The Redskins Blog

Draft Day Viewing Party From FedExField

The first ever Redskins Draft Day Party was a rousing success tonight, as more than 5,200 Redskins faithful filed into FedExField to watch live coverage from New York.

Admission to the event was free, and it gave Redskins fans the first opportunity to buy the new Nike jerseys, including those of first-round draft pick Robert Griffin III.  The 2012 Redskins Cheerleader squad was also on hand for autographs and entertainment, and many fans got their first look at the amenities of the club level, including the Redskins History Walls.

With the help of a professional photographer and the Public Relations staff on hand, we have a great photo gallery from the event: Read more »

Cheerleaders Prepped For Final Auditions

Throughout the month of March, prospective members of the First Ladies of Football were invited to FedExField on Tuesday and Thursday nights to learn the routines of the Redskins Cheerleaders.  Now that the practice is out of the way, the squad is down to final auditions for the 2012 season, which will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the State Theater in Falls Church, Va.

While it is difficult to work on a Saturday afternoon, I will muster up the strength to cover the event, and I encourage you to come out as well.  Tickets are $15 for general admission and $25 for VIP, but the details are far more interesting on this flyer: Read more »

Last 2012 Cheerleader Prep Class Tonight

Throughout the month of March, the Redskins Cheerleaders have offered classes twice a week at FedExField, to learn their routines and prepare for the upcoming auditions.  If you were thinking of getting in on that, tonight is your last opportunity to do so.

There are two classes being offered tonight, at 7 and 8:30 p.m., and the cost is $25 per session.  If you’ve been to another session so far this spring, then come tonight to learn a new routine.  Who wouldn’t want to join one of the top-10 hottest cheerleading squads in professional sports?

Speaking of which, here’s some video footage from the prep classes so far.  Enjoy: Read more »

Celebrate ‘Redskins Fan Day’ At ICE!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Each winter the Gaylord National hosts a winter celebration called ICE!  A winter wonderland created entirely of 5,000 blocks of ice weighing 2 million pounds, sculpted by 40 international artisans and kept at a chilling 9 degrees Fahrenheit.

Come out to ICE! this Wednesday, Dec. 14, to celebrate the ‘Redskins Fan Day.’  For one day only, any fans who wears Redskins colors, and/or uses the code word “Redskins,” will receive $5 off the ticket price.  For a family of four, this is a $20 savings!

Redskins Cheerleaders will be on hand for the celebration from 4-6 p.m.

Produced exclusively for Gaylord Hotels, the winter attraction is fully interactive, allowing guests to roam inside, around and on-top of holiday scenes. Check out photos of ICE! at the Gaylord National Resort, and reserve tickets for the Redskins Fan Day.

Former Redskins Cheerleader Back In Town

Ana De Villegas was only a member of the Redskins Cheerleader squad for one year (2009), but made the commute from The Big Apple to be at today’s “Welcome Home Luncheon.”

Despite her short tenure with the team, she knows that her time with the Redskins Cheerleaders helped to propel her onto a bigger stage.

“I went for auditions and got a job dancing in New York.  I danced at the Minskoff Theater.”

Pretending to be worldly and well-cultured, I nodded my head obediently.

“That’s where ‘The Lion King’ plays, just in case,” she said with a laugh.  ”It’s a beautiful theater, it was a great time.”

But just because Ana ran off to the big city doesn’t mean that she gave up her cheerleading and dancing roots.  She is now a dancer for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League.  Once I assured her that there was no obvious rivalry between the Redskins and Devils, she explained the difference in the gigs.

“It’s a little bit less cheerleading-based,” she said.  ”First you have to learn how to ice skate…no I’m playing, I’m playing.  They have a platform out on the ice and we come out there and dance between periods.  During the games we’re up in the stands and there’s some platforms up there.”

She credits her time with the Redskins as having given her the motivation to stick with sports dancing/cheering.

“I do love it,” she said.  ”I’m a big sports fan–definitely football first, and I missed it a lot.  I still follow the Redskins up in New York.  I had a dance gig yesterday down here yesterday and I made sure to coordinate so that I could be here.”

Redskins Cheerleaders Meet and Greet With Fans

Redskins Cheerleaders Emerald (left) and Judy (right) were on hand for the first day of training camp open to the public.

The little guy in the middle, Grayson Ward, was one of the youngest fans on hand for the first day open to the public.  His grandfather, Mike, brought the 8-month old to Redskins Park for his first training camp.  Clearly, Grayson had one of the best seats in the house!

Redskins Cheerleaders And Limping Devils At The Calendar Shoot

Redskins Blog travel correspondent Jordan Beane checks in again from the Redskins Cheerleaders calendar shoot in Punta Cana, D.R.

For reports from the cheerleaders themselves, be sure to check out their blog on Redskins Rule. For even more, including (I believe) some exclusive photos from the calendar shoot, download the Official Redskins Cheerleader App. Until then, though, here’s Beane.

There’s a fairly simply formula for most calendar shoots here in the Dominican Republic. One beautiful girl plus water, sun and sand equals a gorgeous shot. Repeat. It’s a proven winner. However all good photographers need to be willing to change their plans at a moment’s notice.

Like when these guys show up. (Click photos to enlarge.)

The masked men dancing with Redskins cheerleader Emerald are two Diablos Cojuelos, the most popular costumes worn during the Dominican Republic’s Carnival. Dressed up to “symbolize the opposite, a world upside”, they also really add something to a calendar shoot.

Read more »

Redskins Cheerleaders In Kuwait

The Redskins Cheerleaders do more than just dance on the sidelines and pose for calendar shoots; they also travel and perform all over the world — including tours in support of our military serving overseas. The cheerleaders just returned from one such trip, to Kuwait, and this time they had a Flip camera on-hand. I believe it’s Jamilla who’s doing most of the shooting here, and it’s a terrific look at the reception that the Redskins Cheerleaders get, even 6000-plus miles from Washington D.C., and how much their presence means to the brave folks serving over there.

When the group made a similar trip in October, cheerleader Brittany sent back this blog post; here’s a quick excerpt to flesh out the video above: Read more »

Redskins Cheerleader Chelsea Breaks Down The Dallas Game

Washington Redskins Cheerleader Chelsea is apparently on a quest to become Queen Of All Media. She’s already got the live performance thing down, obviously, as a cheerleader on gamedays. She’s conquering TV bit by bit — locally, she co-hosts Inside The Redskins with DeAngelo Hall at 10:00 a.m. Saturday mornings on NBC-4; nationally we saw her on the Today Show last week. She’s on Twitter, so she’s got that squared away.

And now she’s made her way into print. Chelsea is the first Monday Morning Cheerleader on Esquire.com, offering her take on Sunday night’s win over the Cowboys, and a few other things.

An excerpt:
Read more »

Redskins Cheerleader Final Cuts: Marisa Makes The Squad

According to her on-stage introduction last night, Marisa “is originally from North Dakota. She graduated from Princeton University with a History degree, and she was a 2009 Redskins ambassador.” She’s in the foreground left of the picture above, with long red hair.

When I covered the final cuts for the Redskins Cheerleaders last year, I went big picture and described the event and the process and all of that. This year, I thought it would be more interesting to focus on the experience of one of the finalists, talk to her before the finals and — win or lose — afterward, talk to her friends and family if present, and just get a sense of what it was like. I’m a bit of a reality TV junkie, to my undying shame, and I figured this would be a little bit reality TV-esque. Later, that whole line of thought would start to seem a little ironic, but it was good enough hook to go in with.

And, obviously, Marisa was the finalist that I selected. Despite being from North Dakota, she considers herself a Redskins fan. “I’m definitely a Redskins fan,” she said. “I didn’t get into football until I got to D.C. — no professional football in North Dakota.” When she’s not striving to join a professional cheerleading squad, Marisa is a law student, focusing on energy law. As if that’s not difficult enough (“It takes up a lot of time,” Marisa acknowledged), she’s spent the last week learning the routines and practicing for last night’s final.

But to even before we get to that, we have to go back to the end of last year’s finals.

Read more »