Redskin Ladies Grab A Local Addition
Looking across the floor of the Princess Anne High gym a few years ago, the school cheerleading squad saw someone special.
The young woman wasn't a new face in town; she'd already helped the Lady Cavalier gymnastics squad to two state titles, and would bring in another before graduation. She, like many of them, danced outside of school, so they'd seen her acrobatic motions at hard work.
Still, with only one year to go in her high school career, the cheerers wanted an extra boost to their team. So, some of them decided to ask Christi Weems to stand (and jump, flip, and fly) with them at Cavalier football and basketball games.
"I had competed against her dancing," recalled Lorlie Reiser, a fellow cheerer of the time, "and if you do one of those sports, it's pretty sure you're going to be good at the other, so some of use decided to talk her into it."
Though she'd been waltzing about since her kindergarten years, cheerleading offered Weems something new; as one of the smaller competitors, she'd become a flier - those that get tossed high into the air during exhibitions.
"She was a little nervous to fly," said then-coach Angela German, "but she took to it right away. She was such a quick learner, and she took risks. She picked up the cheers, the dance, the stunts; she just picked everything up, and worked so hard and was such a perfectionist."
It rubbed off on the rest of the squad; the Lady Cavaliers raced to second in Beach District competition, according to German, the highest they've been ranked before or since.
After finishing up as a Lady Cavalier, Weems headed to Virginia Tech to become a Lady Hokie - and took her dance skills with her, joining the HighTechs dance squad, which entertains the crowd during Hokie sporting contests.
Weems didn't have to wait long to show the Hokie spirit, legendary across college sports nationwide; her school's gridiron defeat of Miami in her freshman year had Tech-sters mobbing the field, the players, and the dancers.
"It's so exciting to see how energetic and crazy the fans get," she said. "It's kind of overwhelming, but it's so fun to know that you can help get everyone excited about their school and sports."
She and the rest of the team provided the same help for the next four years - and her career ended much the way it had begin, as Weems considers another bleacher-emptying defeat of Clemson in her senior year to be one of her most memorable moments.
"It was amazing," she said. "I think the fans are the most supportive of any fans in the country. They're great, and it was amazing cheering in front of such an excited crowd."
Squad coach Rickey Hill could tell.
"She never got in trouble," Hill said. "She had a great attitude. She was easy to work with - really, really talented."
Weems' Hokie career ended in May 2007 with a degree in fashion merchandising (she'd like to own her own boutique someday). Back in Virginia Beach, working for her father's ad specialty company, she didn't want her dancing days to be over.
"I really missed dancing," she said. "I missed being with a group of close girlfriends, and performing in front of groups of people. After I graduated, I knew that I wasn't done dancing, and I wanted to take it to the next level."
Perusing the Internet one day last fall, she read that the Washington Redskins would be holding cheerleading tryouts in March. A longtime fan, she roared to action, back to the gym and the dance floor, preparing for the chance to show her skills to millions.
In March, she headed to the 'Skins home of Fed-Ex Field for the tryouts - and so did about 400 other girls.
On the first day, participants did a pair of short routines, and the first round of cuts were made. They did more routines, this time in front of 100 judges ("Very scary!" Weems said of the opening day), and another round was sent home.
Still in the running (and the dancing), Weems and the rest did a swimsuit photo shoot the next day, and spent that day and the next working on their performances.
On the fourth day, the remaining group went to a downtown theater, and took part in a pageant-esque show of swimsuit and cocktail dress modeling.
"It was very intimidating," she said. "The veterans were so good. They gave me a lot to look up to. It was overwhelming, having 100 beautiful, talented women try out."
As the night drew to a close, the hopefuls gathered to hear the 40 names on the Redskins cheering roster for the 2008-9 season.
Weems didn't have to wait long - her name was one of the first called.
"I don't even know (how I felt)," she said. "I was so excited."
She's been showing that to the rest of the globe; shortly after selection, several members of the team headed to India to perform. In mid-May, Weems came home to take part in the team's Beach Blitz event at the Virginia Beach Convention Center; soon after, she was meeting fans in New York.
When people asked for her autograph, she said, "it was so weird. I was like, 'Why do they want it?' It hasn't really sunk in yet. But it's all really exciting."
She'll get her first chance to entertain the 'Skins fans (also legendary in sports) on Aug. 9, when the team hosts Buffalo in a preseason game. Their regular-season home opener is Sept. 14, when the Redskins host New Orleans.
"I can't even imagine (what it will be like)," she said. "The only thing I can think is 'Virginia Tech times 100!'"
For those who'd like to make it to her level someday, Weems has some quick advice.
"Just keep doing it," she said. "You don't go straight from dancing when you're 10 to the NFL. I did it in middle school, high school, college, and now. You have to be patient and wait, and learn at each level. Each level is so different, and you learn so many different things."
Back at Virginia Beach, Weems' fellow cheering alumni are helping to spread those words.
"I've been telling everybody how proud I am of her," German said. "Attitude is everything; with cheerleading, you're a member of a team, and she was definitely an asset. I'll always remember her bright smile and positive attitude."
