by Orlan H. Ree, Jr.

oree@cheertimes.com

This weekend was not going to be a typical smash and grab type of adventure. It offered a mix of familiar stomping grounds and more traversing to unchartered grounds.

I like Memphis for many reasons. Great downtown night life, Graceland, easy-to-navigate interstates and bypasses, typical road construction, and it is home to one of the best dance teams in the country--the U of Memphis Poms.

But this trip also included another SEC school--Mississippi State University--and with it, another trip into the deep south, only this time no mountains. I still contend Mississippi has some of the best interstate rest areas in the country.

Before leaving home on Friday, I had a small car problem that set me back four hours. I didn't leave Wisconsin until just after noon, meaning I wouldn't get to Memphis until midnight if I didn't hit rain on the way. I lucked out. No rain. Memphis was my targeted overnight city for two nights.

While traveling south, I knew I would pass by Champaign-Urbana and that gave me the perfect opportunity to turn in my photo vest I inadvertently took home with me from the Illinois-Illinois State game four weeks ago. I called Cassie in the Illinois Sports Info office and told her I would drop by. Those Illini SIDs are all great people. They have always been good to me for volleyball, football, and the cheerleaders.

There was no need to rush this day to get to Memphis. The stop at Illini country, followed by dinner at Applebee's in Mt. Vernon, was evidence that I was interested only in a safe journey. I hit Memphis about 12:30am, got checked in, and quickly went to bed. Tomorrow was gonna be a typical Road Warrior experience.

Mississippi State Bulldogs

I kept an open mind about driving from Memphis three hours south to Starkville, MS. I had no idea what to expect. It turned out that the drive was easy and quite unexciting. I imagined Starkville to be a typical college town and I was right.

However, I was extremely impressed with the Mississippi State campus. It had charm, tons of beauty, and sprawled nicely. I didn't have to ask for directions to the stadium after I parked. Just follow the crowd.

MSU had an 11:30am kickoff against a rock solid Houston Cougars team from Conference USA. Houston hit the AP Top 25 a week earlier.

What I remember most about MSU is their fans with the clanking bells. I know there is a story to the bells and why it has become a tradition, but I haven't uncovered it yet. All I know is how loud they can be when the whole stadium clanks in unison, as I had witnessed from the Liberty Bowl two years ago when MSU played Central Florida.

One of the first things I noticed was the moist terrain everywhere I walked. It didn't register with me that the south got drenched for three or four straight days with rain prior to gameday. I soon discovered same after talking to a fellow photographer once I hit the sidelines. I told myself 'you lucked out again' as I managed to miss the rain for a third straight weekend.

Since I got into the stadium with only 20 minutes before kickoff, I started shooting the marching band dance line and majorettes right away. I never made it to the press box or check-in desk where I was supposed to pick up a photo armband. Another photographer told me "just look like you know what you're doing, no one will bother you." I nodded like Harold Ramis did in "Stripes".

I also noticed that as the MSU cheerleaders and dancers lined up in two rows on the north end of the field for the player intros, no photographers (video or still) were on the field. I made it look like I knew "what I was doing" as I walked onto the field at about the 35-40 yard line and shot to the north end zone. I got the typical male-cheerleaders-with-school-color-flags dash followed by the football team photos, then casually walked back to the sidelines. Mission acccomplished.

My targeted departure time was 2:00pm so I could give myself plenty of time to return to Memphis for the Tigers' 7:00pm kick-off.

Houston brought zero cheerleaders or dancers so that was disappointing because it was going to be an easy client editorial photo sale. Oh well.

I started shooting the MSU dance team and the first thing I noticed was they had nice warm-ups. Uggh. It was probably too cold for them to perform in their dance outfits. I learned right away that since the ground was soaked, almost muddy, their dance pants and half crop halter tops would get dirty too easily. I cringed when the assistant dance coach explained those very words to me. No, I wasn't cringing because of the the wet ground and mud...cough, cough.

I also quickly experienced what I had suspected about the MSU dance team--they are good. They are a UDA competitor and they clearly have nice skills and stage presence. Frankly, I was amazed their sneakers kept decent footing in the near-mud conditions as they performed quick eight-count routines during touchdowns, field goals, or whatever the marching band struck up.

MSU also placed a 27-member all-girls squad and a coed squad on the field. I have to admit I was impressed overall with the female stage presence. Unfortunately, you will never see cheerleaders stunt or do basket tosses on soggy turf. That's okay because I know MSU has a talented coed competition squad.

I spoke briefly with Haley, a junior on the coed squad, about the Liberty Bowl from two years ago. I mentioned how a few of her photos made it to print.

What I noticed right away about the MSU coed girls was none of them were 5-foot or under. They were more in the 5-foot-2 to 5-foot-6 range, meaning they were not the classic competition mold you'll find at Kentucky, UCF, LSU, or Alabama. It's too bad, however, that I didn't get a chance to see them stunt. Another...oh well.

Overall, I had fun with all three groups. I spoke to several cheerleaders and dancers, the coaches were great. Despite inclement conditions, but no rain during the game, MSU gets a major A+ for their spirit program (combo of cheerleaders and dance squad), plus the marching band Bully's Belles dance line and majorettes.

Once again, the SEC is not just a powerhouse football conference. Equal to the task is what these SEC schools put on the field to accompany the football programs, and that is their elite spirit programs and marching band auxiliaries.

As much as I was impressed with Auburn a week ago, Mississippi State is just as impressive. Go ahead, clank those annoying bells.

Memphis Tigers

The drive back north to Memphis was easy and the route even more simpler to get to Liberty Bowl Stadium. I made it into the stadium with just over an hour to go before kickoff. I took a boatload of gear up to the press box as there is no field level photo room. I ate a hearty meal in anticipation of the cold weather as the sun disappeared.

Amazingly, this was my first Memphis Tigers home football game. The first two times here were for the past two Liberty Bowl games (2007, UCF vs Mississippi State and 2008, Kentucky vs East Carolina). In the past two years, I've always attended Memphis home men's basketball games or Memphis Grizzlies games.

A year ago, I kicked myself because I never made it to a Memphis football game. I owed it to the pom squad, who I discovered at the Pro Dance camp two summers ago. Mollie Darnaby and Courtnee McKim became two of my favorites, but the whole group was great.

Tonight, they were still great. Mollie graduated last year, Courtnee decided not to return for her senior year, but capable, 5th-year senior Raafi Marshi leads this year's squad. Tonight, they were brave, too.

With temps in the low 50s and later upper 40s, the pom girls

performed the whole evening IN their dance outfits, sans warmups. For authentication purposes, as I spoke to each shivering dancer, I would touch their arm or shoulder. Scientific explanation aside, they were all well below room temperature.

But to their credit, they kept up with the equally frozen marching band as they belted out various tunes. The pom girls kept active, busy, not daring for a single moment to remain dormant for fear of icing.

I did my part, too. I got all of them to do solo poses, passing time to help keep their minds off the cold. I also shot long bursts of each as they performed, drawing interaction between them as they encouraged and laughed at each other. Yep, just doing my part.

For the record, Memphis hosted the UTEP Miners, who did bring a four-couple travel cheer squad. I made light conversation with their coach and some of the cheerleaders. Grabbed lots of stock shots. They also provided a few group stunts shots, so overall I was pleased.

For the other part of the record, the Memphis coed and all-girls cheer squads were not in attendance. It was spirit alumni night as former Tigers cheerleaders replaced the regulars. I grabbed just a few snaps of them, opting instead to spend most of my time with the pom squad.

Getting down to brass tax, speaking of the pom girls, I'm worried. For an elite squad, they are down in numbers. When January College Nationals at Disney World rolls around, they might be short on bodies. Tonight, only 11 girls performed with one sitting out. While their roster shows 17 names, the actual number is lower since a few girls have left the team, so I'm told.

However, the 11 on the field (later 10, as one girl sat out the second half with an ice pack on her head. She was bonked by a photographer) displayed raw power in their predominantly freestyle, hip hop, quick eight-count moves. Having seen dance teams from Ball State, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi State perform earlier this season, Memphis is the best so far.

They know they are good and there's no need to be subtle about the swagger they carry. I don't know which limb I'm about to walk out on, I generally have too many to choose from, but I put Memphis out there as one of four dance programs in Division 1A (UDA, NDA or USA) that is top shelf when it comes to hip hop. Cincinnati, Tennessee, and BYU are the others.

A year ago, the Memphis pom girls concentrated too hard on the open dance division, and that probably cost them in hip hop, where they finished third at Nationals.

The six underclassmen, errrr....ladies, who performed tonight all have terrific talent. It is too early to start talking about Nationals, but when industry folks begin mentioning who to expect to find near the top in the Dance and Hip Hop divisions, Memphis will be one of the names.

I'm glad I finally got to see them on the sidelines.

Not only was this my first Memphis home football game, but something else happened to me. I was in the press box until 1:15 a.m. processing and transmitting photos. Literally, I was the very last person to leave the stadium. Luckily, the media parking lot is less than five first downs away from the press entrance/exit so I didn't have far to lug my boatload of gear.

The rest of the trip home on Sunday was uneventful. It was good to get back home to Wisconsin. Now it's my turn to shiver.