In 2010, the NFL made a major change to its college draft format by starting the draft Thursday night and following it up with a Friday night session before finishing up Saturday afternoon. In 2009, the Bills held a draft party Saturday for all their season ticket holders but had to change things up with the format change in 2010. To accommodate fans as best they could, they held 3 separate draft parties with premium seat holders invited the 1st night and season ticket holders the other 2 sessions. With two of the events held in the evening, they put them all in the fieldhouse instead of the stadium.
I made it there for the Friday session shortly before it opened up and got a chance to talk to Kristen on her way in while I was waiting in line. She had made it onto the dance squad for the season after spending her rookie year as an ambassador and she was more than excited about it. After getting inside, I spent the bulk of the evening at the Jills booth taking photos, meeting rookies, and catching up with the vets. The booth was stationed right next to the Bills alumni booth and the great Booker Edgerson visited with us for a little bit and grabbed some photos with the ladies. I wasn't there the entire time though as a few buddies showed up that I hadn't seen since the end of the season.
Courteney and Kristen
I also did make sure to accompany Loren and Jessica W as they visited the Quizmaster's booth as Dennis George was starting up a game of Family Feud with Loren and Jessica as the captains for the opposing teams. I was also front and center as several of the Jills dancers took the stage to perform for the crowd to the tune of a remix of Ke$ha's "Tic Toc" before heading back to the booth. The negative to the performance was that those running the event made a error on the lighting as they had the tv screen behind the dancers lit up in all white, which made it look on camera like the Jills were mainly silhouettes.
Lisa and Lindsey with Billy Buffalo
See all the pics at https://buffaloprocheerbuffalojills.shutterfly.com/pictures/1936
After the event was over, I stopped off at my hotel room before grabbing dinner with a few friends and then it was off to Lauderdale's down the road from the stadium. A bar that is now known as Jack Devine's, they were hosting some friends of mine who were playing for the patrons. Studio 54 formerly were fronted by 2005 Buffalo Jill Ashlee A and while she was no longer with the band, they did have another Jills alum singing with them that night. 2003 Jills alum Aimee L had sung with Disco Duck and the Naughty Dawg Band up to that point and was onhand visiting her friend Ashley, who was the lead female singer for Studio 54 at the time. Aimee joined in for a few songs when we weren't talking about the Jills and exchanged some info that was kept from the girls while they were on the squad. A few months after this, Aimee helped form The Teasers, an extremely popular band based in Lockport that shut down after 4 years. However, a few weeks ago, the group reunited for a photo, getting fans anxious to find out if the band may reunite...and as it turns out, they're reuniting for a reunion concert at the Lockport Pub on December 12th!
The next morning, it was back to the Fieldhouse, this time meeting up with a couple of my tailgating buddies there. After we got inside, I split my time between them and the Jills where I met a few more of the rookies who had made the 2010 squad. However, that time with the Jills wasn't spent just at the booth as some of the girls decided to check out some of the other exhibits around the event. One of those exhibits was the QB challenge where Lindsay and Nicole had a little bit of fun.
Amanda F, Ruby, and Natalie
Before long, it was time to hit the stage as the Jills dancers that were on hand performed like they had the evening before and some of them actually had performed the evening before as while most Jills only appeared at one of the Draft Party events, a few were at 2 or even all 3 of them. Unfortunately, the lighting was still an issue as the screen behind the Jills as they performed was lit up like it was the previous evening.
At this Saturday draft party, the turnout wasn't as strong as previous nights so the Jills had plenty of time to have fun as well as meet and greet the fans. Kelly and Murissa even got a chance to explore the inflatable slide.
rookies Emily, Jaclyn, and Jen
See all the pics at https://buffaloprocheerbuffalojills.shutterfly.com/pictures/1982
From the Bandettes comes a photo from the regular season finale against New England. Shown cheering on a Bandits goal is outgoing appearances captain Cheri. She spent 3 seasons on the Bandettes and has been known for her strong work ethic and her beauty. Sweet and petite in physical stature, she leaves big shoes behind to fill.
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