Much Adieu About Nothing?
Without a formal announcement, the Washington Capitals officially debuted their inaugural "Spirit Squad" to the masses at Saturday's Home Opener. It also seems the ever-changing "Spirit Squad" has a new name, the "Red Rockers." (I wonder what the original Red Rocker thinks?) Did you notice them? Chances are the answer is "not really."
Though a few fans first met the Red Rockers at Friday's viewing party at Hard Times, my first encounter was entering the Phone Booth from F Street where they were handing out the replica banners and foam pucks and tattoos to the kids.
The first thing I took notice of was the uniforms. What started as half tops, skirts, shorts and pants eventually became professionally designed long-sleeve shirts and pants. They are long-sleeve shirts and pants, but don't resemble a Hillary Clinton pantsuit. They are form-fitting, good-looking, and tasteful -- just like Ted Leonsis said.
Perhaps their role will change as the season progresses, but as Ted described their duties, they did not take the Ice Kids jobs nor perform on the ice. I did not see them perform anywhere. I did see them hand out burritos during the burrito dash and hold a prize bag during the trivia contest during the stop in play. I'm sure there is more to the Red Rockers than meets the game one eye, but the Ice Kids probably don't have to worry about pink slips.
One thing is for certain, the Caps have joined a growing list of teams with similar Spirit Squads and/or Ice Girls. With the addition of the Caps group and the LA Kings Ice Girls, the Ice Girl / Spirit Squad tally includes at least 21 of the league's 30 clubs.
Links to the teams with Ice Girls / Spirit Squads / Cheerleaders after the jump. (corrections/additions are welcome)
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