Friday's P.M. Hot Clicks: The Secret Lives of NFL Cheerleaders

NFL Cheerleaders On and Off the FieldThink cheerleaders are just eye candy? Meet Kelly Bennion, a 26-year-old Patriots cheerleader who has degrees in

NFL Cheerleaders On and Off the Field

Cheerleaders On and off the Field

Alexa

Photo courtesy of Orlando Magic Dancers

Alexa danced for the Orlando Magic during the 2012-13 season. She currently owns a company that specializes in neurotherapy and nutrition.

Alexa

Photo courtesy of Orlando Magic Dancers

“In the future I want to both perform in an artistic aspect and also be a strong female in the business world and the sports science world.”

Alexa

Photo Courtesy of Alexa Schmidt

As a neurotherapist, Alexa works with patients to strengthen areas of their brain by monitoring their brain activity.

Ashley

Ashley is a graduate student in her first year with the San Francisco 49ers cheerleaders.

Ashley

Photo courtesy of Ashley Prince

After graduating from Harvard, Ashley enrolled at Stanford to pursue an MBA and MBA in education.

Chantel

Bruce Yeung/SI

When she's not dancing for the Dallas Mavericks, Chantel is the marketing coordinator for women’s activewear brand Lorna Jane.

Chantel

Bruce Yeung/SI

She also recently traveled to Haiti with the i’mMe organization to minister to orphans.

Colleen

Photo courtesy of the New York Jets Flight Crew

New York Jets Flight Crew cheerleader Colleen is a 5th grade special education teacher in an integrated co-teaching classroom.

Colleen

Photo courtesy of the New York Jets Flight Crew

"The Junior Flight Crew program is my favorite part of being on the Flight Crew. I get to combine both things I love: working with kids and dancing."

Genevieve

Bruce Yeung/SI

Before cheering for the Arizona Cardinals, Genevieve graduated summa cum laude in industrial technology and was hired by Cisco Systems straight out of college.

Genevieve

Bruce Yeung/SI

As an account executive in charge of IT sales, Genevieve works with businesses to use technology to enhance their internal and external communications.

Jasmine

Bruce Yeung/SI

In addition to being a Duke University cheerleader, Jasmine is a neuroscience major on the pre-medicine track with a minor in Asian & Middle Eastern studies.

Jasmine

Bruce Yeung/SI

She also works as a research assistant in a psychiatry lab at Duke University Medical Center and volunteers at a local church.

Julia

Photo courtesy of Washington Wizards

Julia is in her fourth season as a Washington Wizards dancer and her second as captain. She majored in marine biology at Duke University and received her master’s degree in environmental science.

Julia

Photo courtesy of Julia Griffin

She works as a reporter/producer at PBS Newshour.

Kate

Bruce Yeung/SI

Outside of cheerleading for the Denver Broncos, Kate studies entrepreneurial law at the University of Colorado and interns at a law firm in downtown Boulder.

Kate

Bruce Yeung/SI

Kate comes from a family of lawyers and discovered her own passion for it after taking business law classes in college.

Kelly

David Silverman

New England Patriots cheerleader Kelly has degrees from Middlebury College, Harvard University and Boston College.

Kelly

Keith Nordstrom

In the future, she wants to be a professor and a researcher, two careers she has already started pursuing.

Kelly

Photo courtesy of Kelly Bennion

In her fourth year as a Ph.D. candidate, she conducts research, analyzes data and writes papers.

Kelsie

Bruce Yeung/SI

Kelsie double majored in political science and Spanish and minored in philosophy while cheerleading at the University of Michigan. She currently attends law school.

Kelsie

Bruce Yeung/SI

“I made a habit of every Sunday reflecting on the week that passed, and I was especially proud of the fact that nearly every week I pushed myself physically and academically beyond what I had in the past.”

Kristina

Photo courtesy of New York Jets Flight Crew

Kristina is a two-year veteran of the Jets Flight Crew and an attorney at a non-profit organization.

Kristina

She graduated from Georgetown Law and has a background in corporate law with a concentration on mergers and acquisitions.

Michelle

Jasen Vinlove

Michelle danced for the San Antonio Spurs and cheered for the St. Louis Rams while on active duty in the Air Force.

Michelle

Photo courtesy of Michelle Kolcun Williams

She is currently stationed in Hawaii where she works as a health administrator in the Medical Service Corps.

Rachel

Bruce Yeung/SI

Rachel studied chemical engineering at MIT and is now pursuing her MBA at Harvard Business School. While cheering for the 49ers Gold Rush cheerleaders, she worked for Tesla as a battery engineer.

Rachel

Bruce Yeung/SI

In the future she hopes to start an organization that supports women in science education. “It’s especially fun for me when young fans ask about my job, because then I get to ask them about their science class and remind them how cool it is.”

Summer

Photo courtesy of Houston Texans cheerleaders

Summer cheered for the Houston Texans while working for NASA. She is currently in the avionic systems division at the Johnson Space Center.

Summer

Photo courtesy of Houston Texans cheerleaders

She is also involved with the organization Science Cheerleader, founded by former Philadelphia 76ers dancer Darlene Cavalier. Science Cheerleader challenges stereotypes of women in science and includes over 200 active cheerleaders.

Talmesha

Talmesha cheered for the Washington Redskins for five years while also pursuing science. She has a B.S. in chemical engineering, a B.S. in mathematics and a Ph.D. in cellular and molecular medicine. She promotes the involvement of students in STEM fields through her job at STEMconnector.

Teleza

In addition to being a Washington Redskins cheerleader, Teleza is a full-time math teacher and ultimately wants to become a pediatric oncologist. “Cheering is busy, but it’s my release. It may be a tough workload, but my passion is what carries me through stress-free.”

Zenobia

Photo courtesy of Zenobia Godschalk

After cheering for the San Francisco 49ers from 1998-2000, Zenobia is now the CEO of ZAG communications, a technology PR firm.

Zenobia

Photo courtesy of Zenobia Godschalk

She is also involved in several organizations that expose young girls to career opportunities in STEM fields.

Think cheerleaders are just eye candy? Meet Kelly Bennion, a 26-year-old Patriots cheerleader who has degrees in psychology and Spanish from Middlebury and a Master’s in education from Harvard. And that's not all. Next year she will complete her dissertation and receive a Ph.D. in cognitive and affective neuroscience from Boston College. So yeah, Kelly is pretty smart. In fact, she inspired us to find some other interesting things cheerleaders are doing with their lives off the field.

The Week in Media Feuds

It's been a big week for media feuds with Mike Golic facing off against Bill Simmons and Michael Kay taking on Mike Francesa. Awful Announcing has a great pro wrestling-inspired look at the best sports media feuds.

Points for Honesty

Serena Williams had a refreshingly candid moment on Twitter. In response to a question about whether she's thinking of running the NYC Marathon next year, Serena replied, "My ass is too big."

P.M. Lovely Lady of the Day

Using my highly scientific formula for finding LLODs, I stumbled across the lovely Malena Costa. I quickly fell in love and built an extra-big gallery to get your weekend started off right ... The 101 hottest celebrity Instagram pics of the week ... WAGs of NFL starting quarterbacks.

Be a Better Person Friday

Every Friday, I try to spotlight a charity to which you can donate. Today, I want to bring your attention to Hugs Across America, which provides teddy bears to children displaced from their homes by such natural disasters as Hurricane Katrina, as well as to schools (from elementary schools through colleges) at which there have been shootings.  There are over 200 chapters of Hugs Across America worldwide, to which hundreds of thousands of teddy bears have already been donated. If you have any extra money lying around, even if it's $5, please consider donating to this organization. And if you have a group you'd like me to spotlight next Friday, email me at andy_gray@simail.com.

NBA Players In Their Dorm Rooms

Gallery: NBA Players in Their Dorm Rooms. Worth it for this Dominique photo alone: http://t.co/vLozN1beVZ pic.twitter.com/QDzJiKd6gb

— SI Vault (@si_vault) November 7, 2014

Tom Brady is Ready for the Weekend

Tom Brady :: Facebook

Dumb and Dumber Meet NASCAR

So you're telling me there's a chance @AlexBRacing or @jjyeley1 could win this weekend? #DumbandDumberTo pic.twitter.com/uY9dtALj0f

— Alan Cavanna (@AlanCavanna) November 7, 2014

Knicks D-League Team Now Has Advertising On Their Jerseys

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A post shared by Thanasis Antetokounmpo (@thanasis_ante43)

Odds & Ends

Extra Mustard's weekend preview ... Not sure I agree with this Clemson fan's decision to paint his dog orange and purple ... Britney Griner credits a Nike jacket with saving her life ... Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka froze out teammate Reggie Jackson because he wouldn't pass ... Doritos now has a Mountain Dew flavor ... Kris Jenner is dating a 33-year-old who's younger than two of her daughters ... Why Mark Zuckerbergalways wears the same gray t-shirt ... The original ending of Being John Malkovich ... The robot butler has finally arrived ... 15 sad and pathetic desks.

Cavs Read Nice Tweets

After a 1–3 start, Cleveland can use all the love it can get.

[youtube:http://youtu.be/kfm5NN5ac18]

Feel-Good Video of the Day

Army Sergeant Dan Rose, an paralyzed veteran, shares his story and shows the world that he is able to walk again. 

Jay Cutler Lowlight Reel

A supercut of every interception Jay Cutler has ever thrown against Green Bay. The Packers and the Bears square off on Sunday.

Kate Bock Busts a Move

I hope someone makes a GIF out of this soon.

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