Buffalo Pro Cheer Photos of The Week

Our rookies have all been introduced but to finish up this summer's series, we'll remind you of who the Buffalo Jills captains are for the 2011-12 season. Shown in a photo taken at the Jills Open Workshop are Loren, Valerie, Omarlla, Laura, Christina, Keisha, Lisa, and Natalie. Loren will be co-captain for the Jills' newest captain, Valerie after working with her last year on Omarlla's line. They teamed up to run it when Omarlla was out of town for the final game of the season. Speaking of Omarlla, her new co-captain is 5th year vet Lisa, who's been doing a great job at making fans' hearts beat faster the last several years with her beauty. But trust me when I say her warm personality is an even stronger trait. Rounding out the dancers, 6th year vet Christina (and this year's calendar covergirl) is being joined in her 2nd full season as a captain by 2nd year vet Natalie. Natalie was chosen by the Buffalo Bills to write a blog about her experiences going through tryouts her rookie year and followed that up by winning the Jills' Dance Rookie of The Year award. At Ambassador, Keisha continues as the captain and a more qualified young lady would be hard to find. When it comes to being an ambassador Jill, I don't think any could go as far and above what is expected as Keisha has been doing for years. Her co-captain this season is fellow 5th-year vet Laura, who tops the fame of any other Buffalo Jill with her spokes-modeling for Martin Archery and having been the star of her own mini TV series last summer on ESPN2.

From the Buffalo Bandettes we take a look at a photo of the entire squad from Rd 1 of the NLL Playoffs in a photo taken at the Party In The Plaza. From left to right are Lauren B, Jessica M, Chrissy, Krista, Danielle, Stephanie, Ashley, Lauren S, Noelle, Chelsea, Kirsten, and Jessica H. Tryout dates are expected to be announced soon and after that, we'll see how many of these beauties will be back dancing at Bandits games this spring. Already Jessica H has called it quits and Lauren S is on the fence. Who else will retire and who will return? We'll have to wait and see.

Our last, but not least, featured BvB player is 2005 Buffalo Jills alumnus Desiree shown in a photo at the BvB kickoff party posing with Amanda F. Originally from Louisiana, she moved to WNY and spent 9 years as a cheerleader, including a season in which her high school varsity squad made it the the National High School Cheerleading Championship competition in Dallas. Her time as a Jill was short but memorable for her. One of her appearances was at the Taste of Buffalo that year and at that appearance, she spoke to a young girl with a disability who didn't take her eyes off her and asked her "Desiree,how can I be like you?" You can donate to the BvB through Desiree at http://bvbbuffalo2011.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=475491&lis=1&kntae475491=15730A8E3B08465EBDF98991D70C4573&supId=329565011 or any of this year's BvB players at http://bvbbuffalo2011.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=475491&lis=1&kntae475491=91AABF85A990474EB41E54ABA15FDF41

Congratulations to the new Miss Buffalo...Lonna!!

Beauty Pageants aren't really our focus here but when we have an alumnus involved, we'll definitely give her some notice. Lonna spent the 2008 season as a member of the Buffalo Jills as a dancer on Jamie's line and moved on to the Buffalo Bandettes for a small portion of the 2010 season as well. Unfortunately for the fans, she's been absent from the public eye since leaving the Bandettes which is actually a little surprising considering the fact that, other than a career in law enforcement, she was looking at getting into some modeling and stuff. Now that she's the new Miss Buffalo, having been crowned at this year's Wingfest, her next step is the Miss New York pageant next June, the winner going on to compete for the title of Miss America!

Buffalo Pro Cheer Photos Of The Week

Our Buffalo Pro Cheer Photo of The Week comes from last week's Kid's Day preseason game at the Ralph. Prior to heading out for pregame, several of the Jills posed for a few photos under the tarp that covers the tunnel area. Shown in this week's photo are Kelly, Jenny, Gina, and Beth. We introduced you to Kelly last week but Jenny is the last, but far from least, rookie to introduce. Over the years, we've had a few girls travel long distances to make it to practice 2 nights a week but Jenny tops all but one of them with a whopping 2 1/2 hour drive from Syracuse. The only one that beats her drove from Pittsburgh as an Ambassador with fewer practices. She also quit the squad before the games even started. Thankfully, Jenny's more devoted to sticking with the squad despite the drive. Luckily, she also has family in the Buffalo area if she feels the need to so that will be a big help to her. Gina is in her 2nd year on the squad but made a change this season. After winning the Rookie Ambassador of The Year award, she won't be looking to unseat Alyssa as the Ambassador of the Year as Gina, after joining the dancers on the field in Toronto last year, is a dancer on Christina's line this season. Beth is one of the non-traditional rookies on the squad this year. Even though she's a true Jills rookie like Jenny and Kelly, I have a hard time thinking of her as a rookie after over 4 1/2 seasons on the Bandettes.

Our Bandettes Photo Of The Week comes from last year's Open Practice held at what is now called the First Niagara Center. Shown posing for a photo are Chelsea, Kirsten, Noelle, and Jessica H. The 4 of them all have different levels of experience with 2, 3, 1, and 4 years respectively. Kirsten finished the season as a captain after serving as co-captain most of the season. Jessica plans to retire unfortunately and we'll have to see about Chelsea and Noelle when tryouts come up, with an announcement expected soon on when those will happen.

Our BvB featured player is Stephanie S, shown in a photo taken in 2001 at the 103.3 The Edge Tailgate Party, who spent 1999-2001 on the sidelines at the Ralph. I was actually kind of surprised to see her registered and wasn't even sure it was the same girl until Danielle told me it was her. Unfortunately, Danielle also told me she won't be playing afterall. Hopefully though, we'll see this blonde music teacher on September 10th at Sweet Home High rooting on Amanda, Dana, and Desiree as they compete against the Brunettes as the Blondes try to capture their first win of the series. You can donate to the BvB through Stephanie at http://bvbbuffalo2011.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=475491&lis=1&kntae475491=2ECC788687CA4A67931FA8E680511618&supId=329172482 or any of the players at http://bvbbuffalo2011.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=475491&lis=1&kntae475491=2947EE3512424A3E9130802BA91AA84E

The Jills at the Bills preseason finale

Sara and Laura in the tunnel before the game The Bills finished off their 2011 preseason in front of what was advertised as a crowd of just over 40,000 but in reality was a lot fewer. The game on the field wasn't anything to write home about as is typical in the final preseason matchups in the NFL. But to say the game was meaningless in the grand scheme of things would be a lie. The final preseason game is a chance for players on the bubble to prove their worth, not only to the team they're suiting up for, but to the rest of the league. In addition to the players, fans get to put the finishing touches on tailgating plans for the season and the Jills get a last chance tune-up to show how ready they are for the home opener.

Murissa, Melissa, Krystin, and Gabrielle in the tunnel before pregame Prior to the game, several of the Jills posed for photos in the tunnel, including Melissa, who was unable to make her gameday debut as a Buffalo Jill due to another prior commitment.

5th year vet Laura, the co-captain of the Jills Ambassador Squad was chosen as the Jill of The Game before joining Sara in accompanying Billy Buffalo for the game's many promotions.

Lisa and Lindsey on the sidelines in the 1st quarter, making their 2011 gameday debuts

Gabrielle and Kelly in the 4th quarter See all the pics at http://buffaloprocheerbuffalojills.shutterfly.com/pictures/26568

Next up, meet some of the Jills at Jamestown's The Q on 2nd street next Sunday the 11th as they will be on hand for a big Bills Opener Tailgate Party. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door with a limit of 500 total to be sold.
The full squad is back in action for the Bills Home Opener on September 18th as the Bills play host to the Oakland Raiders. Be sure to swing by the Healthy Zone Fieldhouse to meet some of the Jills Ambassadors before the game as well as the 97Rock and Shredd & Ragan Tailgate parties. Back this year will be the pregame performance by some of the Jills dancers at the Shredd & Ragan Tailgate party, a big crowd-pleaser last season.

Buffalo Jill Of The Week schedule

It's that time of year again. The new Buffalo Jills Calendar is out and looks absolutely incredible thanks to 37 beautiful young women and the photographic talents of Jeff and Snjezana Fisher of FCI. You can get yours at any Jills appearance, including prior to Bills games at the 97Rock and Shredd & Ragan tailgate parties this season. You can also pick them up at the Bills store next to the Healthy Zone Fieldhouse or via the Jills website at http://www.buffalojills.com//Article.asp?id=2270606 We recommend getting them direct from your favorite Buffalo Jills cheerleader if possible, though. Considering the girls don't get paid for gamedays, the commission they earn on their calendar sales is a big deal.
The extra bonus of getting the calendar, for me, anyway, is the chance to set up the Buffalo Jill of The Week schedule. We're still working on the Buffalo Pro Cheer Photos of The Week series with a big focus on the Jills alumni in the Blondes Vs Brunettes game so our first Jill of The Week will be featured the weekend of the Bills home opener. For those unfamiliar with the Jill of The Week series, as I'm sure a few rookies are part of that group, it's a way we give each girl a chance to shine on her own a little. These girls work hard all spring to make the squad and then work even harder to get ready for the season and in recognition of that, they each deserve some individual accolades. The schedule is determined completely by where the girls appear in the calendar with the covergirls getting the final features.

• 9/17-9/23-Laura
• 9/24-9/30-Alyssa
• 10/1-10/7-Murissa
• 10/8-10/14-Jenny
• 10/15-10/21-Beth
• 10/22-10/28-Melissa
• 10/29-11/4-Amanda V
• 11/5-11/11-Omarlla
• 11/12-11/18-Rebecca
• 11/19-11/25-Jill
• 11/26-12/2-Jessica
• 12/3-12/9-Lisa
• 12/10-12/16-Loren
• 12/17-12/23-Valerie
• 12/24-12/30-Shannon
• 12/31-1/6-Kelly
• 1/7-1/13-Briana
• 1/14-1/20-Kristina
• 1/21-1/27-Keisha
• 1/28-2/3-Myesha
• 2/4-2/10-Natalie
• 2/11-2/17-Lindsey
• 2/18-2/24-Morgan
• 2/25-3/2-Gabrielle
• 3/3-3/9-Reena
• 3/10-3/16-Amanda F
• 3/17-3/23-Sara
• 3/24-3/30-Jami
• 3/31-4/6-Ruby
• 4/7-4/13-Nicole
• 4/14-4/20-Emily
• 4/21-4/27-Gina
• 4/28-5/4-Courteney
• 5/5-5/11-Krystin
• 5/12-5/18-Miranda
• 5/19-5/25-Jaclyn
• 5/26-6/1-Christina