Raiderette Lytisha Santiago

By Tony Mercado 2/05/03
Raiderdrive.com/Area Chica Staff Columnist

As one of Football’s Fabulous Females, Lytisha Santiago has basked in the adulation of thousands of Raiders fans, fed off their energetic frenzy and become a crowd favorite.

            One would think there could be no greater rush. But it’s actually on the relatively calm grounds of an Oakland school where the diminutive self-described shy and quiet bookworm feels she does her best work.

            Since September, Santiago has served as a youth educator at Bret Harte Middle School, assisting in a community sponsored after-school program that utilizes her cheerleading roots and passion for children. “I’ve always loved working with kids,” she said. “It’s amazing how they can take to you and think you’re the greatest thing on earth. When they found out I was a Raiderette, they thought I was a superstar.”Before that, however, some of the kids thought she was a new student at the school because of her youthful looks and small stature. “I get that a lot,” she laughs.

Santiago, 22, personifies much of what is already known about Oakland’s Raiderettes. Without question, they are among the most beautiful women in the world, but they’re also intelligent and focused. And when it comes to Santiago, there’s definitely more than meets the eye. She’s a voracious reader, a tremendous fan of horror master Stephen King and Thomas Harris, author of the Hannibal trilogies. She proudly boats of being able to read at least 15 to 20 books a year.

And then, there’s her personality. Throughout her three-year career as a Raiderette, Santiago has shattered the stereotypical image that sometimes accompanies a professional cheerleader. She’s quick to offer a radiant smile and friendly laugh to accompany her easy-going manner. “It’s surprising how many people tell me how shocked they are that she’s so nice and well-spoken for being a cheerleader,” said Jeremy Birns, Santiago’s boyfriend of nearly two years. “She’s classy in the way she represents herself and everyone just likes to be around her.”

That includes the kids at Bret Harte, who get Santiago between her full class load and three-day Raiderette practices. In the after-school program, which also includes art, physical fitness and academic help, Santiago runs a cheerleading workshop that she started in October. “It’s a good time, but I’m a tough coach. I want everything to be perfect,” she said. “As a cheerleader, I have standards, rules and guidelines that I have to follow so I try to instill that in the girls.”

While the youths know she’s a Raiderette, Santiago does little to promote herself as one in her private life outside the confines of the Network Associates Coliseum.

She considers herself first and foremost a student. Even her classmates at the local community college where she’s studying don’t realize there’s a Raiderette in their midst. That’s just the way she likes it. “I definitely don’t advertise it,” she said. “I have to keep those two lives separate because I have to focus on what my goals are and maintain them. Right now, it’s school.”

Santiago took a two-year sabbatical from school to cheer with the Raiderettes and is now channeling her energy toward pursuing a career in communications, perhaps sports broadcasting.

Her most memorable moment with the squad came in the first home game after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks when the Raiderettes and Junior Raiderettes performed a halftime routine dedicated to the United States of America. “At the end, the girls spelled out USA and you could feel everyone cheering and all that energy. It was really amazing,” she said. “But you know, every part of being a Raiderette is just as exciting today as it was the first year.”

            Santiago joined the Raiderettes at 19, capping a journey that began at the age of eight in Pop Warner for the San Leandro Crusaders and continued through high school. She set her sights on being a professional cheerleader at 17 after catching her first live Raiders game when her parents won season tickets. “I watched the cheerleaders pretty much the entire time. I knew right then and there that’s what I wanted to do,” she said.

There doesn’t seem much that can stop Santiago from doing what she wants to do. “She’s driven to learn more and be the best she can be,” said Birns. “She likes doing what she’s doing and she’s good at it.” With Santiago’s attitude, it’s easy to see why some students at the school see her as the epitome of what they long to be: driven, focused, admired and successful. In other words, the petite Raiderette is quite simply a giant in their eyes.

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A special thanks to the Mary Barnes and the Oakland Raiders for making this interview possible. For more on Lytisha, visit http://www.raiders.com/raiderettes/squads.jsp