Monday, November 1, 2010

Guest Post: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team

Hey y'all,
So you may have noticed October was a bit quiet around the ol' Unpro.  Basically, I've been dealing with some personal stuff, work has been insanely busy, and I really miss creative writing so I'm about to dive into National Novel Writing Month for the second year in a row of 50,000 words in 30 days.  The next couple weeks will consist of guest posts, and I'll be popping up in the comments to add my two cents (because I always have at least two cents, or four, or fifty-three).
Thanks for understanding, and this week, please to enjoy an awesome post from Meg, who's shown up on this blog to comment on Things TV Taught Us and White Girl Problems, and now has her very own blog, Questionable Taste!  Rock on with Meg as she explores her favorite cable television treasure and be sure to let her know what you think!

Everything is bigger in Texas. 
The hair, the sequins, the oil rigs, and, of course, the football. I kind of have a fascination with Texas - it's like a different world. I love big and sparkly things, and I think maybe I was a Texan in another life. Because of this, I’m going to share with you the best-kept secret on basic cable: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team. I realize I have questionable taste in everything, but before you laugh at your computer screen, hear me out.
The concept is pretty simple: cameras follow young hopefuls as they shake, kick, and jump-split their way to a spot on the Dallas Cowboys’ famed cheerleading squad. In charge of choosing the ladies are DCC director Kelli Finglass and choreographer Judy Trammell (both former cheerleaders themselves) who demand excellence not only in dance ability, but also personality, handling public appearances and “looking good in the uniform" (read: not having any extra weight).


Kelli and Judy are tired of your shit.


The aspiring cheerleaders go through several rounds of auditions, with a select few making it to the squad’s training camp, where they’ll learn routines and the fine art of "sexy walking," get sized up by the audition judges on Cowboys Stadium's 60-yard flat-screen TV, and endure boot-camp-style workouts. From training camp, several more ladies are cut from the squad, being called into Kelli's office and informed that "Tonaht will be your fahnal naht." (That's my typing impression of a Southern accent there.) Tears and heartbreak ensue. So why do hundreds of girls try out for 36 spots each year? And why can I not stop watching this show?

Because Kelli and Judy are damn good at what they do. Kelli knows how to put a squad together, and Judy comes up with dance routines that are fun and sexy without being over-the-top. They’re no-nonsense big-haired Southern belles and they know exactly what they’re looking for. Show up late to a uniform fitting? Stumble in the kickline? Kelli and Judy won’t have it. Being a DCC is about more than just being hot and shaking poms. Part of what I like about the squad is that the cheerleaders have to actually be able to dance, and not everyone can do high kicks and jump in the air and land in the splits. And if you can’t hack it, you’re out.
And as someone who’s been involved with dance and theater most of her life (and on the poms squad in high school), I know the crazy and emotional ride that is the audition process. So much can be at stake, and in the end, it’s a situation over which you have no control, and the show doesn’t sugarcoat this fact. Some of the ladies auditioning are back for the third, fourth, or fifth time, often making it to final auditions but ultimately falling short. It may seem like it's just about doing booty-shaking and high kicks and cheering on Miles Austin, but it’s not as easy as it looks.
Despite its intensity, though, I totally want to be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. I took poms and dance and love sparkles and can tease my hair and could probably eventually do high kicks if I worked on it. But I think Kelli and Judy would probably kick me off the squad - not sure I have what it takes.
But I really want a pair of those cowboy boots.
Are YOU guest bloggy-rific?  If you'd like to contribute to The Unprofessional Critic, email me at maybeimamazed02[at]yahoo[dot]com!

8 comments:

  1. I am so glad that someone else admits to loving this show. It's so much fun!

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  2. I like this show too! At first I thought I'd hate it- with all the of the 'pretty girls shaking their stuff'...but that's not what the show is about at all. For being what it is- IMO- it sends a very positive message out there to women- Be the best you can be, work hard and attain your goals.

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  3. "Kelli and Judy are tired of your shit." Love it!

    I really wish I could watch this show--I have a zillion random cable channels but NOT CMT, dammit.

    I did catch a couple episodes while visiting my parents, though. Those ladies are TOUGH. If you can't hack it, you're out. But like heymissmegs said, the choreography is fierce and requires real skill and ability, so it's way more than just looking cute on the Jumbotron.

    Thanks so much for your guest post!

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  4. ^Previous seasons are on Netflix, if you have it.

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  5. Unpro - Full episodes are also on CMT's website, so you can watch it there!

    Thanks for the feedback, everyone!

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  6. I think Kelli and Judy degrade young women I am personally was glad to see one, Megan F. fiannly stand up to them last night and tell them what heartless bitches they really are. They play favorites and are mean and cruel. I wish some overly zealous reporter would look into the REAL shit that the "Sweetheart of America" are into. There might be alot of totally shocked fans.

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  7. Kelly is an ego-manic crazy, loon who spouts class but is a hideous example of a classless woman who is fooling herself. A souther belle with class provides negative feedback in a loving and constructive manner. It pains her to cut a girl and it shows. Also, she never, never, ever makes fun of girls. Rolls her eyes and basically acts better and above it. Kelli should try out for the adult version of mean girls. Also, that Kitty is a mess... with her putdowns and agressive manner and downright rudeness ... she can't teach a class and be effective without being a bully! Miss Manners and any other well known, respective etiquette expert would never use Kelli or Kitty as examples and would quite frankly be appalled. Sure Kelli eludes class with her manner, smooth talking style, and grooming, but a pig dress in silk is still a pig!

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  8. All the teams have cheerleaders just as good looking and sexxy

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