The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are the only squad in the NFL with their own successful reality TV show.
In case you haven’t seen it, Season 9 of “Making the Team” premiers Friday on CMT at 9 p.m. ET and it’s incredibly entertaining.
For The Win went behind the scenes with DCC earlier this summer to learn more about what it takes to become a cheerleader and it’s a grueling process.
Here are five things you need to know before watching the show:
1. Everyone tries out There are between 36-39 spots on the team, but on the first day of tryouts in May,
more than 500 women from all over the world — New York, Miami, Australia, Japan —
came to AT&T Stadium in hopes of becoming a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader.
There were recent college graduates, triathletes, Laker Girls, and dental hygienists.
One girl said she races off-road monster trucks for fun. Another had recently returned from serving eight years in the military. The ages ranged from 18-40.
2. Jerry Jones’ daughter is the president Some NFL cheerleading squads aren’t as important to their organizations,
but in Dallas it is. Jones’ daughter Charlotte Anderson has been in charge ever since her family bought the team in 1989.
3. Being a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader isn’t considered a full-time job … but it should be Most cheerleaders have full-time jobs in addition to their cheerleading responsibilities. They don’t do this for a paycheck.
4. The cheerleaders have to tryout every year Even the veterans. And sometimes the veterans get cut.
5. To make the team, you have to take a test During the tryout process, team director Kelli McGonagill Finglass and choreographer Judy Trammell,
who were both cheerleaders in the 1980s and have been in charge since the ’90s, conduct background checks
, investigate social media backgrounds, teach interviewing skills and give etiquette training.