Getting to know the women of the Roar

News4Jax reporter travels to Bahamas for Roar of the Jaguars calendar shoot

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The women tasked with keeping Jaguars players and fans in good spirits, win or lose, are known as the Roar of the Jaguars.

I got to know some of the women on the squad when I traveled with them to Bimini, Bahamas, for their 2016 calendar photo shoot.

The cheerleaders will reveal their 2016 calendar at a party Thursday at EverBank Field.

Then at 8 p.m. Friday, viewers can watch our Bimini adventure and get to know the women of the Roar when I host a special broadcast offering a behind-the-scenes look at the photo shoot.

I was excited to work in paradise and get the chance to spend time with 12 of the women who are on the squad.

I learned they are so much more than just dancers on the sideline. Some are college students, some are working women, some are married, but what they all have in common is beauty inside and out.

"I have a personality where I have to stay busy, and I work full time," Roar member Michelle Sipe said. "We own a house. We have a dog, and I do the Roar cheerleading. Somehow you have to have your own sense of independence."

Along with getting to know the women, I found out there is a lot to the job of being on the Roar.

"It's not just about dancing. There is a lot more behind it that comes with the job," Roar member Tatum Corley said.

The trip started with a bus ride to Miami. Then we boarded a ship for Bimini.

Once we arrived on the island, it was a lot of work. Waking up at 4 a.m. for makeup and hair, then smiling until it hurt.

"It's really nice to get away and come do these trips. Although people think we're just laying by the pool and the island, we are working the whole time," Roar member Jessica Kothe said. "I've been up since 4 this morning, and I know all the girls are working really hard."

It was neat seeing the professional photographers, make-up artists and creative minds behind the photo shoot. One shot involved a cheerleader standing on a narrow staircase leading into the ocean.

"It was scary but once I got up there I was just confident and focusing on not falling in the water, because that would not have been good," Roar member Jessica Lynne Knight said with a laugh. "But it was fun."

Having fun is what helps the women of the Roar keep us smiling and our spirits high at Jaguars games.