ALICIA
Argos Cheerleader
This past weekend was a hectic blur of promos, pictures, planes, pom poms, double blue and an experience I’ll definitely never forget!
Half of the cheerleaders going to Moncton, New Brunswick, along with our coach Jorie arrived at Toronto’s airport Thursday morning to start our very eventful weekend as the home team “Moncton Argonauts” at Touchdown Atlantic. We were all curious and eager to see what these four days would have in store for us. Our flight was delayed but we definitely kept ourselves and our fellow passengers entertained as we walked around our gate, sold our cheerleader playing cards, mingled, and watched some members of the Edmonton Eskimos cheer team doing some pretty awesome stunts.
Anticipation made our short flight seem endless – I couldn’t wait to touch down so I could see what Moncton had to offer! Our eyes were darting around on our ride to the hotel trying to take everything in. There were many obvious differences between my hometown of Toronto and Moncton. There were trees, greenery and nature everywhere, no huge skyscrapers, and driving through town, the only word I could think of was “quaint”. The town was picturesque and beautiful, but what stood out the most to me was how friendly and hospitable the people were! I also didn’t realize how bilingual the area was so I was happy I remembered some of my high school French.
As soon as the cheerleaders arrived at the Delta Beausejour Hotel, the busiest four days of my life began. The other half of our cheerleaders attending Touchdown Atlantic along with our manager Paola flew in a couple hours earlier than us and were already dispersed throughout town meeting fans, attending events and promos and exploring. We all received our itineraries and room keys and were off. We were going from one promo to another; everyone on their own agenda. The next three days seemed to blur into one filled with promos, events, cheer clinics at high schools, a cheerleader team dinner, on field rehearsals, bonding with all the girls, cat naps and rain.
Our Argonauts flag waved high in front of Moncton’s City Hall, each receptionist at our hotel proudly wore an official Argonauts jersey, and The Old Triangle Pub (our official Moncton Argonauts Headquarters) was filled with Argos footballs, flags, banners, stickers, drink cozies, double blue face paint, jerseys and most importantly, fans! I can’t even begin to describe the feeling I got stepping into that pub – it was unreal. It was non-stop pictures, autographs, fans excited to see our brand new cheerleader playing cards, and people buzzing about the highly anticipated game! The people of Moncton were so excited for an official CFL game to take place right in their own town – it was a huge build up for Sunday’s game!
The high school cheer clinic was probably my most memorable and fun moment on this trip. It was awesome showing the high school girls how we cheer for our players in double blue on the sidelines of our home games as well as our player tunnel and on-field dances. We did the cheer clinic with the Edmonton Eskimos cheer team and it was really interesting watching the differences between the two teams’ ways of cheerleading. We each taught the high school girls our own way of cheerleading, as we are a dance-based cheer team and the Esks are more stunting and lifts. The energy these high school girls had along with their eagerness to learn was amazing. You could see how much they love cheerleading and were so excited to be learning so many different things from both cheer teams. It really put into perspective just how lucky and privileged each of us are to be on this cheerleading team. There was so much talent and potential in those clinics and I was so happy to be a part of it.
Finally, it was game day and we were all pumped! The weather cooperated with us and we finally got to experience a clear sky in Moncton. There wasn’t an empty seat in the stadium except for when the wave came around, and continued to come around about 5 times! We danced and cheered our hearts out for our team and for our fans. Both teams played an unbelievable game but unfortunately the Argos lost to the Eskimos.
I am so grateful that I was part of Touchdown Atlantic in Moncton. It was a busy couple of days, but an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything. I learned so many things about myself and the other girls on the team that I might never have gotten the chance to had I not been given this opportunity. There were so many fun and interesting promos and events that I was able to take part in, and many once in a lifetime experiences. I’d like to thank the people of Moncton for their warm reception, making us feel so welcome and showing their undying support!