With the struggles of the Bills and Sabres in Buffalo in regards to winning consistently, it's nice for the city to have one team they can count on to not only deliver consistent playoff appearances, but the occasional championship as well. The Buffalo Bandits, in their 21st year of existence, held their annual Open Practice on Saturday at the First Niagara Center and introduced the fans to the 2012 Buffalo Bandettes! This year's squad comes with a lot of changes. Gone are long-time vets Melissa and Beth, currently with the Jills, and Jessica H, Justina, and Lauren S, all retired. 4th year vet Kirsten is now the longest-tenured vet on the squad and is now a full-fledged captain along with 3rd year vet Lauren B. They've also added a small promotional squad this year. 3rd year vet Ashley is joined by rookies Ria and Amanda to fill out that squad which will be onhand at pregame parties and in suite appearances during the games.
Ria and Amanda
Lauren B's line
While the Bandits went through the 1st portion of their practice, Ria and Amanda circulated through the stands selling tickets to their Meet and Greet to be held that evening. When the team took a short break, the dancers came out and put on 2 performances for the fans, including their tryout performance.
Afterwards they joined Ria, Amanda, and Ashley in greeting fans and posing for photos in the stands and in the concourses of the arena. See all the pics at http://buffaloprocheerbuffalobandettes.shutterfly.com/pictures/4189
In the evening, the Bandettes invaded Cobblestone, the home of the Bandits post-game parties for a Meet and Greet fundraiser to help with uniform costs. Joining them were several players from the Bandits, including fan favorites like Johnny Tavares and Mark Steenhuis, and several Bandettes alumni. Showing up to support their younger sisters were former coach Erin J, Jenni (2001), Leeanne (2004), Erin H (2004-08), Kimberly (2004-08), Korinne (2003,08), Lauren S, (2009-11), and Meghan (2006-10).
Alumni together
Several members of the current squad
The 2012 Buffalo Bandettes (minus Ria, Amanda, Kirsten and Danielle)
The Bandettes sold tickets for a 50-50 raffle, Chinese Auction items, and a TV set to help support the cause. They even had a special Bandette-ini drink that was available for purchase on this special night. See all the pics at http://buffaloprocheerbuffalobandettes.shutterfly.com/pictures/4203
Next up for the Bandettes, they'll be in action for game action the first time in 2012 when the Bandits open the season on January 14th against the Toronto Rock!
This week, we take a look at 6th-year vet Valerie as our Buffalo Jill of The Week. This season, Val takes on the role of captain, dancing next to Kelly and Melissa this season. Val's had a pretty strong career thus far and is definitely popular with the fans, and those are even the ones who haven't gotten to know her. For a few years, 97Rock held a Take A Jill To The Prom contest and Val was the chosen Jill, even when the contest winners were given a choice of 5 other Jills to take instead of her. She's one of those girls who is always there for her friends and loves sharing in the joys of their lives, including former squadmate Angelina's baby. She's also a photographer's dream as, besides obviously being so photogenic, she also enjoys posing for the camera, and not always just the basic poses. She's even able to talk her squadmates into joining her in a particular pose. That can be in the case of just another squadmate or two, or in the case of an entire line. In her 2nd season on the squad, Aimee's line, with Valerie a part of it, actually lined up to blow kisses at the camera. Last season, another line did the same thing...the line that Valerie was heading up with Omarlla out of town. Kinda doubting it was a coincidence...lol. This year, Valerie gets to finish off her season in Hawaii as, while her squadmates are at the Jills Comedy Show at the Tralf, she'll be getting set to represent the squad in the Pro Bowl! You can read more about Valerie at http://buffalojills.net/article.asp?id=1961282 Valerie's secondary photo was taken at the Bills' preseason finale against the Detroit Lions. Shown posing for the camera before heading out to the sidelines is Valerie's line. From left to right we see Gabrielle, Kelly, Valerie, Melissa, Loren, Krystin, and Murissa.
This week, we take a look at 3rd year vet Loren as our Buffalo Jill of The Week. Spending her gamedays dancing on Valerie's line next to Melissa and Krystin, Loren takes on the responsibilities of being a co-captain this season. This was no big surprise to me in the least that she would get the job, either. At the Jills' Open Practice last November, while Kelli was going over some stuff with the captains, it was Loren who led everyone else through stretching exercises to get them ready for practice. Part of what made her a great fit for the job is the fact that she spent 16 years in competitive dance and she's also used to leading and setting an example for others. She's a proud big sister of a brother and a sister and seems to be willing, from what I've noticed, to do anything for her little sister especially. I wouldn't be surprised to see her sister follow Loren in her footsteps in another decade and a half or so because of how much she looks up to her. Since becoming a Buffalo Jill, she's become a much more confident and mature young lady and was one of the girls who took not one, but two trips to the Middle East last year to visit the troops. You can read more about Loren at http://buffalojills.net/article.asp?id=1961222 Loren's secondary photo is from the Bills Home Opener against the Raiders. Some of the Jills were posing for photos in the tunnel before heading out for pregame. Shown here are Myesha, Loren, and Valerie.
Myesha, Loren, and Valerie
As a co-captain, Loren didn't need to tryout so instead we'll put up a look back at her tryout video from last season when she and Gabrielle performed together at 1st cuts!
First up, we have an announcement to make as the Jills are holding their Annual Comedy Show this January and once again will feature International Hypnotist Jerry Valley. The Show will be held on January 28th and the Tralf Music Hall on Main Street in Buffalo with the doors opening at 7pm and the show starting at 8pm. Tickets can be bought in advance through the Buffalo Jills or through Ticketmaster at http://www.ticketmaster.com/Nfl-Buffalo-Jills-Cheerleaders-Comedy-Show-tickets/artist/1667770 for $25 in advance. Tickets will also be available at the door for $30.
See all the details at http://buffalojills.net/Article.asp?id=2348861
Secondly, Omarlla, Valerie and Lisa are currently in Washington DC along with representatives from several other NFL Cheer squads to join the Beach Boys in a performance for the US Troops at the Kennedy Center
They've sent back a bunch of photos of them with the other cheerleaders as well as with some of the other entertainers. See them all at http://buffalojills.net/Article.asp?id=2350756
Valerie, Lisa, Mike Love of The Beach Boys, Omarlla
After a 4-game losing streak, with the final 3 of those games being on the road, the Bills returned home to a less-than-sellout crowd on a 50-degree day at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Joining me at this game vs the Tennessee Titans was a friend of a friend. There are 27 dance squads in the NFL and only 2 of those have their own major fan site. This one, the Buffalo Pro Cheer Blog is dedicated to the Buffalo Jills as well as the Buffalo Bandettes. David Tyau runs a site dedicated to the Charger Girls http://thehottestdanceteam.wordpress.com/ and a friend of his who does some excellent photography on his own joined me at the game and has several of his own photos we'll be sharing later.
Amanda F and Miranda
I started off the day, after some tailgating, with a visit to the Healthy Zone Fieldhouse where Jills Ambassadors Amanda F and Miranda were posing for photos with the fans. Amanda has been with the squad for 5 seasons now while Miranda is a rookie on the squad this year.
Contest winners with the Jills
This past Tuesday, CB Drayton Florence held a trivia contest at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Hamburg and a part of the prize for the winner was a private photo shoot with the Buffalo Jills.
Shannon, Sara, Laura, Courteney, and Jessica
Following that, it was off to the 97Rock tailgate party where the newest CW23 star, Laura, a 5th year vet and co-captain of the Jills Ambassador Squad was on hand with Shannon, Sara, Courteney, and Jessica as they sold and signed the 2011-2012 Buffalo Jills Swimsuit Calendar and posed for photos with the fans.
Rebecca, Keisha, Reena, Stephanie, Ruby, and Alyssa
Over at the Shredd and Ragan Tailgate, Rebecca, Keisha, Reena, Ruby, and Alyssa held court while Valerie's line came out to put on a dance performance for the fans without their captain. This season, when the Buffalo Bills have suffered injuries, the team has employed the philosophy of "Next man up" to fill the open slot. In the case of the Jills, when gymnastic star Jill was lost to injury, some other girls stepped in to fill the void. Well, in this case, it's not a case of filling a void due to injury but Valerie, Omarlla, and Lisa went to Washington DC to join girls from several other NFL squads and the Beach Boys in a performance for the US troops at the Kennedy Center. To fill in their roles, Loren stepped up to captain Valerie's line while Natalie filled in as captain for Christina's line while Christina handled Omarlla's line. Natalie told me afterwards that it was a little stressful at first captaining a line all on her own but enjoyed it and is looking forward to captaining her own line one of these days. It was actually a big game for Natalie in another way as well as she was named the Jill of The Game and introduced to the fans before the game.
Natalie being introduced to the fans
Nicole, Jami, Gina, Natalie, Jenny, Amanda V, and Beth
Murissa, Krystin, Loren, Melissa, Gabrielle, and Kelly
Myesha, Lindsey, Briana, Christina, Kristina, Emily, and Jaclyn
Next up for the Jills, after a week where the Bills are on the road again, they'll be back at home on December 18th when the Bills play host to the hated Miami Dolphins before finishing off the regular season's slate of home games on Christmas Eve when the Denver Broncos come to town
