The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Kicking high for home team

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Sunday, Apr 27, 2008
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Kicking high for home team

Kalyan Ashok

They are making more news than the cricketers this season

— Photo. V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Spreading cheer: Cheerleaders at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Banglore on Saturday.

BANGALORE: The loud chorus of the moral police brigade, which includes Bharatiya Janata Party MP Shatrugan Sinha, Maharashtra Legislative Council Deputy Speaker Vasanth Davkhare and West Bengal Sports Minister Ashok Chakrabarthy, who are up in arms against cheerleaders, had no impact on Bangalore. There was no stopping the cheerleaders’ team, the Washington Redskins, from going about their routine at the IPL clash between the Bangalore Royal Challengers and Rajasthan Royals at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.

The Washington Redskins, who are here as the official cheerleading team for the home squad, Bangalore Royal Challengers, held nothing back as they danced and cheered every big hit from the Challengers’ blades and had a rocking time while the crowd lapped up the act.

Prior to their act, the cheerleaders spoke to The Hindu about their role. “We are here primarily to entertain and we have been going about our job professionally and we know this whole concept is new to India and there is bound to be some negatives, but there are whole set of positives which outweigh them and we have been embraced by the people, fans, and that matters most,” said Klovher Tynes, who incidentally is an attorney.

“We are a diverse group, everyone of us have a story of our own, and we are all bound by our love for dancing, entertaining and sports,” said Michelle Brandon, another lissom lass.

The Washington Redskins was named the Cheerleading Team of the American NFL league 2007 for its intrinsic values. “I think we have been labelled as the best because of our performance, coupled with our looks and intelligence,” said Ms. Klovher.

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