You too can be a Washington Redskins Cheerleader

Auditions for the 2007 Washington Redskins cheerleader squad begins April 6, 2007. Candidates must be at least 18 years old, with a high school or G.E.D. Applicants must also have a full or part time job, be a full or part time college student or have a family. (Guess single, pre-maternal, unemployed people need not apply no matter how attractive or talented.) Those selected for the 2007 squad are required to participate in the photo shoot for the 2008 swimsuit calendar to be shot in an exotic Caribbean location - no exceptions! Cheerleaders are paid $75 per game and receive a pair of season tickets for performing before the largest audience in the NFL.

Candidates are judged on

• Showmanship
• Dance Technique
• Personal Appearance/Figure (Oh YEAH!!!)
• Personality
• Communication Skills
• Energy
• Kick Technique
• Photogenic Round - Finalists

The Redskins are offering an audition class for interested parties at a cost of $300. Audition students do not have to pay the $25 application charge to try out.

For more detail and to download the application form, look here.

The cheerleader squad was established in 1962 as the Washington Redskinettes. They are now billed as "The First Ladies of Football." The cheerleader squad is another of Redskin founder George Preston Marshall's innovations. Marshall also established the NFL's first team band and fight song. Those moves were his attempt to boost the family entertainment value of the NFL. The band and the cheerleader squad reflected Marshall's personal and business attitude that the Redskins were the team of the South. Like the South itself, "Negroes" were unwelcome on the Redskinettes. In the 1960s, the Redskin band played Dixie between choruses of Hail To The Redskins. The cheers for Dixie were louder than Hail.

In Washington's colorful past, people of color were not invited to join the all white team named Redskins.

The Redskins were the last team to integrate its football roster, but the first to add African-American Redskinettes. At one time, the Redskins had the most diverse cheerleader squad in the league. I think that's still true. This must be acknowledged on Martin Luther King Day.

My personal favorite cheerleader? Michae' Holloman who was recently named Miss Maryland USA 2007. Her profile lists her profession as Strategic Communications Specialist. Like that blond on the HDTV commercial, I totally don't know what that means, but I want one.

Photo: Cheerleader Tina, www.procheerleaderblog.com
Photo: Cheerleader Michae', www.redskins.com
Photo: Conductor of the Band, http://flickr.com/photos/littlerottenrobin/

Washington Redskins