One feature of the new DCC website is video of their game day performances. First off, they are fun to watch. Second, they show what these women can do far better than any still photo ever could.
The latest video is a must-watch. I was absolutely blown away by their endurance. Now I understand why conditioning is so important. It is one thing to do 4 hours of sideline routines, with plenty of breaks in between. It is quite another to do a marathon halftime routine like the one they did for Breast Cancer Awareness month.
If I may digress for a moment – the DCC are all about the uniform. Maybe it’s different if you live in Texas, but speaking for those of us outside of that state, it’s the uniform that’s the celebrity. Not the girl wearing it. Where other teams are integrating alternate uniforms and game day costumes, the DCC have – for the most part – kept to what works for them and best represents who they are. From what I’ve seen, they don’t fiddle with it a whole lot. (Although I have seen them wear chaps over the uniform sometimes.)
And then there was that mermaid thing.
What was that about?
So when October came around, and other NFL dance teams appeared on the field with pink poms, pink legwarmers, pink armbands, and pink shirts, I wondered what the DCC would do. I couldn’t see them wearing the pink shirts like everyone else. And without the shirt, the legwarmers would look kind of strange. I figured they’d probably go with pink poms. (And thought how cool it would be if they replaced their blue blouses and stars with pink ones just for that game – as if.)
Well, in their usual DCC style, they put a little twist on it to set them apart from the other dance teams, while honoring such an important cause. I didn’t realize that at first, though. The first photo I saw, showed them in their regular uniforms. A second look revealed that they had new poms – same as the old poms – but with a few discrete pink strands tucked in here and there.
I’m not going to lie. My first thought was “Wow, that is so incredibly weak.” I mean, it’s Breast Cancer Awareness month. This is a big deal, not just for the Cowboys, but all across the league, and this is the best they could do? Really?
I should have known it was part of something bigger. It is, after all, Texas.
At halftime, the DCC threw aside the pink shirts and legwarmers, and did it one better. Pink polka dot dresses with those little white ankle socks you wore when you were little. (The ones with the lace on the cuff that you only got to wear on special occasions.) They also had sparkly pink poms, and pink accents on their sneakers.
I also discovered later on, that they did, in fact, alter their uniforms for the occasion. Instead of wearing pink breast cancer awareness ribbons, they wore one pink star on their vests.
But the pinkness of it all was a distant second to the actual performance.
Which brings me back to my original point: the video.
It was seven solid minutes of dancing, tumbling, stunting, jump splits, partner moves, formation changes, and everything but the kitchen sink. Who knew the DCC could tumble?
What amazed me most was the shear stamina it takes to pull that off. Seven minutes is longer than you think. 45 seconds into it, I would’ve been laid out on the ground with the edges of my vision going black.
If you think this is no big deal, do me a favor. Stand up and do jumping jacks as fast as you can for seven minutes. I think you’ll come around to my point of view. Cripes, those girls are in good shape.
Go watch the video. You’ll see what I mean. (Click here)
