AWE-DISHIN’

Take off that RED shirt!

The PRESSURE of the Event brought out the best in everyone.

UCLA Spirit Squad Try-outs:  An awesome display of talent, beauty, and grace that asks the Judges to do the impossible. 

1777 photos.

No, that’s not a typo.  That’s One thousand, seven hundred and seventy-seven photos.  That’s what it took — in 5 hours — to TRY to capture some of the elegance and energy that blew the roof off of Pauley Pavilion on Sunday.  That’s a new record, and it was worth it.

For those of you who didn’t just scroll down to the photos, and to those of you who came back AFTER looking at the photos to read this, we have lots to say about the UCLA Spirit Squad Auditions that took place on campus yesterday.  First of all, thanks to “UCLA XTC” for alerting us to the event.  Second of all, all our respect and thanks go out to Mollie, who is The Director of the Spirit Program.  As with everything that she does, the Auditions were well-organized, run efficiently, and done with an incredibly PROFESSIONAL touch.  We thought that a handful of Coaches and random students would be the Judges, with Mollie holding the Final Vote. 

We were WAY off on this one.  There was an entire panel of Professionals, with seriously impressive resumes, doing the judging.  We aren’t going to mention any names, since there was a Confidentiality Agreement being signed.  We think that was to protect the voting procedure and anything that the Girls might say during the interview process (during which the small contingent of VERY SMART fans were asked to vacate, for privacy), so we will tell you that the Woman who RAN the Laker Girls for all the years that we had Season Tickets, was on the panel (HINT:  NOT Paula Abdul, but the other one whose name the P.A. Announcer always used to say).  And ALL the Judges had qualifications like that.  It’s a good thing, because WE sure couldn’t separate the “great dancers” from the good ones.

And as far as appearance, you will be happy to hear that regardless of who ultimately gets (got?) selected, the “attractiveness level” is going to stay top-notch, continuing to keep Oregon in Second Place in the Pac-10.

As far as talent, it’s hard to tell, especially while looking through a camera viewfinder, but all we can say is that Ryan is a Stud.  Let us be clear that we have NO IDEA who made the cut and who didn’t, and by the way, last year’s squadmembers have NO GUARANTEES of getting selected THIS year.  Just like Football Scholarships, a position on this Squad is for one year only.  That being said, Ryan was just so strong, holding up newcomers with one hand, not to mention his spirit level, that all we can say is that we “hope” he makes it.  We have to be careful here, because we are NOT privy to all the factors that go into the evaluations, and we didn’t hear the interviews.  The point is, we have NO DESIRE to inadvertantly “question” the decisions made by Mollie’s panel.  After the last few years, we have complete and total faith in their decision-making, especially when you consider how down-to-earth the Girls were (on top of the obvious factors).  This was the first audition we’ve been to, and seriously:  We thought that Mollie just picked people by herself!  But we still give her credit for designing the process that has produced the finest Squad in the Country, bar none.

One of the non-Cheer highlights of the Event was when Rick Neuheisel paid a surprise visit.  He came over during a score-tallying break, and talked to us and some Judges, about Golf, and Rose Bowls.  He showed total appreciation for all the hard work that Mollie and her troops put forth, and acknowledged the importance of Spirit.  Yeah, yeah, we know:  He always says the right things.  Well, fine, but that’s better than saying the wrong thing, or saying nothing at all.  He was just so cool, so personable, and so approachable, that we felt comfortable to chime into his “conversation,” without feeling pushy.  And he instantly included us in the group.  SO COOL!!  Someone asked him if he was gonna stick around and Judge, but he said no way, that he had his own students that were keeping him very busy (but that otherwise, he would have loved to!).

Another highlight of the Evening was when two 2006-7 Dance Team Members came up to us, introduced themselves, and were as Sweet as could be.  They are both still involved with UCLA and the Spirit Squad, and one of them even teaches a UCLA Dance Class — NICE GIG right out of College, huh?  But the coolest thing in the World was that they were SO NICE, and they expalined to us how the auditions work.  We were in shock that the Returnees have to audition, and that they often miss the cut.  We can’t imagine how sad that would be, and we are glad that we didn’t have to see anyone get that difficult news.

So we’ll just cross our fingers, while you cross yours (you guys know who you are), and let’s all hope that our Favorites come back to grace these pages for another school year.  Meanwhile, here are THE FIRST (and best) 24 shots from the Mother of all Auditions.  Don’t forget, they all have mouse-over hidden captions.  Also, you CAN click the pics to enlarge them.  The lighting in Pauley sucks, and we weren’t allowed close to the action, so when you zoom in, they’ll be a little grainy, but they are WAY better than the literally 1400 photos that came out un-usably blurry.  You know how long it takes to weed through 1400 blurry, headache-inducing photos?  Hey Mollie — Can you move this Event outdoors next year, weather permitting, or let me stand on the floor?  After all, I’m just trying to make the Squad look as good as possible.

If I were her, I’d tell me:  “Get a better camera, a steadier hand, and stop having delusions of grandeur.”   

————

We hope you enjoy “the best we could do,” and you can bet that there will be MORE, coming soon.

[Final note:  Did you ever notice that the Squad doesn’t wear Jewelry, Colored Nail Polish, Pig Tails or Pony Tails?  How could WE never notice about the Pig Tails?  We love hair.  We’ve always liked Pig Tails, too, but it’s (understandably) not the image that they care to project.  By the way, anyone who just read all of this text prior to checking out the pictorial, thanks — you have an amazing ability to delay self-gratification.  And now, without further bull… ]The Wide Shot.

Getting closer…and we love the Rainbow Effect.

Well, we know SOMEONE who just fell off his chair.

“Tiger” Neuheisel was talking GOLF!  The guy playing in front of him got a Hole in One yesterday (See?  Everyone around him gets better!)

Close-ups!  Now you can see how “into it” she is.

Pig Tails can’t do THAT!

She had lots of energy.

Tanks for the Memories

Flexible Hours, No Pay.

This seems like a good time to remind you to keep your comments CLEAN and NICE.

She’s doing that 6 feet in the air.

Nice smile.  She wouldn’t need the Stand-by Dentist.

Here’s the one girl that went with traditional Blue and Gold.  Nice touch.

Beautiful. That’s it — Just “beautiful.”

That’s a quality team right there.

And now, it’s Elise Time (Does this mean she’s not leaving early for the NBA?)

And what part of “Elise Time” didn’t you understand?  The “Elise,” or the “Time?”

Ain’t this just peachy?

She gives me a new (e)lease on life.

It’s not ALL about Elise…

Poor Katie!!!  What a time for a serious arm injury!  We call that an “Awwwdition.”

We believe that the Judges took the injury into consideration (as SHOULD be the case).

I know you guys are going to complain:  “Not enough Brianna.”  Sorry, I tried.  Would you like to see about 300 BLURRY shots of her?  Neither would I.

And that’s THE END, for today.  By the way, can you hardcore fans recognize these girls from the back?  I thought so.     

Comments

16 responses to “AWE-DISHIN’”

  1. jp Avatar
    jp

    t-h, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

    I’m just glad Elise, Katie, and Brianna are all auditioning this year. I can’t believe they even have to audition!!!

    Man, I can’t wait for the new Dance Team. The talent seems to be up there again. I’m sure they all can dance…let’s keep taking the most beautiful girls. Hehe.

    Who were the alumni you spoke with? That’s very cool.

    Give us more tidbits from the audition. We love hearing about all this behind the scenes stuff. Was there anyone who blew everyone off? Give us a picture and a number. Lol

    (and sorry about the name confusion…I mistyped once and my comp has a feature that automatically fills it in unless you change it, which is why it kept typing t-h and I never noticed it).

    [T-H’s Note: I will give more info with the upcoming pictorials. The gorgeous AND sweet former Dance Team members (both of them) were…drum roll please…Chelsey(!),… and… okay, here’s where it gets difficult. Chelsey’s friend and former teammate was one of the beautiful brunettes whose names I never learned (despite having taking tons of lovely photographs of her). Chelsey said her name to us, and it sounded like Brynn or Britt, but checking back on an old Spirit roster that I had printed out, I think maybe it was “Brette?” That would make her the Dance Team Captain, and based on her extensive Dance and Choreography credits, that could be her. Her hair was usually curly back in the day, but now it is silky-straight, but in the old thumbnail photo, it’s straight. So we just aren’t sure, and we’re really, really sorry for not knowing for sure. Maybe Chelsey’s Dad will see this (he apparently checks this site daily), and will fill me in. Anyway, my love of Chelsey has been well-documented here, and of course, she looked absolutely adorable (without even trying), but let me please add that her friend, looked EVEN BETTER than when she was on the Squad. And for us to admit that is rare, since we usually feel that the Squad Members are at their absolute PEAK, WHILE students. But forget all this “looks” talk — The most “exciting” thing about the encounter was that they were SO nice to me. After all the controversies, I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to have a good rapport with the Girls whom I have been “exploiting” — according to cynics –for so long.

  2. frank Avatar
    frank

    you’re right… it’s not all about elise… it’s about Katie, Elise, and BRIANNA!!!

    Go UCLA!!!! Go BRUINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and Go BRIANNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  3. dan Avatar
    dan

    NOW THERE’S A BLONDE THAT STANDS-OUT OF BLONDES, WOW BRIANNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Go BRUINS!!!!!!!!!!

  4. JoJo26 Avatar
    JoJo26

    143 baby

  5. Robert Avatar
    Robert

    I must admit, I was a little nervous when I didn’t see KATIE in your shots, but extemely relieved and happy when I finally saw her trying out. She’s a trooper, broken hand and all! poor thing, I would volunteer to be her personal nurse 24/7 and treat her like the princess she is. ohhhh KATIE!!

    [T-H’s Note: Unlike on some Celebrity fansite Message Board, there is a pretty decent chance that comments on this site will actually be read by the very objects of your desire. They aren’t allowed to comment here while identifying themselves as Squadmembers, but if they were, I’m SURE they would say thanks for all the supportive comments that you guys have been sending in.]

  6. Waldorf Avatar
    Waldorf

    Is Michelle auditioning? If not, I’m going to go on a hunger strike. It’ll probably only last about six or seven hours, but it’s the principle, isn’t it?

    [T-H’s Note: Yes, she is, and you can see visual proof in the second batch of photos.]

  7. Art Reyes Avatar
    Art Reyes

    I am not sure the name of #147,can someone tell me. She is my favorite and [I hope she] comes back next year!

    [T-H’s Note: That would be Elise. She is many people’s Favorite, including, according to rumors, Kevin Love.]

  8. Robert Avatar
    Robert

    I just had to come back for more Katie, wow. She has to be in the top-10 most beautiful creatures God has ever created, I have never been able to detect a physical flaw in her game. In 2006, when it was Katie’s first year on the squad I had the fortune of taking a picture with her as they were making their way into the Rose Bowl just before the game, she had been out there performing for the fans for 3-4 hours on a HOT day and I politely asked her if I could take a picture with her, and gave me her SWEET smile and said “sure!” I’ve always been known as the #1 Bruin fan, but on that day I also became known as Katie’s #1 fan. God Bless Katie, and God bless the Bruins

  9. Tom Jennings Avatar
    Tom Jennings

    I really dont know the names of these girls on the dance team …but I must say they are an amazing group of beautiful women. I want to know who the long haired blond in the blue is? In Aww.dition,,, The one in the middle…. She is so hot!

    [T-H’s Note: We are HORRIBLE with names, but we THINK you’re talking about Kristle.]

  10. John Bailey Avatar
    John Bailey

    I have to agree with you Tom, if you’re talking about #128 in the top photo. Everyone has their favorite, but she is gorgeous, sweet and hot all at the same time!

  11. MrCoolbreeze Avatar
    MrCoolbreeze

    Hey you at least tried to give us some Brianna. Some is better than none.

  12. Rusty Danielson Avatar
    Rusty Danielson

    I’d like to show some of them my O face.

  13. john Avatar
    john

    I’m confident at least one of the girls from this years squad will not make it back. All of them are trying out again. I’m also confident it won’t be Katie, Elise, or Brianna who doesn’t make it.

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