Bella's Room From Bella And The Bulldogs

‎Bella’s life is about to go from pom-poms to pigskin in Nickelodeon’s Bella and the Bulldogs! But will the Bulldogs accept their new QB and her lilac air freshener in the locker room? Or will their “no shower” superstition be a flag on a play for Bella? ‎Kids & Family 2015 ‎Kids & Family 2015. Why is there only room for one of them to be a jock, yet plenty of room for the boys? Bella and the Bulldogs premieres Jan 17 at 8pm but airs in its regular timeslot Saturdays at 9pm ET/PT.

Bella And The Bulldogs The Movie
Bella And The Bulldogs Free
Bella's Room From Bella And The Bulldogs Playing

Bella and the Bulldogs Middle schooler Bella Dawson left her life as a popular cheerleader behind to join the Bulldogs as their new star quarterback. Trading in her pom-poms for a pigskin was a total dream come true, but now Bella must find a balance between American football and her cheerleading BFFs.
The Bulldogs then threaten to forfeit the championship game in protest. Despite Bella's protests, they end up following through and the rival team is officially declared the champions without the game even being played; Shipping: Newtella (Newt and Bella).

I really wanted Bella and the Bulldogs to be great. I really did. I would have settled for it to be good. But instead it’s more of the same.

I had high hopes for Nickelodeon’s newest live-action comedy, Bella and the Bulldogs the laugh track-backed story of a girl as she bolts from the sidelines to the headlines as the quarterback of her middle school football team.

When I read the show’s logline, I imagined an opportunity for Nickelodeon to step away from the bouncy-haired starlets who make up its cavalry of talent and portray an athlete as someone who is actually athletic. Remember how football phenom Sam Gordon wowed the world with her amazing moves on the gridiron? She’s good, not simply, good for a girl. Mon’e Davis stole America’s hearts when she pitched brilliantly in the 2014 Little League World Series. But even if she was just a regular kid playing baseball, she would have been been inspiring not for playing well, but just for playing.I was hoping to see a TV character cut in the likeness of these two young women: an athlete — who happens to be female — but who is first and foremost a lover of, a hard-worker in, and an ambassador for sports.

In the series, which premieres with back to back episodes Saturday, Jan 17, head cheerleader Bella Dawson (newcomer Brec Bassinger, who shines despite the cliches she portrays) fulfills her lifelong dream of playing football and must try to fit in with her new male teammates while staying connected to her two best friends from the cheer squad.

It’s a storyline common in tween sitcoms; striking out and finding yourself while remaining loyal to who you are, but while Bella tries to be something for all girls to aspire to, it falls far short from being an ideal. And I’m not saying that the show isn’t entertaining — my two sons have enjoyed the episode that they watched — but I wish the message they were watching was more about good sports than good hair.

We’re told that Bella is a great athlete, but she spends more time tossing around her long, perfectly curled hair than she does a pigskin. Her clothes are ridiculous, consisting of high heels (even high heeled sneakers!) and dresses shorter than any dress code would allow. So kids are paradoxically being told that it’s okay to be “one of the guys” as long as you look like “one of the girls.” Why can’t a kid hang out with a kid and look like a kid?

Bella And The Bulldogs The Movie

Why, in the show, are cheerleaders treated as non-athletes? In reality, cheerleaders train with just as much intensity and athleticism as athletes in other sports, utilizing strength, flexibility and coordination. Why is the show taking away the accomplishments of its other female actors? Why is there only room for one of them to be a jock, yet plenty of room for the boys?

But possibly worst of all is the idea that for Bella, “making the team” is a one-and-done opportunity. The idea that a middle school sport like football would even have cuts assumes at all that viewers know nothing about football. The NFL has cuts, and so do most Division I football programs, but even in elite programs, there are literally dozens of backups standing around on the sidelines of those programs. Why are the stakes that much more black and white for Bella because she’s a girl? The smallest boy on the team mentions that he’s quit multiple times, but for Bella, if she’s not the starting quarterback, she’s “cut.” In what universe exists the concept that if you’re not the star, you’re out? Even if Bella was terrible (or even half as terrible as the other clods on the team,) she’d be a welcome addition. This is telling the wrong message to girls and boys; that you should only participate if you can be the star. Because let’s be honest, while Brec Bassinger may be athletic, the only boys on the show who look like athletes are the show’s extras.

So, what sets out to be inspiring ends up being insulting. Perhaps if Nickelodeon had sought insight from female athletes like Britney Griner, Mia Hamm, Mon’e Davis and Sam Gordon or actors with athletic backgrounds like Elisabeth Shue (who grew up playing soccer as the only girl on an all-boy’s team), the show could have become more than a logline that fails to deliver. Because it could have been a positive message for girls that gender stereotypes were made to be broken, on the field, in the classroom, and on TV.

Bella And The Bulldogs Free

If you want to see the right way to show a female succeeding on a boy’s team, watch the movie that Shue and her brother Andrew produced, Gracie.

Bella's Room From Bella And The Bulldogs Playing

Bella and the Bulldogs premieres Jan 17 at 8pm but airs in its regular timeslot Saturdays at 9pm ET/PT.