Making the Team: Not Just a Pretty Face
Most of America probably has a preconceived idea about who a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader is, and not many people take the time to see past our famous star-spangled uniform. If you looked a little closer, you might actually be surprised by the diverse personalities of the young women who wear our uniform. They are shining examples of America's best and brightest young women who come from all across America to earn a place on our squad. Yes, they are pretty, but they are also intelligent, poised and passionate about topics that range from fashion to football and the plights of Darfur and Sierra Leone. They are atypical young women who come from many walks of life, and they are not cookie cutter clones who all like the same things. A Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader is more than just a pretty face.
During the audition process, we look way beyond the hair and make-up to find out if a young woman can intelligently represent the Dallas Cowboys football club. These ladies are first performers and entertainers, but they are also role models who are a reflection of our world class organization. They represent us both on and off the field, and that is why our standards are so high. Whether they are doing high kicks on the sidelines of Texas Stadium or shopping for groceries, we expect them to maintain a polished and professional image that is representative of America's Sweethearts while they are under contract with us.
A very important part of our audition process is the group interview. This is the non-dancing aspect of being a DCC, and panel interviews can make or break them. We know they can dance or at least they have shown the potential to learn our style of dance, but we also want to know more about them and how they will interact with the public. After all, a huge part of the job is interfacing with fans and on occasion, the media. Are they likeable, approachable, personable and genuine? Some of the ladies can talk their way onto the squad, but some can also talk their way off!
Page by page and name by name, we evaluate every single contestant from 1 to 89. We complete a thorough evaluation of each girl before the interview process ever begins, checking backgrounds and contacting references to learn everything we can about each and every finalist who wants to secure a place on our squad. Every candidate is given special consideration, and we spend hours reviewing their applications and essays preparing for their individual interviews.
We do our homework, and we expect that every girl who shows up for an interview will do their homework, too, but of course that is not always the case. I think everyone remembers the young lady from season two who did not know who Condoleezza Rice was. This season, there are more awkward moments and unprepared contestants. Today, when the world is accessible with just a few strokes of a keyboard, there is no excuse for just showing up. We require more, much more, and it takes a unique combination of poise, personality, preparation and passion to impress us and show us that you deserve to wear our uniform.
Rarely do you have an opportunity to be part of a group that is the best in the world at what you do. As the director of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, each season I have the privilege of providing a truly unique opportunity of a lifetime to 36 young women, and to step foot on Cowboys turf, you really do have to be more than just another pretty face.
From the Director's Chair,
Kelli
©2008 Country Music Television, Inc., a Viacom company. A division of
TxAgg says:
Go DCCs! I think this show has provided an opportunity for everyone to witness everything you just stated. Your standards are incredibly high and should remain as such. In a world where we tend to coddle and excuse bad behavior and ignorance of common knowledge (especially if you look good), you have consistently shown that yes, you must be more than a pretty face. Keep the standards high! The DCCs have set the bar for everyone else.
Me Too says:
I love this show! It makes me wanna get in shape so I can put this big body into that tiny uniform!
Ms. Feathers says:
This show has NOTHING to do with COUNTRY MUSIC and should NOT be on COUNTRY MUSIC TELEVISION. It belongs on VH1, or Spike or even Comedy Central. I understand that CMT is trying to get more men to watch by airing shows like this and the Coyote Ugly auditions, but all these shows are is a bunch of girls with hot little bodies dancing around barely dressed, worrying about their weight (like that’s going to keep teen girls from sticking their fingers down their throats), and whether or not their make-up is just right. You can talk all you want about standards, but showing girls talking politics doesn’t bring in viewers. I *have* watched this show in the past - when I needed a good laugh - and the cameras focus on the girls bodies, their pitiful tears, their social dramas, and their bodies. The DCC are not popular because the girls can name the Secretary of State or do Algebra 2. The DCC has been popular for decades because of the girls and their bodies and their provocative dance moves. Every teenage boy who has a DCC poster on his wall didn’t buy that poster because SuzieQ cheerleader was Valedictorian.
“Making the Team” is just another lame attempt by CMT to tap into the 18 - 34 male demographic.
CMT - GO BACK TO MUSIC VIDEOS!!!!!
bbanks5787 says:
Mmm Ms.Feathers….Cowboys (and anything connected with them, Texas, Cowboy boots, Cheerleaders, Football) and Country Music Television……I don’t see the connection. Yeah Right.
theGre says:
The Dallas Cowboys Organization has done an outstanding job in setting the bar for Cheerleaders. As a former Coach and Director of a Cheerleader Organization myself, and by the way I did have a valedictorian on my squad, the time, energy, organizational skills, experience, and knowledge that is required of the leaders of these squads, not to mention their dedication, reflects on the members of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. In retrospect, I would have liked the opportunity to try out for this special team.
If the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders ever decide to invite a guest cheerleader to the sidelines I would be first in line. Please continue in your excellent presentation of young women in our country, Ms.Finglass, again, you set standards more young women should aspire to.
Ms. Feathers says:
BTW, just look at the picture with this blog - how much skin vs. “work out wear” do you see??
I’ve seen more cotton in an aspirin bottle.
Peaches says:
Ms. Feathers, I have to wonder where all your hostility is coming from. If you do not like the show, do not watch it.
“Excellence” as a concept is not just about one area- school, work, etc. CMT IS showing excellence through these girls. Yes, they are all attractive and have beautiful bodies. Do you think it is EASY to maintain a body like that? Especially when you are not 18 yrs old anymore? And shame on you for even suggesting that these women are the reason there is bulimia in teens! Any eating disorder stems from low self-esteem which unfortunately comes from ALL areas of society. Good self-esteem is to be able to watch this show, see how much hard work is put into this process, recognize talent, and feel OK about YOURSELF and your own body as you watch.
I am a dancer. Living in leotards and tights and flashy costumes is a fact of life as a dancer. And as a dancer, I know what it takes to be those girls. I have never seen ANY backbiting between those women. I see respect. To have a group of WOMEN who can work together as a team and respect each other? THAT is excellence. To be ready at any time or place to be recognized as a DCC and give autographs, talk politics and faith (some of these girls are deeply religious btw) without being offensive, at midnight after a VERY long practice with genuine smiles- THAT is excellence.
But then again, maybe your idea of what excellence is differs from mine.
Ms. Feathers says:
Peaches, I don’t receive CMT thru my cable system any more, but when I did, I HAVE watched the show - late at night when I can’t sleep and need to fold laundry - and I was just NOT impressed!!!
Have YOU watched the show with an eye toward what CMT is promoting? Unless things have changed in the last two years since we lost CMT, the main focus of the show is girls in skimpy dancewear cavorting lustily to decidedly NON-COUNTRY music.
If it takes work to maintain that physique, then show the women sweating in the gym in ugly gray t-shirs and baggy shorts and no make-up, because I’m sure they don’t all work-out in their finest Danskins.
And that’s just one example. My “hostility” as you call it, is NOT toward the DCC. It is toward CMT that blatantly makes the fine organization of the DCC into just another way to showcase well-built women dancing suggestively in skimpy outfits.
I do understand the commitment, sacrifice and hard work that goes in to being a full-time dancer, ice skater, musician, karate champ, whatever, and I totally respect the people who put all their energies into anything like that. But this is NOT what CMT is showing. It is showing beautiful women dancing suggestively in skimpy outfits.
If you are a 15 y/o girl who likes to dance/cheer, and you watched this show, would it make you feel better about yourself, or worse??? Would the weigh-ins they show and the hard line the head of the DCC shows toward girls who are maybe 3-5 lbs heavier than the DCC wants make a girl feel full of positive self-esteem? Why show the weigh-ins if it’s not to promote the idea that if you don’t have a perfect body, you’re unacceptable??
“Making the Team” is NOT a documentary about the DCC. It is soft-porn designed to entice 18-34 y/o males to watch CMT.
If CMT wanted to attract young women to their network, they might have a show about hot-n-hunky guys trying to make the Chippendales. I’m sure that takes a certain amount of hard work, dedication and excellence, too. Where’s that show? Also, if CMT is trying to show young women what great things they can aspire to, why air the show after 9pm??? Why not after school or early evening when young women are more likely to watch?? For heaven’s sake, look at the CONTENT!! It’s at the FAR edge of PG-13. And what are the commercials for? Tampons, make-up and diet pills? No, trucks, beer and Home Depot. THAT tells you right there who the audience is.
I hope you see that I’m not bashing the DCC. I’m bashing CMT, as they deserve it. There is so little that’s redeeming about tv these days, and there’s a REAL OPPORTUNITY for the DCC to collaborate w/ CMT to have a positive influence on young women. “Making the Team” is NOT doing that.
Dee K says:
Hi Kelli,
I love this show so much (just getting into season 3 but LOVE season 2) that I hope CMT keeps the second season on their site even when not on the air. I wrote before about making the shows available on dvd (I would buy them all) but in the meantime…
Thank you…I love you!!!!!
janie says:
Ms Feathers,
Have you considered that these girls are role models?
To make the team requires goal setting, working hard, following the rules and making and honoring a comittment.
Just because they are pretty and have great bodies does not make them any less hard working than anybody else.
People who are secure with themselves can see that.
Peaches says:
Ms Feathers, if I had been able to watch this show when I was 15 yrs old, I would have been ecstatic! I would have thought anything was possible. In fact I wish they HAD had the show back then! I would have picked up MANY performance tips and embraced the fact that I was not the same as every other girl in HS. I would have sat down and looked at what made me “me” and how to emphasize what made me STAND OUT. It would have helped ME to not try to “fit in” and perhaps that would have staved off much anxiety I had in HS.
I understand that you are tad bit upset at CMT for showing this show. But calling it “soft porn?” REALLY??? I am a Christian with VERY high values and I resent that remark. I get a little uncomfy when they have people making out in movies much less having sex, and I watch Making the Team with my MOTHER. She loves it!
Of COURSE men are going to watch this show. Although I think your estimation of it being directed towards 18-35 yr olds is a little bit conservative! But, as we’ve seen here, women also watch this show was well. I think the people at CMT and Kelli know this. I believe Kelli probably chose CMT because of the “country” aspect. I believe that the first dance the women did at a game last season was to “Loud.” That is a country song. The Rascal Flatts have also been featured on this show.
I would suggest that you write CMT and spell out your complaints to them. I don’t think they’re going to get the message if you leave a comment on here. I’m all for letting your views be known but to the correct people.
Tammy says:
Ms. Feathers, get a grip and see the show for what it i. These girls are true athletes. Hard working women that are shown in a good positive way. Thaey are shown to get fit in a healthy way instead of sticking a finger down their throat. As role models they must maintain a good professional image (no drinking drugs etc) that I would be proud to have my girls look op to. Ju look at what they do for little girls att camp Dcc. What is wrong with having well mannered ,well groomed intelligent health lifestyle women as roll models for a change. Go DCC.
Ms. Feathers says:
Janine, Peaches and Tammy…
Again, I am not talking about the GIRLS or the ORGANIZATION. I am talking about how CMT is USING - EXPLOITING, even - these fine young women to MAKE MONEY.
Please step back from you adoration of the girls and the organization and SEE what CMT is doing to it. LOOK at the ADVERTISERS. As I said, THAT tells you which demographic CMT is aiming the show toward.
I am NOT degrading the GIRLS or the ORGANIZATION.
I am pointing the finger at CMT and the producers of the show for their blatant attempt to entice MALE VIEWERS.
I can tell the girls work hard the the DCC has very high standards. The ARE role models and athletes, no doubt! But they’re not being portrayed as such on the show. They’re being portrayed as skimpily-dressed hot chicks to sell trucks, beer and hardware. If I were the marketing director for a big company like Budweiser or Home Depot or Ford, I would put tons of money into ads for this show because I know who would be watching it - 18 - 34 y/o men.
Again, please READ my comments and REALIZE that I am ***NOT*** disparaging the GIRLS *or* the DCC.
Peaches, I am a Christian with very high values, too, and that is why *I* am offended at the way these women are portrayed on the show. Men are VERY “visual”, and this show allows them to “see” a LOT. It certainly could cause many to “stumble” - I’m sure you know what that means. Christian women EVERYWHERE should be offended by these types of shows that EXPLOIT women to sell products.
I also have issues w/ CMT for cutting back on actual MUSIC-related programming in prime time in favor of reality programming. I thought the “M” in CMT was for “MUSIC”. But again, that’s NOT the fault of the DCC or it’s contestants.
Eric Prado says:
Kelli, I must say that this show has brought so much to the attention of the viewers in a positive manner and I think the show is brilliantly done. I highly respect the organization and the dedication of you and your staff for bringing the realization that in the process of working hard toward making a dream a reality, so much more is to be reviewed and looked at. Many many girls have been given this opportunity and not very many people in the general public actually know or even understand that there is so much more to auditioning for a major organization such as the DCC, than being able to dance and having a pretty face. I was a color guard choreographer and I too know that there is blood, sweat and tears that go into making any team like the DCC. Mind you, a high school or university color guard is not as respected or as recognized as the DCC, but as a director and choreographer, I can easily understand that there is so much more to look for in candidates for the line. I find the show, inovative, inspiring and compelling. Great job and You will forever have my respect and attention.
Truely,
Eric
Angie Pusateri says:
Kelli,
Love the show. Keep up the great work.
Mrs. Butterfly says:
Ms. Fearthers and Peaches-I think both of you show excellent points. DCC is a great show to inspire young girls, and can be great role-models for teens. On the other hand, I think the show should be less seductive and aim for better standards. I also, being of a strong christian faith, believe that it is important to have other contents portrayed in this film. don’t get me wrong, I watch the DCC every once and a while, and enjoy it. However, I do find it a little unnecessary to display the body as a showcase for young males. I think it is a great show, and agree with most of the points Peaches brought up, except for these few matters that could possibly be considered for change. Sincerely Mrs. Butterfly
emma says:
I am fascinated by the tough tenderness Kelli exhibits in working with the DCC all through the process. She obviously understands these young ladies and is able to read them like a book. I believe her ability to understand their character, emotions and level of committment is what makes them so successful and a position on the team so sought after.
I have to admit the provocative costume is an unnecessary element that does not enhance the girls talent and skill.
But, the professionalism that Kelli has achieved should be a hallmark for all those in a position of authority should aim for. Keep it up.
kara jane says:
Kelli, i absolutely love DCC! it is my favorite show its the only one i try to watch every episode….I think you do a great job at picking your girls! This show shows people that cheerleading is not just a bunch of girls yelling and screaming and dancing..it shows them that it takes hard work, dedication,and lots of practice. Where i come from most of the people here dont even think that cheerleading is a real sport but it is and DCC proves that!! keep up the hard work
Tammy says:
This comment is to reply to beck’s comment that was posted November 1st at 3:12 p.m. I do agree that it is amazing what is expected of this young ladies as to how they must look in the uniform but I would not call it stupid. I know that many young girls around the country will look up to the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders; therefore, a standard is set for these cheerleaders to follow to represent the Dallas Cowboys and leave a favorable impression on the young girls that will look up to them. These girls must be well-rounded, not just a pretty face and fit body. They must be educated, knowledgeable, be able to communicate well and act respectable. This is where I find fault with you, Beck, & your post. If you must post something, you should be able to communicate well in a decent manner to get your point across - ugly words, misspelled words & bad grammar won’t get it….I bet the people on the show are not that “dumb”. Kudos to the show - I love it and look forward to each new episode!
Caolyn says:
WOW!!
i MUST HAVE HIT A NERVE BECAUSE MY COMMENT FROM EARLIER THIS WEEK WAS DELETED.
amy says:
Ms Feathers : SO WHAT if CMT has a cheerleader show instead of constant country music? The CMT people can do what they want. Not only that, but men looking at women is a reality of life. The normality of that fact is so evident, well, I’m just puzzled…what is your point????
Brooke says:
Hey,Kelli
Wow I really like DCC I watch it everytime it comes on TV. Theres nothing better than the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. What cracks me up though was when one of your collages ask that girl if she knew if the Dallas Cowboys had an s at the end and she said she didn’t know. I started laughing I could not help myself. I’m not a cheerleader and I knew that question. So that girl with the curly hair that you said looked like a striper. With her background being like it was a year ago could they not of let her have another chance to become a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader. And by the way you are a pretty woman I,ve ever seen. I love the show. YOUR FAN
Brooke Epling
Centerton,AR
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