Monroe's favorite Sea Gal is headed off to the Super Bowl for the second year in a row, and she's pretty excited about it.
To Jessica Irwin, a five-year veteran of the Sea Gals professional dance team, there was never any question about who would triumph in that crucial game on Jan. 18 against the Green Bay Packers. She knew in her heart that the Seahawks couldn't lose.
"It was the best game ever,Gǥ Irwin said. "I'm just really excited to have the chance to be a Super Bowl cheerleader two years in a rowGǪ especially after that game, it's still so surreal.Gǥ
Not only is Irwin looking forward to dancing in her second Super Bowl, but the 5-foot-2-inch, 25-year-old dancer was selected along with one of her teammates to travel to Arizona early, to participate in media day on Tuesday, Jan. 27. She will have the opportunity to represent the Sea Gals while mingling with the media and players from both the Seahawks and the New England Patriots.
Irwin's success as a Sea Gal can be attributed to her spirited dedication, her strong sense of commitment to the team and her lifelong love of dance.
"Dance has always been my No. 1 passion,GÇ¥ Irwin said. "I love to dance GÇô I couldn't live without it.GÇ¥
When the 2008 Monroe High School graduate decided to try out for the Monroe Bearcat cheerleading team in her senior year, it was on a bit of a lark. A self-proclaimed dork with an affinity for being "alternative,GÇ¥ people were more likely to catch her in a mosh pit than holding pom-poms. But once she made the team, she quickly realized that she loved everything about it. Her only regret was not having tried out sooner.
It was also around this time that one of her dance instructors decided to try out for the Sea Gals, and shared her experiences during the competition with her students.
"She was just telling us how fun it was and how you make so many friends,GÇ¥ Irwin said. "We were there throughout her whole process of getting ready for it.GÇ¥
Irwin knew that becoming a professional Sea Gals dancer would allow her to continue her passion for dance, even after she graduated from high school, and so the decision to try out for the team was a relatively simple one.
She went into the preliminary competition in 2008 while still in high school, with absolutely no idea what to expect. Competing along with a couple hundred other girls, the competition involved performing a freestyle dance routine. Her performance was a success, and she advanced to the next level of competition: the semi-finals.
At that point, the competition kicked up a notch. The dancers were taught a routine and given only 24 hours to master it before having to perform it in front of the judges. For Irwin, it was a whole new style of dancing.
"I was so used to being a ballerina,Gǥ Irwin said. "This was straight, typical Sea Gals styleGǪ head-whips and turns and kicks. It was so fun and so different than anything else I'd ever done.Gǥ
Again, Irwin's performance was a success, and she advanced into the finals. Then she participated in an interview, answered questions using a microphone, had her photograph taken, and learned another dance routine for the final portion of the audition.
After that last leg of competition was complete, she learned that she hadn't made the squad. But instead of looking at it as a defeat, Jessica decided to use it as a learning experience. The audition gave her a clear idea of what she needed to strive for, and so without missing a beat, she focused on honing her dance skills even more.
"It teaches you so much to not make it,GÇ¥ Irwin said. "I was really young and so determined to come back the next year and make it.GÇ¥
She competed again in 2009, but became unsure of herself in the midst of the competition, stymied by self-doubt. She again made it to the finals but didn't make the team.
Still, she didn't give up, and indeed, the third time was the charm. In 2010, Irwin became a Sea Gal and hasn't looked back since.
The Sea Gals professional dance squad is made up of 32 dancers, who are divided up into four smaller squads based on height. They practice two to three times a week at the Seahawks training facility in Renton, for four to five hours at a time. This year will be Irwin's second Super Bowl as a squad captain.
As squad captain, Jessica is responsible for making sure her squad knows which routine to start performing and when. This means that once a song starts to play, she has only seconds to communicate with her squad via hand-signals and code-words, so that they know which dance to start performing. She is also responsible for communicating with the other three squad captains to keep everyone in sync.
"It's a big responsibility, but an honor to be chosen,GÇ¥ she said.
She has to keep her eyes on the clock, as well as on the field, and be ready at a moment's notice to shift gears and communicate with her squad the instant there's a change in the music.
To Irwin, there are many different things that she loves about being a Sea Gal, like cheering on her favorite football team. But at the top of that list are the 12s.
"I love the 12s GÇô and I love the interaction that I have with them,GÇ¥ she said.
She recalled a moment during the championship game against the Green Bay Packers in which the 12s literally took her breath away. It was the fourth quarter with about four minutes remaining, and the Seahawks were finally gaining some momentum. They got a touchdown, bringing the score to 19 GÇô 14, with the Packers still leading by five.
And then, with only 2:09 left in the game, the Seahawks scored another touchdown and made the two-point conversion, bringing them into the lead with 22 points. Irwin recalled the exact moment in which she noticed that the notoriously raucous 12s were on their feet, seemingly overcome by the recollection that they are the most spirited fans in the NFL.
"I looked up into the stands and the entire stadium is jumping in unison,GÇ¥ she said. "The whole thing! And they're dancing and they're waving their arms and they're singing GÇô-áI'm getting chills just talking about it GÇô it was the coolest thing I've ever seen. I thought the stadium was going to break.GÇ¥
Another thing she loves about being a Sea Gal is the opportunity to travel the world. Irwin is part of a smaller team made up of 10 Sea Gals called Show Group, which performs at places like the Washington State Fair and the Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma. In March, the Sea Gals Show Group will travel to Europe for three weeks where they will perform on different military bases.
"It will be one of the most rewarding experiences,GÇ¥ Irwin said, "to get to go visit with them and hopefully brighten their day.GÇ¥
But for now, it's all about the upcoming Super Bowl, which will take place on Sunday, Feb. 1. Irwin is looking forward to seeing how Arizona hosts the Super Bowl in comparison to New York, and is eager for the friendly Arizona weather. She is looking forward to dancing her heart out while rooting for the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX.
For more information about Irwin, visit www.facebook.com/pages/Sea-Gal-Jessica-I/415622328483830 or twitter.com/SeaGalJessicaI?lang=en.-á
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