Cheerleader
chosen for halftime show

Thursday,
December 29, 2005

By
Steve Ungrey

The Grand Rapids Press

Samantha Schafer has spent the last
several years at home on New Year's Eve with family and friends.

This year will be different,
however, as Schafer is the only area cheerleader who will take part in the
halftime show of the Capital One Bowl between Wisconsin
and Auburn
beginning at 1 p.m. Monday.

The Jenison senior's end-of-year
plans were made last summer, while participating with her cheerleading squad
at an Alma College summer camp administered by
Champion Cheer, a Texas-based organization.

At first, Schafer didn't think
anything about mastering the routines Champion taught. It was the speed with
which she caught on that impressed the camp organizers enough to offer her a
spot in the Capital One Bowl's halftime show.

On Thursday, Schafer and her
mother, Julie, left for a six-day trip to Orlando, Fla.

"I'm all excited and
overwhelmed," Samantha Schafer said.

The camp was known as a "beast
camp" because it involved practicing 15 hours a day, from 7 a.m. to 10
p.m.

"It's an intense cheerleading
experience prior to starting sideline cheer for the season," Julie
Schafer said. "While she was there someone from Champion approached Sam
with a brochure and thought she should apply."

It turned out Samantha didn't even
need to send an audition tape. Because a member of the Champion Cheer staff
approached her and recommended she join the halftime show, she passed without
even having to send in the application or any audition materials.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is the
featured musical act at halftime, which features a Champion Cheer-choreographed
eight-minute performance by cheerleaders from across the United States.

"She's a senior and headed to Ferris State
next year, so I thought this would be a great experience," Julie Schafer
said

.