This beauty is cheering
for Philly’s favorite Birds

By Joe Mason
Times Sports Editor

Jen Kaiser wasn’t 100 percent prepared for her duties as a Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader.
It was almost a year ago when Kaiser was a rookie on the team, and the day after she’d earned a spot on the squad, she participated in the Eagles’ annual draft party.
Kaiser, a Mayfair native and St. Hubert grad who was a cheerleader for Father Judge High School and La Salle University, was no stranger to dance routines or yelling at the top of her lungs.
But during that first appearance, she received a request she really wasn’t expecting.
"I was really excited . . . it was my first day with the team and then somebody came up and asked for an autograph," said a giggling Kaiser. "I was kind of thrown right into it. I just signed it how I thought it should look.
"It’s hard . . . I knew it wasn’t right because it’s legible," she explained. "But it’s just three letters . . . I just did the best I could."
It’s safe to say that she’ll get used to quickly scrawling autographs. But cheering, that’s a natural thing.
The 23-year-old Kaiser, who graduated from St. Hubert High School in 2000, has been waving the pompoms for 18 years now.
It all began when she was a shy little girl cheering on the Wissinoming youth football team.
"I think cheerleading helped me become a little more outgoing," she said. "Honestly, when I was younger, I went to St. Tim’s and I’d be sitting in class and I wouldn’t talk at all, I was actually afraid to sneeze.
"But I cheered at Wiss and I cheered in competitions, so I couldn’t be shy then," she added. "I think that definitely helped me come out of my shell a little bit."
When she moved on to St. Hubert, she could be found on Friday nights at Northeast High’s Charlie Martin Memorial Stadium, cheerleading for Father Judge and flipping over Crusader touchdowns.
Kaiser majored in management information systems, with a minor in accounting, as a college student at La Salle. She also cheered on the Explorers’ sports teams — and knew she’d love to keep doing it down the road, if there was a way.
"Cheerleading, once you’re done doing it in college, for the most part you’re done for your career," she said. "I really wanted to keep doing it, I loved it, so I went on the Eagles’ Web site, found out when auditions were, and I just went for it."
Cheerleading is certainly more challenging at the pro level. When Kaiser attended the first open tryouts in 2005, she stood among 600 girls — all with the same dream. After that first day, a day that featured two rounds of cuts, the field had been sliced to roughly 70 contestants.
In the end, just 38 were selected. Kaiser, a lifetime Eagles fan, had plenty to cheer about.
"It was very exciting because in Northeast Philly, everything is Eagles, everyone loves the Eagles," she said. "I actually didn’t tell my family that I was going out for the team until the last day of cuts. I just wanted to see if I could do it, and if I didn’t make it, just move on. But I told them and they were very supportive."
Like most of the players on the field, the Eagles cheerleaders are only as good as their previous season’s performance, which means there are new auditions every year. Earlier this month, Kaiser had to wow the judges all over again.
"I think this year was harder because I went in knowing just how much fun I’d be missing if I didn’t make the team," she said. "I was really nervous this year, and I was so excited when I found out I made it.
"My family was very supportive because they knew how much I wanted it," she said of her parents, Laurie and Dennis. "It just means more fun."
Yeah, it’s a horrible job . . . going to the eight home games at Lincoln Financial Field to cheer the Birds to victory . . . unless, of course, they lose.
But there are other perks.
The cheerleaders make various appearances throughout the year. They do parties, grand openings, meet-and-greets, they do it all.
Feeling that electricity at the Linc on game day is the ultimate joy, but the appearances can be a good time, she noted.
"I just think how many people I’ve met through being an Eagles cheerleader . . . it’s really amazing," said Kaiser, who now lives in Manayunk. "At the appearances, you just talk to people, you meet all kinds of people — people who want to meet your because you’re an Eagles cheerleader. It’s pretty amazing."
There is a part of Kaiser, though, that is rooted in the real world. She spends her weekdays working at the Navy Depot in Lawndale, where she’s a financial data systems analyst.
"Basically, I just tell everyone that I’m a computer geek, I do a lot of crunching numbers on the computer," she said with a laugh. "But I love my job, it’s exactly what I went to school for and I really enjoy it. A lot of sitting in front of a computer and plugging in numbers, things like that."
Sundays and the Eagles is her chance to take a break from it all. She’s appreciative that even her co-workers are cheerleaders for her.
"The people I work with are great, they are very supportive," Kaiser said. "Last year they were so excited for me, and that meant a lot. And I think I was a huge stocking-stuffer last year . . . I signed a lot of autographs for the people so they could give it to their kids and stuff. It was great."
Looking ahead, Kaiser hopes that the Eagles return to being the team to beat. The only tough part of cheerleading was watching the team endure a rocky season and a 6-10 record that kept the Eagles out of the playoffs.
But that was last year. This year the optimistic Kaiser sees big things on the horizon. She’s even planning on a little road trip to Florida come wintertime.
"We’re going to Miami," she said. "I think we’re going to the Super Bowl. That’s what we’re all hoping for, and I really think we’re going to do it!" ••
Sports editor Joe Mason can be reached at 215-354-3035 or jmason@phillynews.com