Danielle shines during the first home pre-season game! |
Pre-season has finally arrived and we’ve completed three home games with two incredibly exciting wins! I danced at all of the games and I’m proud to say they ran very smoothly as we got all the rookies settled into ‘the routine.' I know that was a direct result of all the extra rehearsal time we’ve been putting in and the countless hours of workouts which is definitely paying off!
Our first home pre-season game was against Memphis…I was most excited because it was the first time we preformed as a team for the fans. We did two different style routines that night and they both went over incredibly well! But it was even more exciting to watch how the rookies responded to everything that happened throughout the night. The first half was relatively lackluster from a basketball perspective, but the rookies came in to the locker room to change at halftime all proclaiming ‘this is so much fun!’ It was at that moment that I remembered just how special it is to be a part of sports entertainment…after a 21-61 season, you can forget (even if just briefly) just how exciting it is to be part of such an incredible sport! I know we had a successful debut because at work the next day everyone was complimenting me on how together and energetic we looked. I also had a few people tell me that they couldn’t even tell we had 12 rookies this year. I felt very proud and happy to get such fantastic reviews!
Amanda & Megan show their ‘rookie excitement’ during the pre-season game on October 12! |
The second home pre-season game was against Dallas and I have to say that it was one of the more exciting games I’ve seen since last season! During this game the veterans joined right in with the rookie mantra of just ‘how much fun’ it is! We got to perform another one of our new routines which had a Latin flair in honor of Hispanic Heritage night. We also got to do many of our new sidelines since the game play was really hot! It was so exciting to have our first win at home. I know the Dancers, the fans, and the organization as a whole could feel the energy and excitement in the building that night!
That brings us to our third home pre-season game against the Houston Rockets…let me just say the energy inside the TD Waterhouse was unbelievable since it was the first time that the two teams had met since the T-Mac trade over the summer. It felt like we were in the playoffs! This was also the first game that our players seemed to be coming together as one and that was apparent in our huge 23-point win!
In addition to all of our regular rehearsals for the games, we are now getting all of our stuff together for our USO Tour. We will be visiting and entertaining the troops in Bosnia and Kosovo, as well spending a couple of days in Vienna. There is a TON of paperwork we have to do including getting new passports, renewing expired passports, and getting immunizations. I have to schedule my appointment to get the immunizations on a day that my mother can come with me because I’m such a big baby when it comes to needles! We also have to schedule extra rehearsals just for the USO tour because we have to put together an hour long variety show with our mascot, Stuff! Our show will incorporate many themes including the holidays, patriotism, and of course the Magic! As the time gets closer for us to leave we are realizing just how much work we have ahead of us to get ready and the reality that we are going…and let me say, we are getting VERY excited!
One last thing, I wanted to let you know that the ‘Making of the Magic Dancers’ TV show debuted on the Sunshine Network on October 22nd! If you haven’t seen it yet, you should definitely tune it…it will give you the inside scoop on our audition process, our trip to Las Vegas that Cherie told you about in her diary, and our annual photo shoot! The next episodes are being aired Wednesday, October 27 @ 3pm and Saturday, November 6 @ 5:30pm!
Hope to see you at a home game soon! Until next time…
