The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are in a state of beautiful disarray.
But they just got back to the locker room from the sidelines.
Two sprint right to the bathroom, jumping over a Smuckers Uncrustable left on the floor as they go.
Photographed by Mayan Toledano
Dyson that hair, and call it good!
one shouts to another, her fake-lash-lined eyes laser focused on the game clock.
Elsewhere, her teammate Kayla powders her undereyes while in a split on the floor.
The lockers for the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders are more like mini dressing rooms, complete with full mirrors, bulb lighting, and hooks for uniforms.
Kylie gets ready in her locker.
As a practice, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders do not publish the last names of their active team members.
Then, I head out to the service tunnel just in time to see the cheerleaders take the field.
Kylie gets ready in her locker. As a practice, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders do not publish the last names of their active team members.
Theres not a hair out of place.
But the DCC already had a long-established fan base.
But then a funny thing happened: The Cowboys just kept scoring touchdowns.
In June 2024, the docuseriesAmerica’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaderswas the fourth most-watched show on Netflix globally—although the world has long held a fascination for the glamorous cheerleading squad.
In 1966, they had their first winning season.
By 1971, theyd made it to their first Super Bowl, and by 1972, theyd won it.
The Cowboys then president, Tex Schramm, felt they needed professional performers to match the players star power.
Kylie on the bus from The Star—the headquarters of the Cowboys in Frisco, Texas—to AT&T Stadium. The team meets at The Star before each game, already in full glam.
Kylie on the bus from The Starthe headquarters of the Cowboys in Frisco, Texasto AT&T Stadium.
The team meets at The Star before each game, already in full glam.
(Her original design now hangs in the Smithsonian.)
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have multiple uniforms, including one for practice and one for game day. Here, one stretches in their bedazzled warm-up set by Rebel Athletic.
(Others viewed them differently: Cowboy Cheerleaders: Sexist or Just Sparkling?
read a 1977 headline inThe New York Times.)
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have multiple uniforms, including one for practice and one for game day.
Camille during their on-field practice before the game. On November 18—before the Cowboys played the Houston Texans—the squad ran through their routines for about two hours before kickoff.
Here, one stretches in their bedazzled warm-up set by Rebel Athletic.
Camille during their on-field practice before the game.
DCC alum Tami Barber danced on the team during the 1970s.
DCC alum Tami Barber danced on the team during the 1970s. At the time, she fit the archetype of the girl next door: “I had moms and grandmas sending me pictures of their sons,” she recalls, laughing.
Barber made the team in 1977.
One day, the powers that be had pulled her aside and gestured to her hair.
They told her that she had it.
Judy Trammell, head choreographer of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, coaches the alumnae during practice for their halftime show. Once a year, cheerleaders from every decade since the 1960s return to Arlington to do their old routines for a screaming crowd again.
Tex Schramms vision back in the 70s was that there was someone for everyone, she explains to me.
While some were Farrah Fawcett types, Barbers baby face and hairstyle made her the girl next door.
All the girls would get roses from these hot guys, Barber remembers, laughing.
Cheerleaders Megan and Jada, whose cowboy boots are made by luxury brand Lucchese. Vice President of Product Doug Hogue tellsVoguethat each custom Italian leather pair is assembled using a rare 19th-century technique called McKay construction. “One of the original requests was they wanted to be able to have full extension and point their toes while performing,” he says. “You could never do that with a traditional cowboy boot."
I had moms and grandmas sending me pictures of their sons.
Shes still wearing those pigtails five decades laterthough, now, its for different reasons.
Four years ago, Barber lost all her hair while undergoing chemotherapy for ovarian cancer.
The team stretches in the locker room before going out on the sidelines.
Barber plays with her locks, now dyed pink at the ends, as she tells me this.
Its just fun to have hair back, she says.
After their rehearsal, Barber and the other alums hang around to watch the current team warm up.
DCC’s signature beauty look is one that is both camera-ready and intense physical activity appropriate. Here, Sophy applies hairspray as a final touch.
My memories right now are, I cantbreathe, she says with a laugh.
Cheerleaders Megan and Jada, whose cowboy boots are made by luxury brand Lucchese.
You could never do that with a traditional cowboy boot."
It involves Anastasia brow pencils, Dior highlighters, and MAC Studio Fix. One cheerleader tells me that the latter is like “applying a filter” to your face.
The team stretches in the locker room before going out on the sidelines.
Several have their ankles wrapped in pink tape to prevent foot injuries.
By 5 p.m.two hours of rehearsals laterthe team is back in the locker room.
The most popular item among the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders? A Dyson, used here by Karley.
Theyve traded their bedazzled Rebel Athletic practice uniforms for sweatpants, fuzzy socks, and Ugg slippers.
Most sit in their lockers.
Most of the women tell me they do around two hours of makeup before the bus.
The DCC spent seven years working with a company called Diva Hosiery to develop a range of shades to match virtually any skin tone. Often when a cheerleader does a high kick, their hose accidentally rips on the sequins of their belt stars.
DCCs signature beauty look is one that is both camera-ready and intense physical activity appropriate.
Here, Sophy applies hairspray as a final touch.
It involves Anastasia brow pencils, Dior highlighters, and MAC Studio Fix.
Cheerleaders McKenna and Kelee. Each cheerleader has their uniform custom made by in-house seamstress Meagan Tate. The original design by Paula Van Waggoner hangs in the Smithsonian.
One cheerleader tells me that the latter is like applying a filter to your face.
Not so today: Practice was so intense that most of them sweat their makeup off.
It involves Anastasia brow pencils, Dior highlighters, and MAC Studio Fix.
Sophy outside of AT&T Stadium. “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” a concession stand vendor asks me as the squad walks out.
(One dancer tells me that the latter is like applying a filter to your face.)
But nothing,nothing, is more popular among the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders than a Dyson.
(It is not.)
The Cowboys are worth $3 billion more than any other team in the National Football League. One reason for that? Their image of unabashed Americana.
The Dyson can dry the distinct piece in secondswhich is all they tend to have.
The most popular item among the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders?
A Dyson, used here by Karley.
The cheerleaders perform almost nonstop during the game. And unlike football players, they have no bench. They’re always on their feet.
By 5:30 p.m., the sweatpants are off and the iconic uniforms are on.
Each dancer is required to keep hers spotless.
I ask a group if anyone has ever accidentally stained her uniform before a performance.
Most of the active cheerleaders have jobs, many of them 9-to-5. Their practices begins after work hours at 9 p.m.
One dancer recently got her period just as she was set to take the field.
Yet such incidents are fairly rare.
Issues with their tights.
If you have a run in your hose after pregame, youve had a good kick, Finglass says.
Most go through multiple pairs a day.
If you have a run in your hose after pregame, youve had a good kick, Finglass says.
You could never do that with a traditional cowboy boot.
McKay construction is really an old-fashioned way to make footwear.
Cheerleaders McKenna and Kelee.
Each cheerleader has their uniform custom made by in-house seamstress Meagan Tate.
The original design by Paula Van Waggoner hangs in the Smithsonian.
(Yet even that small comfort comes at a cost, as Texas game-day temperatures often exceed 80 degrees.
Ew, ew, ew, one cheerleader mutters as she pulls off a soaked sock.)
Its just one of those things that you have to push through, says squad member Reece.
She shakes her hairspray bottle, which is nearly empty.
How long ago did you get that?
Like three weeks ago.
The crowd to watch them is nine people deep.
In the front is a little girl dressed in a miniature cheerleaders uniform.
They all wave back.
A concession-stand vendor sees me scribbling in my notebook.
Theyre beautiful, arent they?
Sophy outside of AT&T Stadium.
Theyre beautiful, arent they?
a concession stand vendor asks me as the squad walks out.
An hour later, were back inside the stadium and crammed into a service tunnel.
Nothing they perform is easy, but this particular number, choreographed by Judy Trammell, is notoriously difficult.
A rookie member of the squad, Kelly, does a split stretch against the concrete wall.
The cheerleader in front of her adjusts her hot pants.
A group to the side practices their steps, keeping the beat under their breaths.
I watch them until the guitar riff starts and they sprint away from me with a smile.
I dont see the cheerleaders much after that.
Theyre too busy on the sidelines, doing exactly what they do best:performing.
And almost nonstop, at that: Unlike football players, they have no bench.
Theyre always on their feet.
The Cowboys are worth $3 billion more than any other team in the National Football League.
One reason for that?
Their image of unabashed Americana.
The cheerleaders perform almost nonstop during the game.
And unlike football players, they have no bench.
Theyre always on their feet.
At 10:30, the game is over.
Back in the locker room, the boots are off and sweatsuits back on.
The cheerleaders sit on the floor, eating chicken fingers and mac and cheese.
The cheerleader sitting next to her snorts.
Thats not going to count a jump split.
Finglass gives a postgame speech.
A pride of lioness, she explains, takes care of each otherjust like the cheerleaders do.
And thats something to be proud of.
The Cowboys lost that night, 10-34, to the Houston Texans.
Most of the active cheerleaders have jobs, many of them 9-to-5.
Their practices begins after work hours at 9 p.m.
But as the saying goes: Winning isnt everything.
One reason for that?Their image.
A week before I arrived, Netflix announced thatAmericas Sweetheartshad been revived for a second season.
Every single one thanks me as they walk by.
