Life of a Cincy Chick: New Season. New Coach. New Era.

IT'S BACK!

College football welcomes us once again and it feels so good. The players, the crowd, the band, the cheerleaders, the students. Nothing compares and it truly is something that America takes a lot of pride in. From the pee wee level to the NFL we loveeeee us some football. It is the start to the best time of the year. The end of summer and the beginning of fall that eventually transitions to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yes, I know it is still a little ways away...but it's just right around the corner. The night before the first game feels just like Christmas Eve. I promise. My team has put in many many many many many many hours of hard work to look our best on game day. I think that a lot of people underestimate how much time and energy we put into preparation for our games. Before our first game we drill fight song, tumbling, stunting, pyramids, baskets, chants and game day situations to get us ready. Our role is to lead the crowd and keep the energy alive during the entire game. So with that said, when the first offensive play of the game involved a turnover, we were just as frustrated as the rest of the crowd. We cannot wear our emotion on our faces. We smile, pick up our poms and do not let one bad play affect us for the rest of the game. After all we do still have 13 minutes left in the first quarter haha We cheer and motivate the fans that these boys can do what they have trained so hard for. It's so much more than just putting on a skirt and wearing a bow. Every single girl, guy and coach on my squad has a deep love for BearcatNation and that's what makes you a cheerleader. Representing the C during the good and not so good times.

Saturday at noon we kicked off our season opener vs. Purdue. If I could sum up the game in one word I think we all know what it would be. HOT. It was the hottest game I have ever cheered at. The field temperature read 118 degrees. Someone after the game told me at its hottest it got up to 127. My coaches were great at keeping cool water for us on hand at all times and I think that's what made the biggest difference. Plus my partner (Ryan) was awesome and made sure I was feeling okay during whole game. With the heat problem set aside, the game had the most perfect atmosphere. Setting a new Nippert Stadium attendance record at 36,007. I have cheered at many different stadiums small and large, and nothing compares to cheering at our home turf, located in the heart of our campus. Obama just named it the best "bang for your buck" university in the country. Standing on the wall of a completely sold out student section I know exactly what he is talking about. Our new head football coach, Tommy Tuberville lead us to a huge 42-7 victory vs. the Boiler Makers. With that said it's time to refocus, stay humble, and start preparing for Illinois this weekend!

Seriously. Our band is the stuff though.

Sold out stadium + a white out= magic

This is before the game with about 20 minutes left til kick off. Nippert has this magical way of completely filling up at the very last second before the boys run out.

An hour before every game we have a pep rally performance at Sheakley Lawn right outside the stadium. I am middle layering (AKA holding up) the top girl in the air!

This is one of my best friends Caitlin! She was the cute girl I was holding up in the pyramid in the picture above.

Okay. I am not sure if I can explain to you how legit this picture is. The man in the awesome white tux is the President of our university. He said if he got something like 500 retweets in under an hour that he would wear a white tux for the white out. Well he did that in about 35 minutes. I have never seen a President care about his student body so much. The guy next to him is the man who has won Cincinnati's heart, Tommy Tuberville.

This was taken by my grandma at the Cat Walk. Cat Walk is when the players get off the bus and walk to their locker rooms to get ready for the game. We tailgate before this & invite the fans to give the players a warm welcome to get them pumped for the game. One of the best parts of the whole day.

We had to be "game ready" by 8 a.m. That means hair, bow, lipstick, the whole package. This was taken at around 10:30 a.m. & let's just say that I did not look like this after the game haha. This is one of my good friends Leigh, who played lacrosse at UC. Such a sweet girl!

Tommy T came to visit the spirit squads at practice last week to tell us how much he appreciates everything we do. He bought the band 350 white t-shirts so they wouldn't have to wear their uniforms in the heat. What other football coach takes the time, energy & effort to do that?

We asked if we could put him in a stunt & told him Prez Ono let us do it & he responded with "Well if Ono did it, I have to do it!"

These were taken 4th quarter...so my hair had gone up in a pony tail & I sweated off half my make up. We don't get to where our parents sit until then, so sadly my grandma was only able to get one pic of me stunting!