December 8, 2008

The noted choreographer, and perhaps the most famous former “Laker Girl,” Abdul mastered cheerleading as a high schooler. This year, she celebrates the 20th anniversary of her debut album “Forever Your Girl” which hit the number one spot on the Billboard top 200 chart.

Collegiate cheerleaders from around the country sent in audition tapes to MTV and Abdul handpicked five squads to compete in the show. Whether or not you believe cheer is a “real” sport, the participants are all talented athletes who train as hard as many other competitors.

Check back in January for more cheer action.

Though we haven’t tested them yet, Ener-G video games are being marketed as the first brand of sports games targeted toward girls.

The titles supposedly focus as much on gameplay as on socialization and allow girls to experience the fun of being part of a team. The games in the series feature three popular activities: dancing, gymnastics and horseback riding. 

In a press release, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Ubisoft Tony Key says, “The Ener-G games will not only satisfy parents, but they also give tween girls a new outlet through which they can express their creativity and love for sports.”

We think girls have enough outlets for creativity and really want to kick some butt but will reserve judgement until we’ve actually played the games which include:

Ener-G Dance Squad
lets girls reveal their dancing potential by working with a coach to develop new steps and choreograph dances by combining the coolest moves.

Ener-G Gym Rockets 
lets girls live the life of a young gymnast, as they twist, tumble and twirl in five events, including floor, uneven bars and balance beam, on the way to the World Gymnastics Championships.

Ener-G Horse Rider
lets players create and train their own horse, enter competitions, ride around the open countryside and even tame wild horses.

Two game modes are available. Girls can play through story mode or try their skills in challenge mode.  It’ll be interesting to note which mode is more popular.

Rated E for Everyone by the ESRB, the first three Ener-G titles are on store shelves now at the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $29.99.

Check out the site  -  www.ener-ggame.com  -  for a peek at the gameplay and graphics and a bit of online fun.  Like what you see? Might make a good stocking stuffer this holiday season.

October 2, 2008

‘I am a cheerleader. Now everybody always wants me to do cheers. It’s so funny.

Cheerleading is so much fun, especially at your school because you get such a sense of school spirit and you’re proud of your school. I love that. I’m the one that’s on top of the (human) pyramid; I’m the flyer, so that’s fun too.’

The 14 year old actress has had an incredible career, from her first role at five in a Tide commercial to her current star turn in The Secret Life of Bees (I haven’t seen the film yet but read the book and loved it - be sure to check it out).

With her latest stint as a cheerleader, Dakota is living Friday Night Lights and if the producers of Heroes ever need a replacement for Hayden Panetierre, they’ll know who to call.

April 18, 2008

In case you’re wondering what a cheerleading game might entail, it’s probably what you’d expect: you learn cheers, make up a few of your own, practice them, and then perform.

The All Star Cheer Squad game will follow a year in the life of a cheerleader as they learn new cheers, participate in practices and create their own routines to make the squad and eventually become captain. In order to ensure that the game has the latest cheer action and top routines,  choreographer Tony G, best known for his work in the Bring It On movies, has signed on as chief consultant for the game.

Namco’s We Cheer will feature ”30 smash-hit master recordings” including Hilary Duff and Natasha Bedingfield. It will also have multiplayer modes supporting up to four cheerleaders, a workout mode that tracks how many calories you’ve burned, and customizable outfits and shoes.

While the mechanics of the games actually sound okay, we’re afraid that the cheerleading angle might have been born from trying too hard to target the “new ‘girl gamer’ market”.  

We definitely don’t have anything against cheerleading but if these companies were seriously targeting real girls (who might actually be old enough to cheer), why would they develop characters in ridiculously skimpy outfits that stink of Bratz?  Will you buy or play these games? Let us know.

If one of your guilty pleasures is watching the cheerleading classic “Bring It On”, along with the sequels  “Bring It On Again”, “All Or Nothing” and “In It To Win It”, then Sunday, Jan. 20th is your lucky day. ABC Family is running all four movies back to back in a Bring-It-On-Athon.

Bring It On (2000), starring Kirsten Dunst and Gabrielle Union and written by Jessica Bendinger, is about a champion high school cheerleading squad who discovers its previous captain stole all their best routines from an inner-city school and must scramble to compete at this year’s championships.

A straight to video sequel Bring It On Again, released in 2003, shares only producers with the original and is generally regarded as the weakest of the bunch. 

Bring It On: All or Nothing, another direct-to-video sequel released in 2006, is about a transfer student to a rough high school who tries joining the cheer-leading squad and not only faces off against the head cheerleader, but against her former school. This one stars Hayden Panettiere making it eminently more watchable.

The fourth film in the series,  Bring It On: In It To Win It, was released direct-to-video in 2007. The world of cheerleading crashes full-force into the world of young love ala  West Side Story in this boy meets girl, West-Coast Sharks versus East-Coast Jets, cheerleading competition.

If you love cheerleading and/or girl drama, or you just have nothing to do on Sunday, settle in for 6 hours plus of fun and a chance to sing the Rancho Carne High Toros’ Signature Cheer.

Pretty Tough Trivia: Kirsten Dunst and Gabrielle Union, of the first ”Bring It On”  film were both cheerleaders in school.

Backstabbing. Spotlight-grabbing. Secret-blabbing. A cheerleader’s life is all that.

Forget the stereotype of a blond cheerleader in tight sweater pining for the muscled quarterback. The world of cheer no longer means sideline squads that exist solely to support other teams. They are teams in their own right, not so different in some respects from the football and basketball teams for which they traditionally cheer. (more…)

BASE~
bottom person in the stunt who remains in contact with the floor, supporting the mounter in a stunt.~~

BASKET TOSS~
toss involving three or four tossers, two of which have their hands interlocked.~~

CHANT~
short repetitive yell performed continually throughout a game; short routines with words sometimes involving the crowd.~~ (more…)

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Q: Why did the ghost become a cheerleader??
A: She liked to show off her school spirit!!!!

Q: What is a cheerleader’s favorite color?
A: Yeller!!!