DCC SELECTED AS NFL ICON BY ESPN MAGAZINE!

On a recent Saturday afternoon, four decades of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders alumni gathered at Cowboys Stadium to be celebrated as NFL icons. The September issue of ESPN The Magazine will profile what it considers to be the top influencers of pro football in its first 90 years. ESPN came to Dallas to conduct a photo shoot of the alumni and these pictures will appear in their upcoming special edition, 90 Years of the NFL. The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders were the only professional cheerleading squad chosen to be featured in the magazine.

The highest honor the DCC organization can bestow on a young lady is that of 'group leader'. These are women who exemplify what it means to be a DCC and are the captains of the squad for that year. Each year, four team members are chosen for this honor. The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have had group leaders since 1972, so there have been 87 ladies who have held this coveted position. Seventy group leaders returned to the field to represent the DCC one more time for this historical special event.

I was fortunate enough to have been selected as a group leader in 1995. This was one of the largest honors of my life. It was humbling to see the other 69 group leaders arrive at the stadium that Saturday. I looked at the ladies that cheered before me and the ladies that cheered after me and realized what a unique bond we have. For a specific moment in time, we were 'the best of the best' and for one more day we were once again 'the best of the best'.

The first two alumni to arrive at the stadium were Vicki Hammons Woodlee (DCC '73-75) and Beverly Flower Gallagher (DCC '73-76). Vicki and Beverly always attend alumni events together and are the first to arrive and the last to leave. They are so much fun! As the rest of the alumni started to arrive, out came the cameras and the family photos. Any DCC alumni will tell you, no matter how many years may have passed by; we are quickly able to pick up where we left off. While the "catching up" was going on, hair was fluffed, makeup tweaked, and alumni jerseys straightened out so that our crystals glittered like diamonds. (The current DCC aren't the only ones with rhinestones on their uniforms!) We had two ladies who have never attended an alumni event but felt so strongly about this honor, that they wanted to be there and made it a point to participate. There were not only Texas alumni who attended, but many of our out of state sisters took planes, trains, and automobiles to get to the stadium.

With ESPN positioned on the field, it was time to strike a pose! The 70 alumni made our way down to the turf to a special location that is near and dear to Cowboys fans. (You'll have to buy a copy of the magazine to see just where this iconic photo was shot.) We were positioned by decade - 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s. Our current 2010 DCC group leaders (Trisha Trevino, Brooke Sorenson, Ally Traylor, and Meredith Oden), were also on hand for this exciting day. This whole process made the photo director from ESPN say "this is like herding cats". Little did she know, but we are organized down to the minutia - 70 group leaders broken down by decade, rookie year, and then into the groups of 4 that they cheered with as leaders.

Beginning with 1972, each set of group leaders was photographed together. Some groups just posed, others grabbed poms and whipped out a routine from that year, and one group even did the splits, which had us all applauding! While one decade was having their pictures taken, another decade was off on a special tour of the new DCC locker room. We could hear the 'oohs and ahhs' on the field! Once again, the cameras came out with alumni snapping pictures and standing in the lockers exclaiming, "Are you kidding me? Look at these lights! They have their own outlets! I bet they don't step in each other's lunches." But, the most frequent comment of all was, "They don't have to share a toilet!" As the alumni reappeared, their faces were as green as the field with envy.

What a special day it was. Most alumni events are open to all 566 alumni and this was the first event to have such a small, select group of ladies. ESPN has bestowed such a great honor on us by recognizing our trailblazing efforts in the arena of professional cheerleading. It was an honor for DCC alumni and former group leaders to answer the call to represent our beloved organization one more time in this very special way.