kalibean

I know I fly pretty solo with my unpopular opinion about Tara, but I was surprised she made it. IMO she was one of the cheerleaders Kelly picks every year for storyline and then is gone year two. Kelli always hates when girls have short legs for their frame like Tara does, and Tara is on the sporty cute side of things when Kelli usually goes for the glamour girl. Tara also had a weaker calendar shoot. That said, Tara’s locker room love said so much about her character and friends on the squad, and it sucks she was booted. IIRC, she had some personal stuff going on and it was impacting her dance. Like what they said for Hannah, except Hannah was still awesome.

She wiped her Instagram of all of the Raiderette stuff she had on there, which surprised me. She seemed so proud of all she had accomplished there. She’s my saddest one and done I think. Gorgeous, mature and talented, big loss for the squad IMO.

Same girl same. And after watching the Britney Spears documentary...even sending your kiddo off with a well meaning adult doesn't mean they won't get taken advantage of! I don't even have kids but it would be so challenging to do something like this.

Same - she was like Erin for me. So pretty, extremely talented, not strong in the DCC style. Too fluid. When they refer to floppy bacon or noodley, I've watched this show so long that I know what exactly what they mean. Hoping she pulled an Erin and busted her tail doing hip hop and power pom and can make the team.

I’m glad she let us know she was mature, brave and not at all selfish in her decision to take a break. I think she probably doesn’t realize how awkwardly worded that is and doesn’t realize it sounds like she’s patting herself on the back for being such a big girl. At least I hope so! I think she’s a perfectly fine DCC in most respects but boy was that 😬😬😬😬😬 for me.

This right here. The Hunt family that owns the Chiefs is based out of Dallas. Their daughter is the new Miss Kansas, likely eligible because she’s attending KU (I think she still is, anyway.) I imagine VK follows both Tavia and Gracie Hunt. Sydney is very close to the Hunt family too. It’s a small, small world.

KDodd, you seem like a lovely human being, but God is real busy right now with a pandemic, plagues and fighting over the holy lands. Or possibly in the tub. Hard to say. Please stop vaguebooking via verses.

That hashtag is probably highly tracked/active by their target demographic, so just trying to get those marketing clicks would be my guess. Get that engagement score up!

This made me chuckle. Her figure looks amazing, but I don’t love this pic and I remember thinking that when the calendar pics first came out. She’s so, so pretty, but it’s like they caught her while she was changing her facial expression from sultry to a smirk and it’s just a sneer. Like maybe an awkward ocean stench wafted by. No way this was the best shot out of the zillion they took of her in this suit at that scenery. And I refuse to admit I might be wrong 😂😂😂

If I remember correctly from the chart @sleepyjean made, more than 1 in 4 cheerleaders are one and done. And I believe that includes cuts and voluntary departures. So I'm going to stop being surprised when the older rookies in particular decide that one year is plenty for them. The younger ones are more of a surprise to me since they're more likely to have the flexibility that being a DCC demands.

I keep seeing these TCU Showgirl cowboy boots thanks to all of the TCC y’all keep posting and I REALLY want a pair now. Even tho I graduated in 2003 and they’d get worn all of two times per year that I go to a TCU game 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

She’s sexy swimsuit calendar ready to boot! So many TCU and other college blondes today, and then BAM. Tyra comes in with the fire. (I know she did college cheer too, but she’s a wholly different style about her look that’s very needed on the squad I think.)

There’s a season where they’re laying out the team photo, and Judy marvels “we’re really light on blondes this year!” Not an problem this season 😂

I think at the end of the day, they're all human. Kelli isn't infallible by any stretch, and I do think it's a double edged sword. She knows what Victoria and Dayton are capable of, more than any other TCC, and they don't always live up to her standard. She gives extra grace because she knows they're capabilities, but it has to be ten times more exasperating when they fall short. (Dayton's terrible interview the first year, being late to makeovers when she was a TCC, VK's weight gain her first year, the lying, etc.) I hope it's just as simple as VK enjoying her life and not meeting the DCC standard, so taking some time away. Maybe she'll come back, maybe she won't. It could be something as simple like it was with Caila being out and about at the bars (underage, not sure how old VK is now) and not being uniform ready.

I know mileage varies here, but if I was on TCU Showgirls, I would want to spend my senior year there too. Last year and all those accolades. So maybe Caroline is planning to retire after this year, and they wanted one year to dance together?

Are they all blonde? 😂 All look pretty but can I get a brunette or a ginger in here?

There’s probably a big part of Kelly that feels let down and disappointed, too. If anyone knew the rules of the game coming in, it was VK. She pushed the boundaries her first year, which isn’t a big shock from a relatively sheltered/immature TCC. But Kelly has to also do her job, and the fibs and the weight gain were too much to push through. So K is relieved as can be for year two, because VK has matured a bit, looks fantastic, has put in the work. K over-corrected by putting VK on show group, sure, but questionable peeps make SG all the time (tho not usually as rookies.) But anyway, phew! Weight off her shoulders. Year two goes the same, way bigger issues to deal with considering Covid and quarantines, VK stays off the radar. Mean girl rumors, sure, and all cuts came from VK’s team, but that’s all speculation and not talked about on the show. Okay, now heading into year three! And record scratch. Weight warnings prob happened the second half of year two, maybe the leadership qualities desired aren’t coming through, who knows behind the scenes? It’s been quiet. But if it’s weight gain, back to the TCC year frustrations. Because VK KNOWS better. Her mom experienced it and was cut for it, plus VK went through the drama of training camp that first year, and still can’t figure it out. But hey, being 20 and 21 isn’t cut and dry, and most will make some dumb mistakes and rebound later. If indeed the weight is gained or yo-yo-ing and/or VK is partying or caught up with her BF or whatever it is (ie normal things for plenty of peeps her age,) it’s impacting her job. And once again K is stuck in a bad position. A celebrated retirement raises too many questions, so a quiet break behind the scenes was probably encouraged. VK is a popular cheerleader, so I don’t know if it’ll blow over like things with Mandy, for example, but they could.

Bummed for her that she didn’t get a “normal” vet year, but like I said in my post a little bit ago...nothing wrong with two and done and moving on to the next dream. Hope she’s content, healthy and happy in her next endeavors, no matter why she’s no longer a DCC. (Signed someone who has always been pretty VK neutral and thinks TK is kind of a hoot, if wicked over the top.)

I won’t be horribly surprised if/when VK retires earlier than the five year mark...I think we’ve all had something in our lives that we thought we wanted more than anything. And then we get it and it’s like, well shit. This is not all I wanted it to be. And that’s without a lifetime of expectations and pressure (and a reality show, woof.) She’s had a rookie year, a vet year, and not a darn thing wrong with checking that off the bucket list and moving on. I don’t think she will, at least not before a more normal veteran year, but two and out or three and out is still a good run.

Her short, blonde style was SO CUTE with the little waves when she made TC for the second time...and they managed to muck that up for cameos. Come ON makeover peeps!

Andddddd nothing with any kind of reputable source to back up said stories. Sheesh. She’s also involved in an oils MLM...the venn diagram of jesus, anti vacc, passing on fake news that can’t be fact checked and oil based cures is not surprising. But sad, because how some seemingly lovely and kind people can be swept into some of this nonsense is just depressing.

I know I’ve made this joke before, but seriously everyone was just terrible in that situation. Allie, Taylor, Cassie, Judy, etc. One of my favorite subreddits is r/aita- am I the asshole? The person describes their situation and people make a judgement. YTA - you’re the asshole (other peeps are not) or NAH - no assholes here, etc. One of those options is ESH - everyone sucks here. Any one of them could have shared their side of the story, and I would have been yup, you’re all assholes. ESH.

Awww, good for them! Love the pic, they look super happy.

I have a friend that danced on a lower tier team just for the fitness aspect - said it kept her motivated at the gym. Being an all star would probably help that too! Still have to be uniform ready, but lots easier on the joints. Brianna probably wouldn’t volunteer to sub in for Thunder, for example, but happy to do appearances. I was thinking more about how other cheer teams have several costumes for their female cheerleaders, so it’s not a jarring change to add in track suits and more masculine dance wear. Imagine a man’s shirt in that blue polyester and slacks in the white polyester from the shorts...a total 70’s nightmare. I mean, amazing in an awful way but I can’t get this image out of my head.

I’m trying to picture how men could fit into Thunder seamlessly - back corners if there were two? That could look nice. I think on the outer edges, as balanced as possible. Five could work too, do the corners and the venter outer edges on the three sides of the larger triangle. I think men work on other teams because they tend to have variable costumes. The DCC have done their same costume forever, and any of the things I picture to butch it up look off to me. And I don’t think Jerryworld is ready for the fabulousness of a man in the current DCC costume. That would be Drag Race levels of awesome tho! That said...when they’ve had men in halftime shows, or work with Rhythm and Blues, it does look great. Maybe there’s a way to have the squads interact more, maximize the potential and get R&B more press. Would love to see some interaction on Making the Team.