FEATURES 29 NFL Preview
Will the Cardinals sustain the level of play they achieved during the playoff
run? Will upstart teams such as the Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins continue
to progress and take their place atop the league? Hooters Magazine answers these
tough questions and more in its official 2009 NFL Preview.
42 College Preseason Top 25
After another long, football-deprived summer, we're finally closing in on another
college season. Check out HOOTERS Magazine's preseason Top 25.
52 From Brigadier to Best-Selling author
Tony Tata writes what he knows-- the experience of being a "boots to the ground"
soldier. Though his plots may spring from his fertile imagination, his characters
convince readers of their realism because that's what they are, a compilation
of all the men he has served with and four special comrades who fell in the line
of duty.
84 HOOTERS Girls Raid Frat House
These hotties not only raid the house, but they have a full-blown photo shoot
in the middle of 790 The Zone A.M.'s live broadcast.
106 Tony LaRussa
Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa has seen a lot in his time in the major leagues,
having coached World Series champions in both Oakland and St. Louis. Reporter
Stephen Black recently caught up with the already-legendary LaRussa to ask him
about his past career and what the future might hold. HOOTERS GIRLS
34 Sara
54 Brittany
66 Sarah
76 Ericka
90 Girls of Northern California
98 Michelle
108 Raechel SIDE ITEMS
8 HOOTERS Across America
14 Gotta Have Gadgets
16 Screen Shots
18 Music Releases
19 Video Game
122 The Owl's Nest
EDITOR'S LETTER
On June 20, 2009 HOOTERS will crown a new Miss HOOTERS International and bid farewell
to the reign of Sara Hoots, the most appropriately named winner of anything, ever.
The 13th annual event, to be held in Ft Lauderdale, Florida, will be witnessed
live by 2500 lucky folks at the Broward County Performing Art Theatre, tens of
thousands more viewers at HOOTERS Restaurants around the country through our satellite
broadcast, and by hundreds of thousands more through the taped Best Damn version
on FOX Sports. This year there will also be an Internet Streaming Broadcast on
HOOTERS. com, for the benefit of those in other countries, including our Armed
Forces personnel. The pageant, which lasts about 150 minutes, is like the Center
Ring of a Circus, featuring over 125 beautiful contestants representing HOOTERS
from around the globe, gliding around the stage in an assortment of swimsuits
and evening gowns. While I wouldn't call it a death-defying act, I would say walking
in a bikini while wearing acrylic heels high enough to cause nosebleeds is impressive.
What the fans watching don't see, however, is the action that happens around the
center stage.
The International Pageant is really three events in one. In addition to the pageant,
HOOTERS of America, Inc. also will host its annual franchisee meeting and its
vendor expo in the days leading up to the main event. As the annual swimsuit event
developed through the years, it quickly became obvious that everyone who had anything
to do with the HOOTERS business wanted to attend the pageant. So, even though
the middle of the summer (six months from the start of a new fiscal year) might
seem an odd time for a convention, we got our priorities straight. We scheduled
our annual convention at the same time as the swimsuit event so our franchisees,
operators and associates could have a business reason for attending. In the days
before the pageant, we host meetings for various boards and committees and unveil
new business strategies for keeping HOOTERS ahead of the competition.
We didn't want all our great vendors to feel left out, so we created a Vendor
Expo event that takes place the night before the pageant. This is a chance for
our good friends from Tyson Chicken, Anheuser Busch Beer and dozens of other business
partners to show off their product lines and new ideas. To add interest to this
event we even started having all the contestants take to a stage constructed in
the middle of the expo room to preview the field. This pageant "preview" has made
the Vendor Expo Party a "can't miss" event.
Even the pageant itself has gotten more complicated through the years. The number
of contestants and the introduction of TV have made several days of rehearsal
necessary. The Girls are also busy with a number of photo shoots. Approximately
fifty percent of all the photos used in the Hooters Calendar and 100 percent of
those used in the annual Swimsuit Issue of Hooters Magazine are taken in the days
surrounding the pageant. It is, after all, a fertile photographic environment
when you have the best girls, all at the peak of their appearance, all in one
place.
The actual pageant seems like a sprint to viewers. However, the four days of convention/board
meetings/expo/photoshoots/rehearsals/pageant is more like a mega-marathon for
the attendees. Trust me, when it's over, you feel like you've been shot out of
a cannon.
