Eastside Spirit
After taking a moment to ponder the question of what her favorite part is about being a Ben-Gal, Lauren B. is visably relieved when I tell her that she can get away with just narrowing it down to her top three. With a smile on her face, the Kenwood-area native who now calls Mt. Lookout home goes on to say that her favorite part is a toss up for her because she has so many.
“First off, I’ve met some of the best friends I’ve ever had. The ladies on the team are absolutely phenomenal. Second, it’s the best exercise I’ve ever had – and since it’s fun and I love it, it doesn’t feel like exercise. And the third thing is just being on that field every home game.”
Her friend, and fellow Ben-Gal, Erin M. of Oakley agrees. “My favorite thing is definitely game day. We practice all summer long for ten games, but those ten games (eight regular season and two preseason) make it worth it. And I really enjoy all the community events and charity that we do.”
The hard part was narrowing down their favorite things. It is much easier when it comes to naming the biggest drawback. Both quickly come up with the same answer – time. Being a Ben-Gal is very time consuming and takes a lot of prioritizing and good time management skills.
“It really is like having a second full-time job. Family and friends can suffer because so much of our time is devoted to this. There’s photo shoots for the calendar, charity events, practice, work outs, game days… it all ads up,” Lauren continues.
Don’t Quit Your Day Job. There is a common misconception that these women are professional cheerleaders and that this is how they make a living. Simply not true. In order to be on the team, you must be at least twenty-one years of age and either be employed full-time or be a full-time student. Lauren is an Internet sales consultant and Erin is a doctoral student in the Pharmacy program at UC, along with interning at the Jewish Hospital pharmacy and coaching a high school dance team.
It is also important to note that they aren’t doing this to meet players, either. Lauren quickly points out that it’s “strictly forbidden – there is no fraternizing with players.”
In truth, the cheerleaders and players don’t really practice at the same times or even at the same facilities. There may only be two or three community events that they are both at during the course of a season. And both are far too busy on game day to interact with each other. Though, in case you were wondering, Daphne, who is no longer on the squad, was the Ben-Gal to whom Chad Ochocinco (who you may remember as Chad Johnson at the time) proposed during his touchdown celebration a few seasons ago. So there are exceptions to the rule, even if only for theatrical reasons (and no, the proposal wasn’t real).
Making the Cut. To become one of the thirty members of the Ben-Gals each season, there is a three-tiered tryout system with a preliminary round, a semi-final, and a final in which participants are required to learn a dance routine. The would-be Ben-Gals are graded on things like fitness, dancing ability, and glamour.
Interestingly enough, Erin had never cheered before becoming a Ben-Gal. She comes from a formally trained dance background which started when she was four years old and included ballet, tap, jazz, and hip-hop. Then in college she danced on the Western Kentucky University dance team. Lauren was a gymnast for 12 years, and she also enjoyed a lot of formal dance training during that time, doing ballet for three years. She then got into cheerleading and dancing as another form of exercising and performing. She tried out for the Ben-Gals twice when she was in college, but didn’t make it those first two years. However, after a few years away she returned to tryouts and was a bit more familiar with the process and had gained an awareness of what it would take to make the squad. Lauren has now been with the team for two years, while Erin has three years under her belt. And both admit that many of the veterans may feel more stress than those trying out for the first time because of expectations and pride. There is always the possibility that a veteran won’t return.
“Typically, there is a three to five year span before someone moves on – either by choice or not,” Lauren explains. “But it really depends on the age. A lot of the girls that may start when they are younger or still in college may have more time to do it for four, five, six years or more. Some of us who are a bit older or join the team later in life may stay for a shorter amount of time. It really depends on where you are in your life and what your goals are.”
While the camaraderie is great and the friendships grow deep, there are rarely – if ever – friends or relatives that make the team together. In fact, friends and relatives are encouraged to drive separately since one may be asked to stay and continue trying out while the other gets cut. More often than not, individuals come in, make the team, then spend so much time with these other women of similar interests that they form friendships that last well beyond their time together on the sidelines.
Erin says, “You would be shocked how well we all actually get along. Especially since we are from such varied backgrounds, and there is a big age gap, as well. I think the range this year is from 21 to 40.” She goes on to say that they do spend most of their time together on the field, at practice, and during events and charity functions. But they also interact outside of those cheer-related events as much as possible despite having such full schedules.
Not Just on Sundays. A big part of the time commitment of being a Ben-Gal is tied to community and charity events. These ladies aren’t just dancing and cheering on Sundays. Every Ben-Gal is required to meet a certain amount of hours at sponsored events. And this seems to be something that both Erin and Lauren thoroughly enjoy. It’s not only a time for them to hang out with fans and their Ben-Gal friends away from Paul Brown Stadium, but they also get to give back to the community and experience another side of being part of the Bengals organization.
Carbon Pawprint. “We go through a lot of hairspray,” Erin confesses. Lauren chimes in to second that notion and joke about her own personal effect on rain forests and the ozone. Along with a particular pair of shoes and type of pantyhose, there are also specific guidelines for things like lipstick color – think of it as all being part of the uniform. And while something like your hair is up to your own discretion in terms of being short or long, it must suit you and maintain a certain level of “glamour.” So keeping a can of hairspray handy is something that has become a habit for these two. But there is a clinic each year to inform those that are interested in trying out about the beauty regimen of the squad.
Along with appearance, you have to be able to meet the physical demands of being a Ben-Gal. It takes a lot of strength and endurance to do what these ladies do. So they are in the gym every day to make sure they are in the best shape possible. But this is just their personal workout routine. In addition to that there may be anywhere from two to three hours of dancing during each practice session, along with another 30 or 45 minutes of conditioning. Not to mention the hours of performing during the game.
The off-season lasts from January to late April or early May when tryouts begin. Though these ladies don’t really take the full three or four months off because they have to stay in tip top shape for tryouts, the grueling summer practice schedule, and ultimately the season. They admit that its really only January when everyone seems to spend less time at the gym and more time in front of the television or at their favorit restaurant.
Why They Do What They Do. So why do they do it? They obviously enjoy it, but why do they continue with something that is so physically demanding and time consuming. Lauren says, “the biggest reason for me to continue doing this is because I have had performing in my blood since birth. I can remember putting on shows for my parents and grandparents when I was little. And once you love to perform and you develop that passion for it, you can’t just stop. You have to keep doing it. All the hard work, time, and effort proves the old saying about finding a job that you love so it won’t feel like work. Plus being on that field is amazing, and I’ve made it a goal of mine to be on that field and make it worth while for myself and the fans.”
Erin concurs. “My reasons are pretty similar to Lauren’s. I’ve been dancing since I was four years old and I just knew I wasn’t ready to stop performing. And once you step on that field and see the crowd, especially when the team wins, there is nothing like that feeling.”
