Leah of the Pack

Being part of the cheerleading team has a few perks and one big one is the opportunity to travel to the NCAA tournament to cheer on our team! This year, we went to College Park, Maryland to play Princeton in the first round. Although the outcome of the game was not in our favor it was a great experience and I'm so proud of our women's basketball team! Here's an overview of our trip as well as some snapshots!


Day One - Thursday: After the cheer team and pep band put our stuff on the bus to go to the airport, we headed over to the Kress Events Center for a send off pep rally for the team. Together with the pep band we created a tunnel for the team to walk through and played the fight song to get every's excitement rising and get their Green Bay Phoenix spirit up! Community members and students joined in the fun and some even brought signs. Once everyone was on the buses we had a police escort to the airport! From there it was wheels up as we flew into Washington D.C. After we had landed safely we had about an hour drive to our hotel in Maryland. Our team went out to dinner and once we returned to the hotel my friends and I had an amazing surprise waiting for us! Our friend Nellie used to work for the Women's basketball team but graduated last year and now attends UConn. She wasn't supposed to be able to make it to Maryland because she works for the UConn women's basketball team and they had a game the same day as ours. We made "Stick Nellie" so she could still come on our adventures with us. Somehow all the fates aligned and Nellie was able to make it to Maryland for the weekend and surprised us! It was the surprise of the century and I may have teared up a bit. Spending time with such a great friend was the perfect ending to the day!

It's one of the best times of the year: March Madness. I've filled out my bracket and although I am a die-hard Marquette fan, I've chosen Wisconsin to win it all. This year I get to take part in the action as our women's basketball team won our conference tournament and will be making their 15th NCAA appearance! I am really excited because the last time they made it to NCAA, our team got to travel to Louisiana, but I missed out on the fun as I was still recovering from knee surgery and was not cleared to cheer. This year I get to see what the hype is all about. Tomorrow afternoon we are headed to College Park, Maryland to take on the Tigers of Princeton on Saturday morning! Although Princeton (the 8 seed to our 9)  has had an undefeated season so far I think we can take them down! I'm super excited because on our off day we get to visit Washington D.C. and I have never been there before. Fingers crossed we can avoid rain. Can't wait for this great experience and to cheer on the Phoenix to victory!

Last night at cheer practice we had a mini photo shoot to take pictures for a skills video that we are putting together. There were some pretty cool shots so I thought I'd share my favorite.. and it seems like I have a lot of favorites. S/O to our fabulous photographer Terri, she's the best.

As a Packers fan, there is no greater game day than when the Packers play the Chicago Bears in Green Bay. And luckily for me, I get a front row seat to all of the action. Here are a few reasons why I considered last night's 55-14 victory over the Bears as my favorite game of the season so far. 

As you walk out of the tunnel, you are amazed at the immensity of the stadium. With the capacity to hold thousands, it finally hits you that you will be in front of a crowd larger than you ever imagined. You can feel the Greatness in the air. The familiar smell of brats and beer is wafting around from the tailgaters outside. The roar of the crowd is louder than anything you have ever heard. You can practically feel the energy pulsating from the arena. As you gaze around you see  a sea of green and gold. With every passing moment the crowd manages to grow louder. Your excitement is rising like a river after a monsoon, swelling at the banks and overflowing to create the biggest grin on your face. As you stretch, nervousness beings to take over, mixing with adrenaline to create the most potent combination. Falling into the familiar routine of warming up, you begin to relax. Lining up on the field gives you another chance to take it all in. This time every seat is filled, almost everyone is supporting the G-Force in some way. Suddenly the crowd explodes. The team runs of out the tunnel, shouting out words of encouragement to their teammates, pumping themselves up for a victory. The intensity of their energy is contagious. The crowd feeds on it, their spirit spilling over the walls of the arena. The national anthem begins and you can't help but to get goosebumps. The crowd is silent with the exception of those singing along respectfully. The fire works explode in rhythm with the lyrics, it's quite a sight. Standing in the heart of all the action, this experience is one of a lifetime.