EricaShadows

She announced it on social media (sorry, can't remember which one). This is only speculation, but Kelli doesn't want any competition for Victoria. It was rumored that, after Cassie Trammell and Meredith Oden were on the team together, Kelli decided only one legacy on the team at a time. It was never explicitly stated that this was the case, but, after seeing the past few years (seasons 13, 14 and 15), it's likely the case. If I remember correctly, the legacy that tried out between Cassie/Meredith and Victoria/Dayton/Madeline not only had technique/dance issues, but she had a "reputation" (I seem to remember hearing that she was in some sort of sex-related industry, maybe stripping or something more licentious like soft-core movies; can't remember what, but it would have been seriously damaging to the DCC image if she made the squad and her past came out OR she kept doing it while a DCC). Anywho, the whole rumor of "one legacy at a time" gained more traction when Kelli heavily favored Victoria over Dayton. Kelli seemed to be all over Dayton for technique, not enough power, etc., and even went as far as to say something along the lines of "you won't make the squad because of who you know/are related to", but heavily praised Victoria despite dance technique issues, weight issues, lying to Jinelle (and even to Kelli's face), etc. No wonder Dayton was having issues when she was being criticized all the time. It was speculated that Dayton was better overall then Victoria and Kelli was looking for reasons to cut her so was more harsh then necessary to make it happen (and to have one less person standing between Victoria and a spot on the squad). While Madeline wasn't given the same treatment, she was, in a way, more direct competition for Victoria then Dayton. Both Madeline and Victoria are similar in appearance (tall, leggy blondes), have similar technique and abilities, etc. There was speculation Kelli was looking for reasons to either keep Madeline out of Training Camp altogether or cut her as soon as possible that year because of her resemblance to Victoria Then Madeline didn't even make Training Camp the next year, allegedly for the same reasons. Then, all of a sudden, she not only makes it to Training Camp, but the squad the ONE year Victoria isn't on the squad? This, and many other reasons, are why people think that Madeline will be cut if Victoria tries out again (especially if Kelli is still determined to put her back on the squad) plus the whole "two legacies are not allowed to be on the squad at once" rumor.

Like the girls in the first slide. They are performing very well but could use another year or so to REALLY dial it up and look amazing. Not sure who the redhead is in the second slide but she's just okay. She seems to be just going through the motions and not really selling us the dance. Plus she's not smiling or looking like she's having fun. Jenn is outperforming Victoria by a LOT in the third slide. I'm watching HER instead of Victoria. Jen is still clean, sharp and precise while Victoria is still lacking that same precision, like she isn't QUITE finishing her moves. Maybe it's because she's behind just enough that it shows. Made me think she knows the dance but isn't quite sure and is watching Jenn in the mirror to get it right.

I can see that, and most people understand that as well. While they wouldn't necessarily know of the issues Lily had with the DCC, how she was treated, or how she was portrayed on the show, it could be seen as an FU to Kelli and Judy, something along the lines of "We love and respect her enough to treat her right." However, I can also see how getting Pro Bowl like that would be a bit tainted. If she thought she only got it because people felt sorry for her, it would feel like she didn't earn it on her own merits. I do agree that most of the Pro Bowl reps are the more senior performers on the teams who have proven themselves as both performers and leaders. The only one I can remember getting it was Patriot's Alexandria's little sister who, IIRC, got it when she was either a rookie or 2nd year performer. I could be wrong though or there could be others.

I'm wondering if the Broncos have chosen their Pro Bowl cheerleader. The Dolphins chose Shayla, their Captain, to go. There's a post on Instagram, but I'm having technical difficulties getting it linked here. Update: The Broncos DID choose their Pro Bowl rep and it isn't Lily as many of us had hoped. It was someone names Katherine. The Seahawks also chose Kiana, a 6th year and squad leader, as their Pro Bowl Rep.

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of girls come in thinking they're all that and a bag of chips only to find out that they have to start at the bottom and work their way up. Very few girls are so exceptional that they get special treatment and that STILL goes to some of their heads. I wouldn't be surprised if that's part of the reason Holly P had such issues her last year as she was at least partially treated as the STAR and the rest of the DCC were her backup dancers (or at least acted like it at times). There are probably other girls like that and many of THOSE probably made up some of the girls who are one-and-done. Either they can't adjust to being low person on the totem pole or they're not getting the treatment they think they deserve or they just can't live up to the rest of the team (ie. Kelli's favorites like Breelen, Morgan and Meredith).

It wasn't a concept that was just created here, I seem to remember someone (maybe Kim Oden) saying it and there's been a few others that have hinted at the fact that there haven't been two legacies on the squad since Meredith and Cassie. Then there's the fact that, despite having several legacies make Training Camp (Victoria, Dayton and Madeline S to name a recent few), only Victoria has made the squad and that Kelli has favored her over the other two (and being harsher on Dayton then on Victoria) where a more impartial judge might have led to different results.

Yep. If Kelli wants Victoria back on the squad (and not have two legacies on the squad), then she'll gladly sacrifice Madeline S to make it happen.

Dynamics will certainly shift if she makes it back. If the rumors are true, she was very toxic in the locker room, isn't the best ambassador (more likely to speak "train-of-thought" instead of measured and considered; see Kashara's comment "Did you THINK before you said that/spoke?" and certainly wasn't the best dancer but was favored by Kelli which allowed her more leeway/latitude then most other girls. However, if other rumors are ALSO true, Victoria was falling out of favor with Kelli towards the end of her second year and was supposedly encouraged to leave her second year. Her own words about "retiring" were rather studied and not the most humble or polished (which is, to some, to be expected of her). I doubt it. Supposedly, Kelli doesn't want two legacies on the squad after Meredith/Cassie. However, for this upcoming year, it all depends if Victoria has "regained" Kelli's favor. If the rumors are true and she fell out of favor (and hasn't regained it), I doubt Victoria will be allowed back to Training Camp and on the squad. If she has regained Kelli's favor, then Victoria will coast back to a spot on the squad and Madeline S will be sacrificed to allow her to come back.

I felt the same way when Kyndall, Taryn, and several other girls were cut the last night of their respective Training Camps when the cuts ranged from mere minutes to hours before the team was announced depending on how long the practice ran that night. I remember one girl who came back after being cut the last night saying she was mere hours from making the team before she was cut (I think it was Kaimie) but didn't even make Training Camp the next year. I can see why girls who make it that far say, "You know what? I don't want to put myself through that again. It's too hard on me physically and emotionally." Some girls get told exactly why they didn't make the squad, but, for others, there was pretty much no GOOD reason why they didn't make the squad, just that Kelli had to find a reason to cut to 36. Despite what Kelli says about 36 being a hard and fast rule, we know they've taken more girls and they've taken fewer girls so it's only a hard and fast rule when Kelli or Charlotte says it is.

If Victoria were still around and going for her third year, I think Madeline wouldn't have stood a chance in Auditions, much less made it to Training Camp, but that all depends on how Kelli felt about Victoria. At the time Victoria was in Training Camp and angling for her Rookie year, Kelli was making sure that no other legacy would stand a chance. Dayton was out of luck because Kelli was SO much harder on her then anyone else. Training Camp is already stressful so to have someone deliberately make it even more so is going to make a person crack. The next year, Madeline comes along and is even MORE of a direct threat to Victoria in that they're both tall, leggy blondes with similar dance abilities and thus she was booted as soon as they could find (or manufacture) a good enough reason to do so. Victoria still being on the squad the next year was enough to keep her out of Training Camp altogether so they didn't even need a good reason to make her go all the way through Auditions. Only when Victoria left did Madeline ever stand a chance. If she gets stronger through this year and gains in both power pom and confidence, I wonder what Kelli will do when, or if, Victoria decides to come back. I don't know if Kelli's support for Victoria has waned or if it's still at the same level it was even at the beginning of her 2nd year. We'll have to see.

Madeline S looks absolutely STUNNING in this. Many of the other girls looked better here as well. Why couldn't the squad photo look as good as this video did?

I don't think any other DCC had a "televised" proposal, but I think Cassie was the only other girl who got proposed to on the field. I seem to remember Kelli (or someone "official" with either the DCC or the Cowboys in general) saying they don't let anyone do that (probably because people would want to propose on the field during the game which would cause issues with the game itself among other things) as well as the legalities and other issues if the proposal didn't go as planned or someone was turned down.

I remember her as well as the original video. Wasn't she and Tawny Kitaen (from many a Whitesnake video) the go-to girls for video vixens in the late 80's and early 90's or am I mis-remembering things?

I think both Brennan and Hannah were in a "Danged if you do and danged if you don't" with that whole "year off" Kelli and Judy were offering. If they didn't take the year off, they risked getting cut. If they DID take the year off, it was more than likely Kelli and Judy would take it as they weren't committed enough to the team (or whatever BS reason they came up with) to cut the girls either in Training Camp or Finals depending on how things went this year. Brennan and Hannah were likely going to get cut one way or the other. At least, this way, they can look back and, whether or not they regret it depends on what was REALLY said during the exit interviews instead of what was shown.

You aren't the only one who has that little devil in their head regarding Madeline S and Victoria. While I DO think Madeline earned her spot on the squad, I keep thinking that Kelli only chose her because she looks so similar to Victoria, has the same legacy status and will both grow and learn by being on the squad, I sometimes wonder if she'll be sacrificed to make room for Victoria. I wouldn't be surprised if she's had some of those same thoughts and that she's wondering if Kelli is just using her as a placeholder until Victoria decides whether or not she's coming back. That would be enough to make her not perform as strongly as she could. After all, Dayton faced something similar when she was in Training Camp with Victoria. Kelli could be harder on her in order to find a reason to cut her if Victoria comes back. Just my thoughts on the situation and could be nothing more then fever dreams and founded on nothing more then rumors, past evidence of favoritism and nepotism, and the past behavior of both Kelli and Victoria then putting my own spin on things.

I remember her, just not her name. One thing consistent about Kelli is her inconsistency. The best example (besides her nepotism/favoritism) is talking about weight. She often talks about how the uniform is custom fit for each girl, each body as there is so much diversity but then does a complete 180 and talks about how girls of the same height MUST be the same weight despite them probably being completely different in terms of how their builds and everything else.

This should link to the appropriate post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWBRhoJLjR7/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I don't think it's so much about the weight but the fact that the girls who are "heavier" still look lean, healthy and toned (well, for the most part they do). There have been girls who have gained weight and it is visible. Breelan, Victoria and a few others are notable because of it. There has also been a trend over the course of the show where the girls started out in the 2-hour specials, then the 1st and 2nd seasons as sporty, healthy and lean while still having curves and a "womanly" shape. Starting in Season 3 and moving through recent seasons, we've seen the trend go towards VERY lean with little to no hips and breasts, a more boyish figure. Now, we're starting to see a more womanly shape with hips and breasts start to come back. In most cases of weight gain, it is in usually found most often in the midsection, hips and thighs. However, Kelli has been known to be excessively picky about things that are usually hidden by the uniform (arms and calves) and has been ridiculously strict to the point of girls developing unhealthy behaviors and patterns. All because of her lack of knowledge and inability to ask questions of the experts or have one on staff to help the girls.

I love the fact that we are FINALLY seeing a darker-skinned girl audition and get some love. Not to knock the BIPOC people who have either auditioned, gone through Training Camp or made the squad before, but I think Kellee probably has the darkest skin we've seen in a long time and she is not only GORGEOUS but talented. I would also love to get girls with even darker skin on the squad. After all, Khoudia Diop, Alek Wek and Oluchi are all dark-skinned, gorgeous women (albeit in a different field of work). There's also all the women who model for Isaac West.

I think Heather O. had some "naughty" pictures on her phone (which they were told NOT to do because of what happened to other cheerleaders in the past) and it got hacked. She went to Kelli in the mistaken hopes that, if she could get out in front of it, then the repercussions if the pics got leaked wouldn't be so bad. She got dropped as a 2nd Group Leader the next year (there was speculation it was BECAUSE she "told" on herself) then was reinstated as either a 2nd Group Leader or Group Leader her last year on the squad. I think that she was saying the girls that got hacked were likely denied some things like All-Stars, Group Leadership and probably Point because of their computers/phones getting hacked and the threat of things getting out that shouldn't be seen by anyone by the person involved. Kelli was more concerned about the reputation of the squad then the girls themselves. I get it to a degree because things like that could do some damage to the reputation of both the girl(s) and the team due to the "wholesomeness" and "girl-next-door" nature that they're trying to project. After all, we can look back at the one girl who made it to Night 2 of Training Camp before getting shown the door because her ex-boyfriend sent naughty pictures to Kelli. Revenge is but one reason girls should be VERY careful about those kinds of pictures.

I would liked to have seen more of Madeline S. myself to get a sense of her journey through this Training Camp and how she's handling it compared to the last time she was in Training Camp. I really like her. I like her dancing, I like what personality I've seen, and I like her overall look. She hasn't done anything badly enough to be cut and done more then enough right to stay. Too bad she doesn't get any screen time. I also agree that Kelli didn't like her the first time around, but felt that it was more because Kelli thought she was too much of a direct threat to Victoria in terms of looks and dancing. They were too similar in terms of their dancing and their looks and the fact that both were legacies . . . well, we saw what happened then and I doubt Madeline would have even made Training Camp if Victoria had returned this season. I have other ideas, but won't talk about them here so as not to derail the topic TOO much.

Do you mean Breelan? Brennan was a few years/seasons after Morgan, Breelan, Kat, Caila and a few others.

The only other Japanese woman (as in truly from Japan and not Asian-American) that I know of who was on the team was Yoshiko Danjo who made the squad in season 2. Not sure if it's the same person as who you're talking about, but that's who sprung to mind for me.

Jalynn TOTALLY deserved to be on Show Group her 2nd and 3rd year as she's consistently been one of their top performers and dancers the entire time. However, Kelli didn't want her on Show Group those years for whatever reason and, if a girl is on her Sh*t List, the girl will have to work her butt off (or leave the team) to get back in Kelli's good graces. I wonder how Jalynn dealt with Kelli's bad attitude and dislike towards her the past 2 years. She definitely showed grace, poise and maturity the entire time.

When she first introduced herself in Season 3, I remember thinking "The only reason Cassie is going to make the squad is because of who she knows/is related to." That held true the entire time she was on the squad: no one was going to give her a "no" because that would get them on K&J's sh*t-list. I remember thinking the same thing about Victoria. She was going to make the squad because no one besides Kelli (and maybe Charlotte) were going to tell her "no". Jay Johnson spoke up about Cassie in Season 7 and we didn't see him save as background (and we certainly didn't hear from him) for several seasons.