Beefcake, Bud and Soul
Sidelines or side jobs, Philly spirit teams are all heart

Maybe your idea of a sexy dancer isn’t a svelte, seductive Sally. If that’s the case you’ll want to take a bite out of the Broad Street Beefcakes: ten ample-bodied middle-aged men who sassily shake what the good Lord gave them at selected Sixers games. Since their world-premier debut this past November, the Broad Street Beefcakes are hard to miss on the court as they rap, dance, jiggle their bellies and goof around during breaks between periods.
About half of these guys are professional performer-types; the rest have more “normal” jobs. They may dance and sing, but, according to their bios, they’d all rather dissect the fine art of cheese steak selection than discuss hair products with their traditional Sixers dance counterparts.
“These are regular guys who love the Sixers, love to perform, love to dance, and aren’t afraid to show it,” explains 6-foot, 260-pound Mark Kratzer (nickname: Philly Mignon), who’s been acting, dancing and singing since he was a kid. “Originally the team listed us as the ‘Beefy Broad Street Beefcakes,’ with extra emphasis on ‘beefy.’ So to be able to laugh at yourself and make fun of yourself is important.”
So are fans laughing with the Beefcakes or at the Beefcakes? The guys say they don’t mind looking silly, because, really, isn’t that the point?
C’mon Philadelphians, this can’t surprise you. Or have you already forgotten the Mummers?
For those of you looking for more delicate sports-related entertainment, check out the brand-new Trenton Titans Bud Ice Girls at AA hockey Trenton Titans weekend home games. Six female figure skaters and former hockey players gracefully skate around between periods, tossing t-shirts into the crowd, rallying the fans and just generally acting cute.
The ice girls, who skew younger than other Philly teams’ cheerleaders and dancers, are too new to have much of a following, but they say they’re getting a warm reception from fans. At the beginning of this season, you could find the ice girls hamming it up only at Saturday night homes games but now they’re slowly working their way into more games, more promotions and at least a mention on the Titans’ website.
“I think we are becoming more of the team,” says 18-year-old Adrienne Koob-Doddy, a student at the College of New Jersey. “Our job right now is small but we’re really important to getting the crowd going and to helping them motivate the players…. I’m not really sure if we’re affecting the players yet but I know the people in the crowd are having a good time.”
If you want to scope out some of the area’s sideline talent but can’t decide between dancers and cheerleaders, go to a Philadelphia Soul game; this team has both. Jon Bon Jovi’s arena league football team starts its third season this Sunday, January 29, at the Wachovia Center, and both the Soulmates and the Soul Squad will be there to help liven things up.
The Soulmates are the dance team, comprised of hot babes who can shake their thing in front of 17,000 screaming fans one night, then wake up to volunteer at a local hospital the next morning. The team prides itself on its civic-minded dancers, who all donate tons of time to community organizations as part of their Soulmate duties.
When they’re not sashaying on the turf, these women are working as cops, doctors, teachers and military reservists. The dance-team director says being a Soulmate takes more than looks and rhythm. All Soulmates have to be educated and articulate, so they can properly represent the franchise as ambassadors.
This year, 140 women started the audition process, which involves a two-day “boot camp,” three days of interviews and a two-month pre-season probation period. The week before opening day, 26 remain.
“Because of our ownership, we’re one of the most high-profile teams in the league. So we’re creating a high-profile image for these girls,” says Soulmates director Lou Jacobs.
That high profile includes a planned post-season trip abroad to entertain military troops, most likely in Iraq in Afghanistan. And Soul officials have doubled the Soulmates’ size since last year, proving that dance and cheering acts are grabbing more front office attention, as live sporting event “suits” make greater attempts to program a complete night of family entertainment.
You can witness the “Live Philly Sports: Not Just for Dads Anymore” approach yet again when the Soul Squad co-ed cheerleading team tumbles, flips and cartwheels onto the field. This group, made up of eight girls and eight guys, is a “cheerleading hybrid,” according to its coach: each performance is filled with acrobatics, gymnastics, cheers, semi-dangerous stunts and prize tosses to the crowd.
The Soul Squad is one of the only co-ed cheering squads in arena or NFL football. The coach says while women have to work hard to get on the team, men face less competition during auditions because there just aren’t that many Philadelphia-area males with a gymnastics/cheering background. Once he fills all the slots, though, the team dynamic sizzles.
“When it’s a co-ed environment, a lot of the petty stuff that can happen on an all-guy team or an all-girl team seems to just take care of itself. There’s more of a looseness and a camaraderie there,” says coach Charlie Murgia. “They think of themselves as friends first and teammates second.”
That’s a good thing for people who have to trust each other with their lives, while earning a scant $25 - $30 per game.
“They’re not doing it for the money,” Murgia chuckles. “They’re doing it because they enjoy it.”

- Tara Nurin, Philly EDGE correspondent