We Salute You Michelle

We Salute You Michelle, St. Louis Rams Cheerleader AND Air Force Captain

She’s probably the coolest NFL Cheerleader I’ve interviewed for this series. She’s probably the most beautiful, inside and out, probably the most daring and adventurous, and probably the one that can kick your ass without breaking a sweat, thanks to her training and nifty survival skills. She also happens to look just as good in a skin-baring cheerleader uniform as she does in the full-coverage uniform she wears as a captain in the United States Air Force, where she serves as Active Duty. She’s Michelle, originally from good ole Houston, Texas, and now a resident of St. Louis, and a member of the St. Louis Rams Cheerleaders.

When I met Michelle I was immediately in awe. Not only of her presence and downright friendliness but her positive attitude to the news she recently received of being deployed. Simply stating, “I knew my time would come; I’m ready for it,” with the brightest of smiles on her face.

I mean the 5’1” former ballet dancer and tennis star, who also jams out regularly to ‘NSync and Backstreet Boys, has her Master’s in Healthcare Administration, along with her private pilot’s license and serves as the Vice-President for this year’s Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) on Scott AFB. Though she doesn’t fly for the Air Force, she does fly smaller, single engine planes with hopes of one day getting her twin engine rating. She’s an overachiever by definition, but not the annoying one-upper kind. She’s the go-getter you want to be friends with, or even just stand in the same group of people with, she’s that cool.

Oh, she also checked off running a marathon from her bucket list, completing the San Antonio 26.2 in 4 hours and 4 minutes.

And all of the above makes sense as she tells me her favorite motivational quote by Tom Landry: “A winner never stops trying.” She’s already a winner by pretty much every definition and standard imaginable, but she’s the kind of girl who keeps striving to be better, to do better.

She admits that being an officer in the Air Force and an NFL cheerleader often times shocks people. She’s used to laughing it off, or sometimes having to show some form of proof for people to believe her. “People don’t expect an officer in the Air Force to be an NFL cheerleader and vice versa, but I can tell you that the two complement each other more than you think. Just some of the qualities and characteristics they share: having to maintain an excellent level of fitness, being a good leader/role model to others, community involvement, and most importantly, commitment to the team and putting in the extra time and work needed to get the job done. I enjoy breaking the stereotype that you can’t be feminine and be in the military,” she says enthusiastically.

Being a Rams cheerleader isn’t Michelle’s first rodeo at high-kicking it for professional teams. “I got my start in cheerleading for the Boise Burn, an arena football team in Boise, Idaho when I was stationed at Mountain Home AFB. The Air Force then moved me to San Antonio, where I cheered for the San Antonio Spurs, from 2011-2012 while stationed at Randolph AFB,” she says. Michelle admits she tried out for the Spurs a year earlier but got cut, but that didn’t stop her. Having cheered for the Spurs for only a year, the Air Force led her to St. Louis. Eager to tryout with the Rams, her schedule just didn’t seem to mesh with tryout schedules, which are usually held in April.

There’s no evidence the Beatles composed “Michelle” about her, but then again, she is the NFL cheerleader with the likeliest chance of traveling back in time by flying backwards around the Earth’s orbit, so you make the call.“In 2012, tryouts took place in late April, so I expected them to be in late April again, for 2013. My wedding was planned

Michelle keeps the crowd on their feet during home games in St. Louis

for April 26, so I was disappointed I would miss tryouts another year. Amidst all the wedding planning, I kept checking the website until one day it was announced that auditions would end on April 16th, one week before my wedding. I was thrilled I had the opportunity to tryout – so I did! I ended up making the team AND got married the week after. Talk about a busy and eventful month! My husband and I had lots to celebrate – I’ve never been more thrilled in my life!” Michelle says.

Just in her rookie year, Michelle has already experienced so much as a Rams cheerleader, but her best experience was a military trip to Colorado Springs, CO for Armed Forces Day. “We had the opportunity to visit my Alma Mater, the Air Force Academy. I had not been back since graduating and got pretty emotional when I stepped off the plane. It’s been quite a journey so far, and being there as a Rams cheerleader was so surreal. I was proud to give Coach Keely and my teammates a tour of the Academy and describe what life was like as a student. We also got a tour of Ft. Carson’s helicopter operations, which was eye opening. Even being in the military, there are just some career fields we don’t know about because it’s not in our everyday line of work – it was truly a great experience for me,” she recalls.

Out of high school, Michelle was recruited by a number of universities to play tennis. Being the bold gal she is she wanted to try something new so retired her tennis raquet and gave cheerleading a whirl.

“When I decided to attend the Air Force Academy, everyone guessed I would continue to play tennis. The Air Force Academy is a Division I school – we compete in the Mountain West Conference and have a cheerleading squad. A lot of people assume that because we are a military service academy, we don’t have cheerleaders. Turns out, I enjoyed cheerleading so much, that four years in college wasn’t enough. My background in ballet helped me tremendously, thus, I decided to pursue cheerleading after I graduated. The rest is history!” she says.

I mistakenly admit to Michelle that I don’t follow the Rams too much and ask her to describe what it’s like being a Rams fan or attending games in their intimate little dome, where I first met Michelle on the sidelines. Immediately she gets excited to share her knowledge with me, someone who should already know.

“So some fun unique facts about our team is that we were the first professional sports team to move west of the Mississippi River, and we were the first team to regularly televise away games. The St. Louis Rams used to be the Los Angeles Rams from 1946 to 1979, [then moved to Anaheim] and the team relocated to St. Louis in 1995. Our team plays in the Edward Jones Dome. Some fun facts about our stadium is that one, it’s enclosed (whew! no cheering in the cold!). Two, it opened Nov 12, 1995, so it just turned 18 years old. Three, we can seat approximately 66,000 fans inside,” which she compares to the now desolate Astrodome, which holds (or used to) about 60,000 fans. “The dome is 205 feet high, 14 acres wide, and the club level has 42,500 square feet of bars, food service and hospitality space. No other stadium dedicates an entire concourse to its stadium club – which is unique,” she says. “Ty Burrell of the hit TV Series Modern Family is also a Rams fan – he took time away from his busy schedule to visit Rams Park and attend a game this season,” she adds.

Cheers to you Michelle

Thanks to her military background, one of her favorite things about the Rams organization comes in the form of head coach, Jeff Fisher and his commitment to the military and veterans. In May 2011, Coach Fisher was part of a team that climbed more than 19,000 feet to reach the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, to generate awareness for Wounded Warrior Project and the organization’s mission to honor and empower wounded warriors.

“This in itself hits home with me as a member of the Armed Forces. My teammates have traveled to deployed locations and various bases/posts in the United States and across the world including Djibouti, Diego Garcia, Afghanistan and Kuwait. I think it’s wonderful that not only do they get to experience what our military members do on a daily basis, but that our military members get the opportunity to meet us as well! It’s a win-win. A lot of military members ‘adopt’ teams depending on where they are stationed. I’ve met people here who have since converted to Rams fans because of the interaction and involvement in our military communities – they see that,” she says proudly.

Michelle also admits she loves the fact that Fisher used to coach for her hometown team, the Houston Oilers, and is now in St. Louis where she is. “I find it rather awesome that I share that Houston connection,” she says.

“Being an NFL cheerleader is hard work, period. Juggling practice with working out, eating right, doing appearances, on top of a having a unique career with its own demands is not easy. Add in the responsibility of having kids like some of my teammates have, and wow – it’s a full plate! Having to memorize so many dances is challenging too. People underestimate how much memorization goes into being a pro cheerleader! But like everything else, the more you do something, the better you get. It keeps both my mind and body well exercised and in the end, I wouldn’t trade this opportunity for the world!” she says. “While we are on the field and in front of our fans, we are all smiles no matter what – especially through challenging times. No negative energy is allowed. It’s the role we play in helping our team turn things around. When on the field, it’s our game time too,” she says of her role on the sideline. As for her upcoming deployment in February, which will last about four months, Michelle admits she’s nervous but still continues to look on the bright side. “I’m a bit nervous, but I know I have a lot of support from back home (my husband, family, teammates and friends) and I have learned a lot from the predeployment training I’ve received.”

“One of the great things about being a graduate of the Air Force Academy is that grads are everywhere. I’m so fortunate to know that I will be there alongside some of my classmates, some who I haven’t seen in a long time, and I will also be there with people I have met throughout my career. Much like being on the team this year, you bond with people you share the same experiences with, so I know I will be making new friends when I get there,” she says optimistically.

“As a woman, my deployment experience will be very rewarding. Currently, one of our missions in the AOR (meaning Area of Responsibility – our military name for our presence in the Middle East) is to help women catch up with their male counterparts in the workplace. A way we, NATO forces, are doing this is to assist them in learning jobs where women can

Michelle is all smiles, all the time

be viewed as assets, such as logistics, administration and medical. As a medical services officer, I look forward to doing my part making a positive difference in their lives. Looking at the big picture, we are SO lucky to be women with the freedoms we have. We do forget that sometimes women in other countries are seen as second-class citizens and aren’t even given the option to pursue educational opportunities.”

“I’m so proud to be cheering with such a great and fun group of ladies. As a military member, we move around so much that it’s inevitable to leave good friends behind. It can be really hard sometimes, having to move around every couple of years and start over. I’m sure other military members can relate. But it’s what I signed up to do, and I can say I make the best of where the Air Force takes me. Since the first day of tryouts, everyone in the organization had been so nice and a pleasure to work with, starting with my Coach Keely. She works so hard for all of us, both behind the scenes and on the field – she’s everywhere! One of the great things that stands out about this team is the comrade and feeling of ‘belonging.’ We work well together, and have fun doing it. My teammates have become my second family and for that, I’m forever grateful. I don’t have family here in St. Louis (everyone is back in Houston) and my husband (also in the Air Force) is not stationed with me, it’s just me for now. I just feel so blessed that everything has worked out so far – with me being able to cheer while being in the military – and that I am part of this amazing team. I will forever cherish the experiences and the memories and hope to be able to continue dancing for years to come,” the forever optimist says.

Due to her deployment, Michelle will in fact miss tryouts next year (already just a few months away), but they are actively working on a potential tryout via video. “I’m sad I will be missing tryouts for next year because I will be serving my country. I’ve learned a lot being on the team and really hope I’m given the opportunity to do it again next year! I think it will be awesome to come back onto the team with a year’s experience under my belt. If I don’t, I’m still grateful for the many amazing friendships I have made on the team and know we will remain life-long friends,” she says.

As for her and that beloved husband of hers, “We’re working on getting stationed together soon!” she says with a big smile on her face. They say home is where the heart is, and when you have a heart as big as Michelle’s, it’s no wonder she can call pretty much anywhere home. Follow Michelle and the rest of the Rams cheerleaders on Twitter: @stlramscheer

This article originally ran on the sports section of CBS Man Cave Daily. Click here to see the original article (with more photos!).

Falcons Cheerleader Dana Has Passion for Football

Over the last few months, I have interviewed 15 NFL Cheerleaders, but there was still a big question that hadn’t been answered. These women commit so much of their time and devote their lifestyles to being conducive to everything you want an NFL Cheerleader to be, and to be frank, they do it without making a lot of money. Most are required to work full-time jobs or be full-time students, they have other things going on and lead very hectic lives, but they do it all with a smile each and every day. Aside from the amazing wow-factor to say you’re one of a few hundred NFL Cheerleader, which less than a few hundred women can actually say, why?

In just a few short minutes chatting with Dana, an Atlanta Falcons Cheerleader for two years, she easily answered my question. “Most people think that it’s a full-time job for us. It definitely takes a lot of hard work and a significant time commitment, but it’s not what pays our bills. We love our teammates and coaches; we love supporting the Atlanta Falcons organization; and we love dancing. It’s really nothing more or less than that,” she says simply.

“Being an NFL Cheerleader is a blast. Sure it takes hard work and commitment to keeping our bodies in shape and our dance ability up, but in the end, we do it for fun. Time and stress management are skills that we are continuing to develop, and this opportunity is making us even better at it and at managing life in general. It helps us learn to prioritize based on what’s important in life and to really devote our time to activities and people that matter rather than to things that don’t,” Dana explains.

The Atlanta Falcons Cheerleaders are one of those teams that require all the girls to either have a full-time job or be

All smiles for Dana

full-time students, what they refer to as “WOW Women.” As for Dana’s full-time job, she is a CPA/Auditor at a public accounting firm in Atlanta, which seems to run in the family, as both her dad and brother are also CPAs. Something tells me her dance skills and hair-flipping abilities far outweigh theirs though.

Having been a cheerleader in college at the University of Georgia (for both undergrad and grad school), football and the love for keeping fans invested in the game is practically second nature to Dana, but there is a difference between that and what she does now. “What many people don’t realize is that ‘cheerleading’ in college is very different than professional cheerleading, at least in most cases. Most girls who become professional cheerleaders were actually dancers in college as opposed to the cheerleaders you see flipping and getting thrown in the air on a football sideline or basketball court,” she says.

“Since I did not have much technical dance experience, I had a lot to learn before auditioning. I found an awesome local dance studio called Gotta Dance Atlanta, and started taking classes three or four nights each week. I wanted to make sure I had achieved a certain level of confidence in my dance ability before I showed up at auditions (which can be pretty intimidating to a newbie). Because I put in the work before auditions both in the studio and in the gym, I was fortunate enough to make the team on my first go ’round,” Dana says. Although acing things on her first try isn’t really a new thing for her. Dana passed all four parts of her CPA exam on the first try as well, which is pretty much unheard of.

Born in Griffin, GA and raised in Marietta, Dana attributes much, if not all, of her successes and motivations in life to her “rockstar parents” and is one of those girls who counts her blessings everyday.

These girls know how to have fun

As for her guilty pleasures, Dana loves candy and energy drinks, admittedly not something that necessarily goes hand in hand with her amazing physique. “I eat at least one piece of candy almost every single day at work. I have tried to limit energy drinks in the past few months, but the candy hasn’t gone anywhere,” she says of her almost childlike addiction. But given their hectic year-round schedules, these girls must have some sort of liquid energy to get them through their days, especially on Sundays when they have to keep up with those wild Falcons fans.

“We have INCREDIBLE ride or die fans. When the game is on the line, you know the 12th man will show up every time! Our games are held in the Georgia Dome, located in downtown Atlanta. The Dome holds over 71,000 of our awesome fans! They show up no matter what kind of season the team is having. We have phenomenal digital media and marketing teams that do an awesome job prompting fans throughout the game. The Dome is electric during pivotal moments. It’s something you can’t understand unless you experience it for yourself,” she says of the game day experience known only to Falcons fans.

Dana’s favorite football player in the past was David Pollack, former linebacker from her alma mater.  “He played with so much passion and heart. You could see his love for the game every time he stepped on the field,” she says. As for her favorite player on the current Falcons roster, she admits it’s a bit of a cliché, but it comes with good reason. “With a number of our starters being hurt this year, Matt Ryan has probably been one of the most consistent players. I’m always amazed at how calm and composed he is at any given time in a game,” she says of the starting quarterback.

One of the best parts about taking time to interview amazing women, like Dana, is that you truly learn how a group of 20-40 women can interact on a regular basis, even through the tough times. It’s not all Real Housewives of the NFL like you might imagine (or hope).

As a former sorority girl myself, spending that much time around so much glitter-infested estrogen almost scares me, with images of dramatic cat-fights taking place on the regular, but that certainly isn’t true with this group. “My favorite

Dancing up a storm in the ATL

thing about the Atlanta Falcons Cheerleaders and coaches is that we all truly care about each other. We celebrate each others successes and support each other during tough times. We take time before every practice to sit down as a team and give ‘good news, bad news, sad news, and glad news’ so we know what’s going on in each others lives and can provide support. We also recognize that each one of us was put on our team for reason, and while those reasons vary from person to person, we understand we are all equally important and worthy of this amazing opportunity; it’s evident that each of us believe this to be true by the way we treat each other,” Dana says of her teammates.

A well-rounded gal, Dana also finds herself listening to country music on Spotify, loves the beach, including palm trees, sunshine, sand and the sound of waves crashing on the shore (which she considers a glimpse of what she imagines Heaven will be like), has a dog named Grace that she absolutely adores and finds peace going on jogs throughout her neighborhood. You know, all of that in her spare time.

Be sure to follow my favorite Falcons Cheerleader, Dana, on Twitter: @AFC_Dana

This article originally ran on the sports page of CBS Man Cave Daily. Click here to see the original goodness.

Former Ben Gals Cheerleader Talks Life After the NFL

She’s 5’5, 120 lbs., blonde hair, blue eyes, loves long walks on the beach and enjoys a glass or two of wine. Oh, and she’s a former NFL cheerleader, which yes, means she’s hot.

She may not still have pompoms in her hands, but the memories she holds near and dear to her heart are still there. Meet Toney, former Ben-Gals cheerleader for two years. Here’s a look at Toney’s life post-NFL cheerleader, the things she misses most about being on the sidelines and the things she’s happier to have parted her spirit finger ways with.

Toney works in sales and after a long day, sits down in her sweats to spill the beans. She says she’ll never regret joining the Ben-Gals, but in an effort to further her career, plan her elaborate wedding and some unmentionable “issues,” she realized after two great years, it was time to move on. Just because she’s not on the sidelines anymore doesn’t mean she isn’t in the stands or on her couch still cheering on the Bengals. She even boldly predicts they’ll easily win the AFC North.

During her two-year span, the Maryland native had quite a few accomplishments on her rhinestone belt as she was voted top NFL cheerleader to follow on Twitter and ranked in the Top 10 hottest NFL cheerleaders in the AFC North.

While she sadly can’t rack up any more of those accolades, the thing she doesn’t miss very much: WEIGHT REQUIREMENTS.Now that she’s no longer a Ben-Gal, Toney takes immense pride in eating on weigh-in days, something she couldn’t do for the past two years. And good thing, because the 5’5” blonde is “obsessed with Chick-fil-A.”

I asked Toney to dish on the “weirdest” rules she had to follow as a cheerleader and here’s what she had to say (quoted):

1. 3 lb. weight rule (you only had 3 lbs. within your “goal weight” you could fluctuate)
2. Hair and makeup full out every practice
3. We had to dress up to go into the stadium at 8 a.m when nobody was there to see us on game days (silly!!!!)
   

   Toney, Former Ben Gals Cheerleader

Weird rules aside, she says hands-down the best part of the whole experience was the fact that everyone looks up to you. “Whether it be on the field, people, especially children, see you as a mentor or role model,” Toney says. Plus she loved being a part of such a dynamic group of girls, which ranged in age from 21-46. (Yes, the oldest NFL cheerleader is 46 and she too is a Ben-Gal.)

While other squads get to fly away to exotic beaches to provide you the sexiest calendar imaginable, Toney ‘fesses up that her shoots weren’t quite so glamorous. “We never go anywhere fun for our calendars, so my first year I was inside someone’s house shooting outside and on the stairs. My second year I shot inside an interior decorator’s store on a pink couch.” I guess it doesn’t matter where they shoot, because those 12 Ben-Gals looked amazing every single month and take my word – plenty of people in and out of Cincinnati purchased it.

Although she doesn’t have to keep up with her past workout and weight regime anymore, Toney still finds the time to keep herself toned. “I love weight training. My trainer is a beast and puts us to work. I love throwing around weights like a meathead,” she laughs.

On location at the Ben Gals swimsuit calendar

And like most girls, when she’s not working out or spending time with friends and family, she finds herself glued to the TV catching up on the trashiest of reality TV. “I DVR all the Housewives shows, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, Duck Dynasty, and Teen Mom.” But her semi-embarrassing admissions don’t stop there as she tells me that the most embarrassing thing on her iPod is Spice Girls, saying “I was totally ‘Baby Spice’ when I was younger.”

For now, Toney is loving the time that has freed up since her former days as a hair-flipping and high-kicking cheerleader, however, she does have one more dream she is desperately trying to accomplish: “I have applied to be on ABC’s Wipeout over FIVE times, but I don’t ever get a reply. HELP! I think I would do better than most people would expect. I am extremely competitive and enjoy doing things that involve athleticism.”

Keep on with the weight training Toney and we’ll make some calls for you.

Sea Gal Stephanie cheering on her Seahawks

When you picture an NFL Cheerleader, an image of a smoking hot girl, long hair whipping back and forth and glitter all over her body comes to mind, right? What about a girl who’s more flexible than anyone you’ve ever met or dreamed of? Or a gal who’s a diehard football fan since her childhood years? An ordained minister?

If one of the above doesn’t seem to fit, it’s only because you haven’t met Stephanie, a fourth year veteran of the Sea Gals, the cheerleading squad for the Seattle Seahawks.

Smoking hot Stephanie also happens to be an ordained minister, having performed five weddings for friends and family and freely admits, “NFL cheerleader and minister don’t usually go hand in hand.”

Originally from Lacy, WA, Stephanie is one of the most recognizable faces of the Sea Gals and isn’t afraid to admit she watches Gilmore Girls ”more than any person should.”

The 5’ 8” brunette recalls one of her best Sea Gal moments was being on the field when her favorite player, Walter Jones, had his number retired. “I have always been a Seahawks fan, so of course my favorite player is a lifetime Seahawk,” she says of Jones.

Stephanie says one of the best parts of being an NFL cheerleader, is of course the obvious for most girls: dancing covered in rhinestones. But the self-proclaimed history nerd admits she still gets butterflies when performing in front of all those fans, especially during her performances in Show Group with all the costume and routine changes back and forth. “As soon as the show starts though, I feel at ease and start performing,” she says.

Lookin’ good Stephanie!

The Sea Gals have 34 awesome women on their roster for 2013. If you’ve ever seen an episode of 90210 or Big Brother, you know how catty girls can get, but Stephanie says people are often surprised to find out that they are such good friends.

“It’s rare on our squad to have someone who is self-centered – we are very supportive and nice to one another,” she says. People are equally surprised to learn about the careers the girls have. “I have danced with a lawyer, an airman, marketing supervisors, teachers, a novelist, a campaign manager and many more smart and driven women,” the Political Science major from the University of Washington says.

Although most of her 20+ years of dance experience is in jazz, ballet and hip-hop, she loves when the squad gets to dance to some good ol’ rock music. “We have a routine to ‘Thunderstruck’ by AC/DC and it’s my favorite!” the all-natural brunette says. “Plus, rock music is the best to whip your hair to.”

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about NFL cheerleaders (aside from their hectic schedules and ability to move their hip flexors like none other), is that they get to partake in some of the most amazing experiences off the field.

“The tours I have gone on have been unbelievable. One highlight was taking a helicopter from Djibouti Africa to an amphibious ship in the Gulf of Aden. We did a show on the ship for 1000 people then took a helicopter tour of the coast of the horn of Africa. It was unbelievably amazing!” she gushes.

As far as game day experiences, her favorite was being on the field for the infamous Beast Quake. “That is a play that will go down in NFL history and I will always be able to say I was on the field for that.”

A body fit for a uniform

If you’re looking at her photos and wonder how on earth these uniforms fit her so perfectly, it’s because they were made to fit her body. “When we got new uniforms, my director asked me to be the fit model. I was able to be the body they built the uniforms on and got to see everything that went into that process. We tried a bunch of different pieces in different colors and I got to model them for some really great people in the organization,” the 2012 Sea Gal of the Year says.

As far as being a unique squad of girls, it’s no question the Sea Gals are right up there. “We are the only cheerleaders in the Northwest so that makes us pretty unique and means we have a huge fan base,” Stephanie says. “The 12s are like no other fans! We take pride in the fact that as a fan, we are just as much a part of the game as anyone playing. Our crowd noise can change the outcome of a game and the fans are so smart that they know when the other team is feeling uncomfortable, which inspires them/us to get even louder. You can see the frustration on the opposing quarterback’s face; it’s fuel to the fan’s fire. It is louder down there than anyone can explain. There is no preparing for the noise in the Clink!” she says.

As for the upcoming season, Stephanie has already called game of the year for the Seahawks, “Sunday Night Football against the 49ers of course!” she says. “Our rivalry is quickly becoming one of the best in the NFL – that is hard-nose football at its finest.”

A few other random yet equally awesome facts about Sea Gal Stephanie: she loves the occasional tater-tot and Harry Potter, she would still play with Barbies if someone asked her, gets cranky if she misses a hot yoga session, every Christmas she ritually puts on her N*SYNC holiday album, and she stands by the fact she is “probably the biggest Seahawks fan you’ll ever meet.”

Follow Stephanie on Twitter @SeaGalStephanie

This article ran originally on The Blonde Side’s column on CBS Man Cave Daily here.