Not everyone would drive 40 miles through Seattle rush-hour traffic to reach a part-time, minimum wage job, but the perks of Tiffinee Olsen’s job are pretty special.
“You have thousands and thousands of screaming fans. You have fireworks going off. You have players coming out on the field. You have Blue Thunder, and then they play the National Anthem. It’s overwhelming,” she said. “Nothing compares to game day. I think I actually started crying on my first game day.”
A 2003 graduate of Anacortes High School, Olsen is a rookie Sea Gal — an NFL cheerleader for the Seattle Seahawks. So far, she’s loving it.
“It is everything I hoped it would be and more,” she said.
Olsen has been dancing since she was 4. She started at Sonya McNett’s Fidalgo Performing Arts School and studied ballet until her graduation from Anacortes High School in 2003. She won key roles, including a turn as Clara in “The Nutcracker Ballet.”
“Tiffinee was one of my best students ever,” said John Bishop, who ran the Northwest Ballet Theatre. “She was a delight to work with and had a beautiful classical quality when she danced in my productions.”
She also spent three years cheerleading for AHS. Her combined dance and cheer experience helped her land the Sea Gals gig.
“All the years of dancing definitely helped. You have to be a strong technical dancer as well as an all-around dancer,” Olsen said.
About 200 women competed this spring for 28 spots on the team. Sea Gal Director Sherri Thompson, a former squad member herself, said Olsen showed the right stuff at the auditions.
“Mostly we’re looking for a well-rounded package, an excellent dancer, a good speaker, in great physical condition, beautiful,” Thompson said. “But that’s just the surface. She also needs to be a hard worker and a good team player.”
When asked which of these attributes she sees in Olsen, the coach said “Tiffinee has a little bit of all those qualities. She’s poised and well-spoken. I would say Tiffinee is a well-rounded Sea Gal.”
Olsen waited to establish a career before chasing her dreams. She attended Skagit Valley College then earned an associate’s degree from Whatcom Community College in 2006. She went on to Everett Barber College and graduated as an esthetician — a skin care therapist — in 2007. She said she loves her career, which allows her to enhance the lives of other women.
A level-headed young woman, Olsen cites the major life goal she has met as establishing a 401k account. Once the career was on track, she tried out for the big leagues.
“My passion has always been dance and since I’ve done both dance and cheer I wanted to see where this would take me,” she said.
After a full day at work, Olsen drives from Everett to Sea Gal practices at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center in Renton and to duties in Seattle and around the Sound.
“The work is tremendous. It is like a full second job,” she said.
The Sea Gals rehearse for four hours twice a week. They start with laps around the football field and move on to stretches and warm-ups, before starting on the dance routines.
“She works hard. I think at first it was a shock for her how hard it is,” Thompson said. “They have to learn how to sell it, how to stay in line and do it exactly the way we want it to look with 25 girls.”
“Practices can be grueling sometimes, but they’re worth it,” Olsen said.
She also works out several times a week, and makes good use of a free gym membership for Sea Gals.
New Sea Gals earn about the minimum wage, with a 50-cent per hour raise each year they return. They are paid a minimum of four hours for showing up to an event, even if it only lasts an hour. Some appearances offer the opportunity to travel.
“It’s a nice part-time job, getting paid for something you like to do,” Thompson said.
They only perform at home games and don’t travel with the Seahawks — unless the team goes to the Super Bowl.
(You can see Olsen in action next on Sunday, Nov. 16 when the Seahawks host the Arizona Cardinals at 1 p.m.)
The Sea Gals are paid to appear at various events, but are not required to do so. Each Sea Gal tries to sign up for as many as possible, and Olsen has made several charity benefit appearances.
“You do what you can,” she said. “There are a lot of late nights.”
Olsen said being a Sea Gal was pretty much what she expected, until the first time she got out in front of a crowd.
“The game day I would not expect. It was a shocker — a good shocker,” she said.
On a game day the Sea Gals arrive at Qwest Field at about 8 a.m. for a run-through of all the routines they will perform. Next, they disperse to sell calendars or perform at Touchdown City, an amusement area that opens about three hours before each game. After that, they run back to the locker room, change and get on the field for the main event.
“Don’t worry, we are fed really well before and after the game,” Olsen said.
The real fuel, she said, is “mostly adrenaline.” That kicks in when 67,000 people start screaming and fireworks go off. She said the experience is completely different from preparing for a ballet performance or for an AHS Seahawks game.
“This is intense pressure,” she said.
The best way to cope is to know the routines cold, she said. She doesn’t let herself get pre-game jitters.
“You have to have the attitude. If you hold back in any way you’re only cheating yourself,” she said. “You have everybody looking at you. You have to be on point.”
Another surprise was how close the Sea Gals are to the action.
“I love football. I’ve been a longtime Seahawks fan,” she said.
Because the Sea Gals are there to support the team, not distract the players, they are not allowed to fraternize. She’s as star struck as anyone to be near the team.
“That’s the closest you’ll ever be to Matt Hasselbeck,” she said.
The fans also are very close.
“The crowds are really good. Opposing fans, they can be a little rude, but you have to block them out,” she said.
She feels safe knowing there is “tons of security” as well as Seahawk fans watching out for her and the other girls. She said fans are supportive.
“They are great. They are always cheering for us,” she said.
Not all fans are male, and some are quite young. Olsen is fond of an Anacortes girl named Brittany who was in the Sea Gals junior cheerleader program.
“That’s my little Sea Gal buddy,” Olsen said.
She said she tries to visit her new friend when she comes home, and to keep the young fans in mind when she lives her life.
“They definitely look up to us and we try to be good role models,” she said.
Olsen said building lasting memories and friendships is one of the best parts of the experience. The Sea Gals commute together whenever possible, compare notes and try to help each other do their best.
“I love these girls. They are amazing,” she said.
She still sounds somewhat surprised that she made the team on her first try.
“It’s definitely an accomplishment. I feel humbled that I’m even here. I know there’s 200 girls who tried out. I’m proud to be part of such a great organization,” she said.
One day she hopes to come back home and coach, just like AHS cheer coach Erin Clark, one of her role models.
“I’m just privileged to represent Anacortes. Once a Seahawk, always a Seahawk,” she said.
