adam and the Jills, the new DFT location sponsored a brand-new Subaru Impreza giveaway with a dice game. Overall, the event wasn't as packed as the September tailgate event but there was still a pretty steady flow of fans stopping in throughout much of the afternoon. Things did start to die down by the end of the event and Murissa kept everyone entertained spelling out DFT with her hands as part of a cheer she made up on the spot.
Murissa making a T, as in DFT
Murissa, Amanda, Alyssa, and Keisha with Bills alum Adam Lingner
After the girls left, I hung around for a bit and talked with Adam about life, football, and, of all things, politics. Adam's become a big advocate over the years in trying to get government to work more for all the people instead of just the ones with deep pockets. See all the pics at https://buffaloprocheerbuffalojills.shutterfly.com/pictures/24183
From the Bandettes comes a photo from the March game against Minnesota. Shown cheering on a goal in the 4th quarter is the beautiful MaKenzie. She was a 3rd year vet in 2015 and helped out co-captaining Mandy's line one game when she was off and Chrissy took the captain's role. The question now is whether MaKenzie is returning and if so, how will her responsibilities change on gamedays?
