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Bucs' Cheerleaders Bring It On Sidelines

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 28, 2007

Tampa Bay returns to the lovely confines of Raymond James Stadium today after a tough road loss. Considering the Bucs are 1-3 away from home, there is obviously something inspirational about the house our tax money built.

It has to be the cheerleaders.

There is nothing else that can explain Tampa Bay's lack of enthusiasm on the road. Imagine how much harder you would work if a group of attractive people were by your cubicle all day dancing to 'Jock Jams' CDs and trying to motivate you for the big afternoon meeting. You would not need YouTube to occupy your time.

This week, I spoke with Bucs cheerleader Sahara Sears, who left her pompoms at home to be interviewed for this week's Wide Right column.

Anwar: Do cheerleaders have rivalries with other cheerleader squads?

Sahara: That is something you would think that, since the teams have rivalries, we would, but we actually get along. Sometimes the whole team and different squads get together and dance, and the coordinators teach multiple dances to the other teams.

Anwar: You've never had a 'Bring It On' dance-off?

Sahara: There's never been any 'Bring It On' dancing.

Anwar: Do you think there should be male cheerleaders?

Sahara: The Ravens have male cheerleaders. I don't know. In the NFL, it's a little more dance oriented and a little more contemporary, and not old school. Yes, I'm all for equal opportunity, but I'm good with just girls, too.

Anwar: Do you think Will Ferrell would make a pretty good cheerleader?

Sahara: Oh my God laughing, I think more people would watch us if Will Ferrell was a cheerleader.

Anwar: What happens when you're on the sidelines and have to use the bathroom?

Sahara: We just go to our sideline assistant and she escorts us to where we need to be and we're back on the field.

Anwar: Are there any jobs the cheerleaders have that would surprise people?

Sahara: Yes. My captain Leigh Killian is actually a parole officer.

Anwar: Well, at least someone can help you out if you get in trouble.

Sahara: Yeah, definitely. And we have a dental hygienist Jaime Hanna on our team. Most of us are students, and other girls work. Last year, we had an accountant on the team.

Anwar: What is the most common misconception about cheerleaders?

Sahara: With our team, I get a lot of questions about if we do really get along. Yeah, we do. We all share common interests. We are around each other 24/7 and we do get along. That is the biggest misinterpretation.

Anwar: Do you have group hugs every day?

Sahara: No, but we do have group e-mails as replacement. It's like a verbal group hug.

Anwar: Like the e-mails that say, 'If you don't send it to 10 people in five minutes, you're going to die?'

Sahara: Not the forwarding e-mails. Like the 'Hey, everyone did great today,' or pictures from the game.

Anwar: Do you ever get heckled by fans?

Sahara: No. The worst people will say, 'This cheerleading squad did this,' or we've gone on military tours and met diehard Dallas Cowboys fans and they'll say, 'The Cowboys cheerleaders just came here.' That's all we get. We don't get heckled at all.

Anwar: Ever had opposing players say anything crazy to you?

Sahara: No. The only time you see an opposing player is during the game, and I think their coaches would get mad at them if they were talking to us instead of concentrating on the game.

Anwar: What do you think of the new NFL rule that prohibits cheerleaders from warming up, or stretching, on the visiting team's sidelines?

Sahara: I agree with it. It's classy that we don't stretch and warm up on the sidelines. If it's before the game, we can go into the tunnel and do it just fine. You don't want people to take pictures.

Anwar: Are there things cheerleaders do to gain a competitive edge?

Sahara: A lot work out constantly. There are girls who keep up with girl stuff, like hair, nails and makeup. We're making sure we look our best, especially at tryouts. Tryouts is when everyone is giving it their all.

Anwar: What about steroids? Are there a lot of cheerleaders using steroids nowadays?

Sahara: No laughing. They are going for the cheerleaders that look a little more feminine. We're not chucking each other up in the air anymore.

Anwar: Yeah, but there is no random steroid testing.

Sahara: No laughing, but with our girls there is no need. I can guarantee you that.

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