View From the Endzone – Cheerleaders Pregame

Hey Cards fans, do you ever wonder what goes on in the Cheerleaders’ locker room when they’re preparing for a game? Well our resident cheerleader Bari is here to give you the inside scoop on the Ladies in Red and how they get ready to do what they do so well…..

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Hi Cards fans, I bet you are looking forward to the first home pre-season game this coming weekend against the Houston Texans!! The cheerleaders are looking forward to this day as well as it is the first time the rookies will be stepping onto the field in front of a full house, and the first time the 2007 Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders will be performing at a game!!

Remember in one of my previous blogs how I talked about how the practices get increasingly more intense as the season gets closer? Well I can assure you that the AZ Cards Cheerleader practices are at full throttle as they prepare for the 1st home preseason game! So Cardinals fans, do you ever wonder what exactly goes on behind the scenes on game day before the public is allowed in? I’m sure you all know that the vendors are getting set up, the stadium electronic equipment is being tested, and all of the field personal are setting up the player benches, fans, water stations, etc… but do you ever wonder what the cheerleaders do? Welcome to our game day… let’s begin!

The Cardinals Cheerleaders are required to arrive four hours prior to kick off to practice. They come in tote with everything required for this day, practice clothes and poms, game uniform, game poms, & boots, make-up and hair stuff, after game clothes. It usually looks like the cheerleaders are packed for a trip but nope, that’s just game day protocol!

Game day practice starts exactly four hours before kickoff and can not last longer then an hour because of the players needing the field to practice, so time is short and there is a lot to get done!! This is a full on practice that in which the cheerleaders go through every aspect of the game, Pre-game dance, opening tunnel, National Anthem, 1st-4th quarter routines, and halftime. The cheerleaders do not move on to the next dance until the one they are performing is perfect!! Also, every dance that the cheerleaders do is scheduled with game day entertainment, all the way down to which time-out that they perform at. Once the practices are over, the cheerleaders head into their locker room to start getting ready and grab a bite to eat to fuel up for the game!

Imagine 30+ women all trying to get ready in one room, under time constraints, with limited outlets and showers and you may think that it would be a madhouse of women scrambling to get in front of the mirror and in the shower first, but this is actually not the case!! Yes there are limited outlets, mirrors, and showers but when you are on a team of that many women all working for the common goal of looking fabulous on game day, you must learn to be patient and share, and that’s how we do it!

Depending on if the cheerleaders are performing pre-game depends on what the call time is, but this call time is non-negotiable and everyone MUST be ready when the clock hits that number, no exceptions!! Five minutes before the call time the Coach will let the cheerleaders know it is getting close and once it hits the cheerleaders huddle up to do the pre-game prayer. After the prayer the cheerleaders pose for a group shot and then off they go to perform!! Lights, Camera, Action!

Bari