Buffalo Jills
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The Buffalo Jills are the cheerleading squad for the Buffalo Bills professional American football team. The Bills had cheerleaders in 1960 known simply as the Buffalo Bills Cheerleaders. At the time, they were a group of 8 Buffalo State College cheerleaders. They ran this squad until 1965 and went without cheerleaders in 1966. In 1967, the Buffalo Jills were founded and have progressed from a few young ladies in wool uniforms to a squad of 48 young ladies in more-revealing attire. They've annually sold a swimsuit calendar since the 2000-2001 season and participate in various events in the Western New York area. Troop visits are a regular occurrence as well and a group of 8 girls spent February 22-March 4, 2007 visiting troops in Iraq, the only NFL squad on that tour at the time. Unlike some squads, the Jills aren't sponsored by the NFL team they cheer for. Instead, they are sponsored primarily by Citadel Broadcasting stations WGRF, WHTT, and WEDG in Buffalo with additional sponsors on a year-to-year basis.
In 2002, the new director instituted an Ambassador Squad, a group of 8-12 Buffalo Jills who didn't dance on the sidelines and field. This was not only to allow the squad to more easily meet the demands of all the public appearances they were asked to make, but allowed more young ladies to make the squad. The Ambassador Squad Jills became a good way to contribute for young ladies who either didn't have the dancing ability required to make the field, or didn't have the free time to make all the dance squad practices.
In 2006, a pair of Jills swept their first round events in the first year of the NFL Cheerleader Playoffs before falling in the second round.
Their website is at http://buffalojills.net/ A fan site helps them with publicity and some photography at http://buffaloprocheer.blogspot.com/
Starting with the 2008 season, the Jills will be the first NFL squad to be multi-national, performing at "home" games both in Orchard Park, NY, USA and Toronto, Ont, Canada
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