Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: A Retrospective on the Controversial Reality TV Show Making a Resurgence

Beyond a doubt, there will always be football and cheerleaders. These two things are synonymous and go hand in hand, like peanut butter and jelly. But with the great American pastime, there always comes some form of scandal. The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are more than just some thin women with blonde hair bouncing around.

They are highly educated and highly motivated pillars of the community whose role is to uplift whoever they come into contact with. As we learned from the early days of Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders Making the Team, Kelli Finglass doesn’t play. I have no issues with Kelli, unlike half of America, apparently. So, when taking a look back at the controversial series “Let’s remember to be heart ready.”

Let’s start at the beginning – early Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders

In 2006, I was happily decorating my UNC Charlotte dorm room, and my DCC mood board hung among my *NSYNC and Josh Hartnett posters. My roommate, Abby, at the time, loved the show. Since we had one TV back then, I eventually became hooked myself. Hundreds of girls auditioned, but only 45 made the training camp team. Between the makeovers and revealing outfits, it was a world I wasn’t familiar with.

DCC sisterhood

Throughout the original series and the Netflix remake, America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders , viewers are told about the sisterhood, which roughly translates to a sorority. There were legacy cheerleaders whose mamas had cheered in the 1970s or 1980s. The head matriarchs, Kelli and Judy Trammell , were once DCC stars in their own right. Now, personally, I find it hard to believe that every year, all 36 women are somehow completely supportive of one another. It just seems to be too good to be true. There must have been internal conflicts and discontent among some of the members.

For example, Victoria Kalina, arguably the breakout star of the series (old and new), often finds herself on the outs. There was never any fight recorded with the other women, but there was clear tension. Even though Vick grew up with Kelli, I could swear the head coach couldn’t stomach her some days. Kelli let her guard down once during Season 14 when she noted, “The locker room energy has been good this year” after one of the girls passed out due to dehydration. DCC Alexandria Walker yelling, “This is not a family!” still haunts my dreams.

The irony of playing 9 to 5 when the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are so underpaid

But while I found it entertaining, other viewers were left horrified. Some angry CMT fans called the show out for exploiting the women, accusing the Dallas Cowboys brand of having ridiculous expectations for the girls. And while none of us expected that the women would be earning millions, I didn’t expect to learn that they were pretty volunteers. It seemed a little ironic that Dolly Parton was last year’s Thanksgiving Halftime Show and that she sang 9 to 5.

The Netflix remake showed us that most of these women are newly graduated or working full-time and moonlighting as cheerleaders at night. When asked how much they are paid, one of the cheerleaders, Kat, noted that she is paid probably as much as a full-time Chic-fil-A worker, except they get Sundays off!

Same problems, new day

I was most excited about seeing the series relaunch after the MeToo movements and sexual harassment cases. I thought how nice it would be to see the women not being picked on for size. That idea of grandeur was immediately tossed out as I heard a judge note that a DCC had gotten “puffy.” Clearly, the women were still dealing with the same issues as years prior. Poor Sophy Laufer was grabbed on the ass. As the docuseries showed, Sophy was on the field when a cameraman groped her. While she tried to press charges after the vulnerable and infuriating incident, she was told there wasn’t enough proof. However, the cameraman was swiftly banned from AT&T Stadium.

The verdict

These girls work a part-time job from September to January, assuming they don’t make the playoffs. Should their wage be higher? Yes. But there are some awesome perks like high-quality uniforms, first-class seats on planes, hotel stays, and paid travel. The Cowboys franchise is the most profitable in the NFL, so they should maintain fair wages and working standards. For many, the beauty standards are archaic, but they don’t need to be fair. It’s the vision that the Cowboys franchise values.

But that isn’t what the show has ever been about. Love it or hate it, the series was a cult classic that brought some mixed emotions to the surface. I, for one, am hoping that Netflix gives the series a sophomore season. Just remember: don’t tarnish the star.

Stream America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders on Netflix.

TELL US –  WERE YOU A FAN OF THE DALLAS COWBOY CHEERLEADERS? OR DID YOU HATE IT?

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