Introducing the 2010 Buffalo Jills!

Over the last few weeks, a long and hard process was undergone by nearly 100 young ladies in the hopes of becoming members of the 2010 Buffalo Jills. Many vets came back to tryout, some even transitioning from the ambassador squad to the dance squad like Vincenza, Amanda, Liz, and Kaitlin did last year. We also had a few alumni join the ranks as well as many beautiful rookies hopefuls looking to join captains Omarlla, Eileen, Christina, Keisha, and Amanda on the sidelines at Ralph Wilson Stadium this fall. We should have a photo soon but for now, take a look at some of the reactions from the girls who made the final cut. Congrats to all!

Obviously, everyone wants to know when they can meet the new Jills and first up is the Bills season ticket holder draft parties. Notice I said parties, plural. The NFL has, this year, moved the draft to primetime during the week, with the 1st rd airing Thursday night, April 22 on NFL Network and ESPN. A Thursday night isn't exactly a great night for fans to go out to see the draft with most having to work the next morning, so the 2nd and 3rd rds, airing Friday night the 23rd, will be the backdrop as the Bills host the 1st season ticket holder draft party from 6-10pm. But the Bills aren't stopping with that one as they'll also host one from 10am-2pm on Saturday the 24th while the later rounds are being aired. Both parties are open to season ticket holders only with free admission and parking, games, locker room and weight room tours, and of course, the Buffalo Jills performing, posing for photos, and signing autographs. Order your tickets, 2 per season ticket account either on Friday or on Saturday, by calling 1-877-228-4257.

Bandette of The Week Ashley

This week's Bandette of The Week is our 2nd rookie in a row and perhaps the rookie who's thrown herself into being on the squad more than any. She dances on Meghan's line during games and at intermission, when fans see 2 girls out there tumbling, she's the one joining Amanda in that role. This cute redhead was thought by her high school classmates to be a girl who was always getting laughs. While she may have started out a little more quiet, after a few months on the Bandettes getting comfortable with her squadmates, she's still getting laughs every now and then. Considering she hopes to embark on a serious career as a criminologist when she finishes her schooling, that sense of humor will serve her well to keep her balanced. After all, they say all work and no play makes Ashley a dull girl. Ashley never intends to be remotely dull, though. You can read more about Ashley at http://www.bandits.com/profileB.asp?bandetteID=201001

Buffalo Jill of The Week Loren

This week's Jill of The Week is the delightful Loren. She spent the season dancing on Christina's line between Jennifer and Lynn and is currently working towards becoming a high school science teacher. Before joining the Jills, Loren spent 16 of her 20 years as a competitive dancer. Thankfully, as an NFL cheerleader, she still gets to do a lot of serious dancing in addition to cheering on the sidelines. All those years dancing has given her a lot to draw on with respect to the Jills. It's allowed her to pick up routines relatively easily and even helped her, with Kelly, to make up a routine almost on the spot for the Tailgate Warriors show that was filmed before the preseason opener against the Bears this year. Unfortunately, the footage to the video of that routine didn't make the final cut of the episode but let me assure you that Loren, Kelly, and Alyssa did a great job with it. Beyond that, she's got a bit of a silly side to her and spent a couple of years as a photographer herself. Maybe one of these days she can even contribute some photography to the blog as well.

Jills Cheerleader first cuts: Blog #3

Natalie, the rookie:

Phew! I made it through the first cuts. I can finally breathe a sigh of relief, at least for the next few days.

The auditions went great . You could see how much everyone wanted to make the first cut because they really brought their A-game. When I first arrived at the convention center Saturday morning I received my number, 38, so I was pretty close to the middle of the group.

read the rest of the blog entry from Natalie and Lisa at  http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/Jills-Cheerleader-first-cuts-Blog-3/0c8fa13b-2e32-4680-bfd9-cc9e344ade01

Also, check out some video highlights of tryouts taken by 97Rock at  http://www.97rock.com/Article.asp?id=1742241&spid=21993 and don't forget Christie Weber's report on Skunkpost at http://skunkpost.com/news.sp?newsId=1928

Buffalo Jills 1st cuts

A nerve-wracking process reached its summit Saturday at the Conference Center of Niagara Falls as a crop of nearly 100 hopefuls looked to join Omarlla, Eileen, Christina, Keisha, and Amanda as members of the 2010 Buffalo Jills. Ambassadors were brought onstage to show off their physique and answer some questions from 97Rock's own DJ Jickster and dancers performed a routine they learned in the last week to 1 of 3 random songs. It was the same routine no matter the song but the girls didn't know beforehand which of the 3 preselected songs they'd perform to. Family members, friends, and fans came to root on their favorite girls and a number of girls, including some rookies, got big reactions from the fans in the audience as they finished their routines. Unfortunately, the whole process is about making some tough choices on who to keep and who not to and the group of girls was narrowed down to 51 hopefuls, a group that will be cut down even further over the next week and a half until the final roster is selected. 

See the photos and a lot of videos of the tryouts at http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/buffalojills2005/2010/1st%20cuts/ and don't miss the photos of Brian Garman, the official Jills Photographer, at http://www.97rock.com/Article.asp?id=1740135 where he has a number of photos from Thursday's voluntary workshop as well as 1st cuts.

Also, a reminder to the girls on the remaining tryout dates. Tuesday's tryouts are for dancers only at Fusion Dance Studio on Kenmore Ave at 7pm...arrive early. Thursday's cuts are for non-vets...an interview session (business attire). The vets completed their interviews previously so alumni are included in this session...it's not a case where only rookies get interviewed. These interviews will take place at Citadel Studios at 50 James E Casey Dr in Buffalo at 6:30pm. Final Cuts are still March 30 at Citadel Studios in interview/business attire. The final team will be selected then. Good luck to all vets, alumni, and rookies alike the rest of the way.