Bellisima08

You are probably right about that. And I'm sure that if Victoria hadn't taken this year off, she would have been one of the 2nd GL's (if not first).

If Victoria comes back, (while I'm sure Kelli will welcome her back into training camp with open arms) she should not be named as a group leader. If she should make the team again, she would be considered a rookie who has to prove herself (having stayed in shape & kept her technique as good as or better then when she was a vet). While Victoria would not be totally starting from scratch, it would not be right for her to be given a GL spot over vets who stayed on the team. It would look bad for Kelli as there would be no denying the stink of favoritism and it would probably tick off a lot of the vets because, while some of them may like Victoria, I doubt they would be thrilled for her to just be handed a GL position right out of the gate. Kelli wouldn't be doing Victoria any favors making her a GL her first season back as it would just draw negativity to her.

I think all of these are great picks (save for Rachel). I'm really happy for Caroline, Ashlee, Erin and Jalyn!

Preach! They and the show are supposed to be entertaining us and so far I think most of us are more annoyed then entertained! And seriously I don't want myself or anyone on this board to be used for their amusement. Actually if they are being entertained by us then we should get freaking paid!

If that happens I will stop watching for good! The idea that TPTB are playing "games" with fans for their own entertainment ticks me off! I've been a loyal watcher for years and all I ask in return is just some transparency in the forms of social media updates about the auditions, some solo clips & who the group leaders are just to whet my appetite before the show comes back. And if TPTB do indeed use their stirring up of us Primetimer fans as a segment, I will be pi**ed and will not appreciate it. As much as I like reading the posts & chatting with you all, I'm not here for their amusement as they dangle carrots at us to watch us jump.

Well saying that you are not doing that "creepy nonsense" anymore while you post a GIF about "winning" and saying "we" and "us" is rather creepy. Who exactly is winning here? It is the "we" you speak of people who (due to the wording of this post) seem to be working together to string fans along? Because right now from my perspective, there are two groups who lose out because of such games...the fans who just want some kind of info to show they are appreciated and the show itself because fans on the whole don't like to be jerked around (I know I don't) and could walk away from watching which will negatively impact viewership & ratings. That's the vibe I got from that post and it leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

Yeah, even if Gina is using photoshop to make herself trimmer, it's still concerning. Being able to count a person's ribs without the aid of an x-ray is not a good thing.

If this is all true then hooray for Jalyn!! Of course she should never have lost it to Victoria in the first place, but hey it's been corrected. I do hope Claire is not the vet who was cut from show group. Her dancing is so good.

I totally agree! If someone is legit struggling with something, that struggle shouldn't negate any role model status they have achieved, particularly if that struggle is the result of extenuating circumstances or being in a certain environment. I mean, we see it happen all the time in the entertainment industry where young women, who often look like they have it all together, later reveal that they were going through or are still struggling with something, but are pressured to keep smiling, performing and acting like everything is all good. A current example is that tennis player Naomi Osaka, who recently revealed that she gets very bad anxiety from having to do mass interviews and that impacts her ability to focus, but some competitions still make her do them & trot her out like a show pony to answer a barrage of questions (some of which are not even related to the game or are bungled by reporters that might not know a lot about the game). If Gina is in fact having unhealthy issues with her weight, that doesn't mean we should now question her status as a role model. Perhaps instead we should question what environment she's in or pressures she's being put under that helped those issues to fester.

You are making total sense! If you look at the seasons where the show was really taking off, TPTB were really making much more of an effort to establish a community & to court our interest. I mean that's why they were doing the fan favorite vote and showing the solos on the DCC social media platforms. They liked that we were invested, but once we all starting noticing things that were not consistent (both for the rules and for their standards) and started calling them out for it, all of a sudden the level of sharing from TPTB started to drop. And of course there's also the issue of how they build up and claim to want girls like Brennan, Lily, Jalyn who give their all & work hard only to tear them down or throw them away at a whim. Personally I think Kelli would rather we all just watch & keep quiet.

That doesn't sound naive to me at all. I for one enjoy hearing about what the cheerleaders are doing in regards to their activities (school, charities, ect), dance background and their backstories. I can appreciate their beauty and do think it's fun to watch their makeovers or see their calendar shoots, but I don't think their physical beauty should be the only things that are worthy of people's attention. Focusing the calendar on their dance skills or even their interests would certainly be a family friendly alternative & inspiring to young dancers to let them know that they have more value then just how they look.

Not just thinking, but also a willingness to be innovative & embrace change. As for Kelli, I think she has brains, but lacks the willingness to use them to explore new ways of doing things. This could be for a variety of reasons such as maybe thinking there's no point in even proposing new ideas for fear they won't be supported in the organization. Or maybe she's just become complacent & thinks the time isn't right for new ideas. Whatever her reasoning, I think it's working for her less and less.

Oh that would have been awesome for sure. Showcasing the dance skills of the girls would have been a fresh take versus the previous calendars that were more about showing their bodies.

Well then that becomes a question of if it will take the threat of Kelli having control wrestled from her for her to embrace change. Because there will probably come a time when her views might not align with the organization and if she's not willing to change things, then I doubt they would keep her. If she's smart, she would keep an eye on the winds of change & show a willingness to be flexible. In any big organization you work for, if the higher ups say that they are moving in a new direction, you don't want to be the holdout stamping your foot going "this is how we've always done it."

I actually wouldn't mind if they moved away from doing swimsuit calendars. What if they did photos of the girls at various locations around Texas? They wouldn't even have to be limited to being at just well-known places. Maybe doing something like horseback riding, checking out a museum, a wine tasting at a local vineyard or an elegant night out at a performing arts center. Being in a bathing suit on a beach isn't the only way to look sexy. I also think they need to bring in new photographers. It seems like they've used the same older guys for the last few years and it might be time to bring in someone with fresh eyes, a new perspective and more innovative ideas.

I agree that it's meh. I personally don't think their cameos are dynamic enough to rate being featured in a calendar (I mean there's no way you can make the old "arm over the head" pose any more compelling), but DCC wants to get fan money however they can. As for going on location, yeah they could have easily gone to some swanky hotel in Texas and rented out the pool area or sought out a marina or even gone to a beach on the coast at dawn or sunset to get those bikini shots.

Agreed! I have always disliked toothy smiles because they just look like the person is trying too hard. You see smiles like that in beauty pageants also. It always makes me think of that movie "Miss Congeniality" and a moment when Sandra Bullock's character steps offstage and says "excuse me, I have to go unscrew my smile." I've always preferred softer, more natural smiles to big grins.

Same here. And of course to us in the real world her figure is amazing, but DCC standards are something else entirely. As for her Hannah not being able to keep her backside in her shorts, I never noticed that, but given that their uniforms are custom made for them, then that might be a design flaw.

Sure but I didn't really think that was the real reason. Plenty of other people had pointed out Hannah's strength. I remember that there was some comment during one of the episodes that she looked soft and the expression on Hannah's face when Kelli got her on the Zoom call...I don't know. It just seemed like there was other stuff going on.

I know that they do cut weak vets and while I agreed with the decision to cut Lily (even though she was sweet, I was never wowed by her dancing), I didn't think of Brennan or Hannah as weak although Hannah's cut felt like it was due more to other factors (I seem to recall a voice over comment about her appearance or weight) then her dancing being weak. Of the three you mentioned, I think Brennan was least deserving of being cut and I don't just say that because I'm a fan of hers. I do agree that they should stop taking weaker rookies onto the team which I think they do in the hopes that they will become stronger. I can think of a few examples where they took weak rookies who despite being nice, should never have made the team and they only lasted a year (Morgan Whitney, Breelan Statham and Ashley P come to mind).

Charlotte's been fired twice?! Wow, I'd never heard that before. Makes me wonder if she knows where some bodies are buried or something in order for her to be brought back. But yeah I don't see her going anywhere until she's physically incapable of doing the job. Sadly I think you are right that Judy would retire before Kelli which is a bit sad as I actually respect Judy a bit more and it seems like she's more fair & more about the talent & dancing ability of the girls versus Kelli who seems to be more ruled by her whims & who she likes in the moment or who is on her good side. I do get the sense that Kelli will try to hold on to her position as long as she can, possibly to the point of overstaying her welcome. At some point, there will come a time when her way of doing things is seen (by the organization) as underwhelming and dated and when TPTB start wanting to shake things up and make changes to the audition or training camp process, I think they would easily show Kelli the door. The question is, will Kelli let it get to that point? If she's smart, she should know it's better to show yourself out on your own terms then to be given a box of your things & escorted to the door.

I would only be speculating about what "direction" Brennan was referring to, but based on what I observe, I think some likely things would be the enforcement of rules (meaning how some are held to them and others are allowed to skate on by) and how some loyal hard-working vets are cast aside in favor of shiny new rookies who, while being pretty & way outgoing, are blenders or subpar. And if I recall correctly (and my memory may not be accurate about this), she also had an issue with Covid regulations for TC (which would be understandable because she had Covid and was probably being hyper-aware of the steps they were taking).

Totally agree with this. When Brennan said during cut that she didn't agree with the direction the team was going, I was amazed at her having the courage to say it. And of course she's not wrong because we've seen how things have changed in the last few years. And really it will probably continue to be this way until Kelli & Judy retire and even then things may stay the same unless they get all new management from outside the organization.

Now that would have been interesting to see! From a public relations standpoint, it could have been good to see what America's Sweethearts were doing to help stop the spread of Covid and have the vets setting good examples. Looking back on it now, it seems like a missed opportunity. And yes it would have been nice to get to know the vets better. It's always bothered me that once a rookie becomes a vet, you don't always hear much about them unless they are named a group leader, are rooming with/mentoring a rookie or they are one of the popular vets. I mean I know the show is called "Making the Team", but the vets are part of the team and there are people who still want to see them & how they are doing.

I totally agree with you on both counts. Last year, between the masks and the fact that TC was so short, there was really very little chance to get to know the rookies so that made it hard to form attachments so I really didn't get invested in them. Alora Rose is pretty much the only one I can name from memory & recognize on sight (and for me, that's only due to the focus she was given, not because I became attached to her). As for this year, the lack of spoilers/info is not really encouraging my engagement. It's annoying that we didn't get many pics of auditions or solos like in years past. Those were my favorite things to see at the start. Really at this point, the only reason I have any interest in watching this season is so that I can chat about it with ya'll after the episodes air.