Now we travel West to meet the San Diego Charger Girls. I think as the series progressed and more money was thrown at the producers, the openings got increasingly fancier. For instance, the opening title sequence for the Charger Girls features lighting bolts which lends some sort of superhero, comic book tilt to the documentary. Whatever, it’s already ten times better than the Fantastic Four movies.
Auditions are held on the University of San Diego Campus at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. (I’m not even kidding! There actually is a Jenny Craig Pavilion.) This squad is somewhat of a departure from the other ones, because it’s managed by E2K Sports or something. It seems very corporate. Maria is the Entertainment Vice President and presides over the audition process with Lisa the Cheerleading Director. We learn that Lisa is a three time Charger Girl and was approached by E2K to head up the squad. This is her second year on the job and it’s an adjustment to go from co-cheerleader/friend to team director. I have to say that in all the shots we see of Lisa, she’s always very well put together and has immaculate eye makeup. I swear, it’s like Liz Taylor in Cleopatra.
At 9 am, the doors open and 351 women show up to audition. 351? Good night. Katie and Kim are best friends who are trying out together. Kamri is 19 years old and seems very sweet if very young. Many of the women have auditioned in previous years like the two Natalies (Natalie V and Natalie W) who are both brunettes and I totally thought was the same person for like ten minutes. Quick reference: Natalie V has shorter brown hair, is 29, and danced for the NFL in Europe and for the NBA. Natalie W has tried out for the Chargers three previous times, is a mortgage loan processor, and has longer brown hair.
The judges meet up beforehand and discuss the criteria to be used in the day’s selection process. Maria brings up the point that San Diego is close to Mexico and they should try to take some Hispanic women, or at least women who speak Spanish. As she talks, the camera focuses in on this one woman, who I presume to be Hispanic (but actually reminds me of Tila Tequila, which is how she will be referred to from this point on). This woman must be the go to candidate for Hispanic cheerleaders because we’ll see her again. (And again. And again. Just wait.)
I’m not sure if the team has a designated choreographer because the applicants are taught a routine by a “guest choreographer”. Later on in the series we’ll meet another “guest choreographer” so it must be their thing. The girls perform the designated routine in small groups and we are treated to a montage of the women making mistakes (Tila Tequila makes two appearances in this segment–the editors must love her). We see a lot of missed steps and a ton of “oh shit!” faces. Then we get the montage of the women who perform well and it’s not nearly as fun.
We meet Brieana who will be a standout in the audition process. For some reason, the producers have decided to go with some sort of extreme closeup in the interview segments and I don’t think it was the best idea. During auditions, Brieana wears a daring black two piece with gold sequin belt. It actually works and makes her stand out during the dance.
After watching all 351 go through, the judges retire to the deliberation chamber. Basically, the judges rate each girl as a 5 (yes), 3 (maybe) and 1 (no). Each girl’s score is totaled and then averaged. For the girls that fall on the bubble, the pictures come out and the judges hash it out. I would like to point out that there’s a group of three male judges that remind me of those guys you see, sitting on a couch outside their frat house rating all of the Freshmen girls as they go through sorority rush. We get our requisite weight discussion and then we see a montage of women that wouldn’t “fit in the uniform” to put it mildly. So this speaking Spanish thing is really important because they pull two girls (including Tila!) up to the second round in spite of a lackluster dance performance. Back in the Jenny Craig Pavilion, Lisa reads out the numbers of the girls advancing to the next round and we lose Katie of Katie and Kim.
In Round Two, the Veterans show up. Okay, so the Charger Girls totally remind me of a sorority, way more than any other team we’ve profiled so far. Lisa goes out to the lobby to great the Vets and then suddenly everyone’s in a circle holding hands, as Liz announces that she’s engaged. Everyone cheers. Apparently it’s a tradition that you have to hold off on any big announcements (buying a house, engagements, etc) until you can tell the whole team. We’re back in the Charger Girls circle and Lisa gives the girls a pep talk to inspire them to nail the auditions and prove to the judges that they should be asked back for another year.
Before the second round officially begins, the girls run through the routine again and the camera keeps focusing on Tila Tequila. Seriously, what’s the deal? Also, Engaged Vet Liz is wearing a pink polka dot bikini bottom that I own (I also own the matching top–in case you were wondering, Liz just wears a plain pink top). I don’t know why I notice these things, but I do. I think it’s kind of odd that girls audition in bikinis instead of dancewear. It’s very MTV’s The Grind goes Spring Break at Senor Frogs or something. By the way, while I typed that, the camera lingered on Tila Tequila–what’s the deal?
Our next “Meet the Cheerleader” is Shantel, a four year veteran. Back in the day, Shantel used to do some modeling but got out of it due to the ”cattiness”. I’m sorry, but I’m pretty sure the world of professional cheerleading and dancing is susceptible to cattiness as well. Lisa interviews that Shantel “touches your life” and is a tremendous dancer. She really is. Yeah, it’s pretty obvious that Shantel will be asked back.
On the opposite end of the spectrum we have Engaged Liz. They’re pretty much setting her up to fail because they talk about her nervousness about making the squad again. Lisa tells the camera that Liz auditioned previously before making the team last season. During her audition, Liz messes up on the steps. Uh oh. You know what that means: foreshadowing.
Our next veteran is Gail. For those of you that watch General Hospital, Gail reminds me of a prettier, less annoying Leyla. According to Lisa, she has Charger Girls auditions this week and then her MCAT the following week. Gail currently works at a spa (conveniently the official spa of the Chargers) doing clinical research but hopes to be a doctor. (Hmm, just like Leyla. Perhaps Leyla’s a Chargers Girl too. That explains why Patrick fancies her.)
More Tila Tequila! What’s the deal? We have another “poor performance” montage and Tila’s all over it. Why is she so special? The announcer drones on that all women who are cut are encouraged to try out next year which segues into Ashley’s segment. Ashley is a personal trainer by day and assists the other girls in their workouts. She first made the squad when she was 18, was cut the next two years and then made the squad again the previous year. I admire her determination to re-join the squad.
After endless dancing, the judges depart to deliberate. They have the task of trimming down the 148 girls into a more manageable number for the finals. In terms of score, 62 girls advance to the finals. The judges then have to go back and try to get their favorites into the final round. Lisa explains that since she is the director, she really has to fight for some girls since she knows which girls will work best on the field. After debating, six more girls make it to finals.
Lisa returns to the dance floor and announces the names. No surprise, the Veterans all advance (even Engaged Liz!). Tila Tequila sits quietly. We flash back to the judging room where the candidates debated her merits. We see a quick glimpse of her second round dance and then we are back to the present where Lisa skips over her number. Seriously, why did we spend so much time on someone that a) didn’t make it to finals and b) never gave an interview?
Next time: Interviews, more “Meet the Cheerleaders” and final auditions!
