Go 2 Guy: Sea Gals losing one of their finest

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Monday, May 3, 2004

Go 2 Guy: Sea Gals losing one of their finest

By JIM MOORE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER COLUMNIST

Scoopless in Seattle for 22 years, the Go 2 Guy ends his long drought by reporting this morning that Amber the Sea Gal is no longer a Sea Gal.

She is moving to L.A. and becoming Amber the Aspiring Model and Actress, turning down a chance to perform with the Seahawks' dance team for a sixth consecutive season.


		P-I FILE
	Amber Lancaster is moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in modeling and acting.

Amber admits "it's scary," but she wants to take a shot at a career in Hollywood.

Before leaving June 1, she still plans to honor her commitment to appear at a fund-raising car wash in Federal Way on May 22 for Howard Hanson, a bed-ridden reader who hopes to walk again.

Amber's departure cast a pall over the final round of Sea Gals tryouts at the Stadium Exhibition Center, where I showed up wearing a black armband.

I have used Amber's name and photos in a shameless attempt to increase readership, and now she'll be gone, too, just like former column staples Barbara Hedges, Jeff Cirillo and Rick Neuheisel.

Fortunately there was plenty of talent on display yesterday, with 56 girls having a 50-50 shot at making this year's squad of 28.

Without their knowledge, these girls were also vying for the coveted honor of replacing Amber in this space.

Appearing in pairs, they all danced to Britney Spears' "Toxic" in front of 10 judges. It was quite the donnybrook.

The girls were mostly judged on their looks and dancing ability. But Sea Gals director Sherri Thompson also throws in a question every year that each girl answers for the judges, a la beauty pageants.

You know how those things go -- the girl butchers the answer, causing us to cringe on the couch.

This happened at the Go 2 Guy's house a couple of weeks ago during the Miss USA pageant. When asked whom she would most like to have dinner with, Miss Oklahoma stupidly said "Justin Timberlake" when she should have lied and said "Winston Churchill" or someone like that.

I'm assuming the typical man fan in the stands doesn't care about the Sea Gals' favorite quotes, but that's what they were asked to reveal.

Profound responses included quotes from great philosophers such as Dr. Seuss. Others came from Disney movies.

Another quote came from candidate No. 32's father, who told her to "fly with the eagles while the ducks are on the pond." It had something to do with being optimistic and soaring high above us mallards who are less ambitious.

Then No. 41 shockingly said her favorite quote was "Be a duck," in reference to paddling and making headway in life.

I mention these quotes because the duck became Rhea the Sea Gal while the eagle went flapping home in search of a new favorite quote.

Several others talked about giving 110 percent, which rubbed me wrong because the Go 2 Guy believes in giving 50 percent since you're probably not going to make it anyway, so why kill yourself?

Many cited verses from the Bible, so remember that when impure thoughts invade your mind this fall.

The woman next to me sensed my displeasure, saying: "You'd rather have them dance and just shut up?"

"Well, yeah," I said.

"The quotes were great," said KIRO radio's Mike Brown, one of the judges. "But as far as determining a score, (they meant) next to nothing."

Most of your favorites from last year will return, including Sea Gals calendar cover girl Lauren and first-grade teacher Gena, who puts the ooh in la-la.

The newcomer most likely to knock your socks off is Nisha from Yelm.

Disturbingly, Cheyenne, a Go 2 Guy favorite, was cut in Saturday's semifinals, joining a list of other jobbed Sea Gal candidates Kelly, Crystal, Sara and Kristin, the bra specialist from Victoria's Secret in Silverdale.

Kimberly the Sea Gal returns for her second season and first as Amber's replacement in this column.

She traveled a rugged road, getting bonked with a camera during warmups, causing her to fall to the floor with a gash above her left eye.

"My hand was covered with blood, and there was blood on the carpet, and blood on the towel," she said, sounding more like a Seahawk than a Sea Gal. "It was completely traumatizing."

But Kimberly battled and would have gotten my vote regardless for being a former Coug and single mom, not to mention smokin' hot.

P-I columnist Jim Moore can be reached at 206-448-8013 or jimmoore@seattlepi.com. His columns appear Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

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