Two Locals Chosen for Falcons Cheerleading Squad
The Atlanta Falcons cheerleaders are revamping their whole program, and have added a little Gwinnett flavor in the process.
By Tyler Estep
Gwinnett Daily Post
The Atlanta Falcons cheerleaders are revamping their whole program, and have added a little Gwinnett flavor in the process.
In retooling their operation and trying to become a bigger presence in the Atlanta area, the Falcons cheerleaders completed their tryouts Thursday, and are now set with their full 40-woman roster. The new squad includes two women from the county.
Rebecca Garcia, who graduated from Mill Creek High School just last May, is one.
“That was just as nerve-racking as ever,” Garcia said of the tryouts, which began with 280 hopefuls. “But I’ve always tried to live by the philosophy of, ‘I’m not nervous, I’m excited.’ When they announced my name it was all a blur.”
Twenty-three-year-old Jamie Butler moved to Lawrenceville with her husband less than two years ago. She was a dance instructor in South Carolina before giving birth to her first child 10 months ago.
She echoed Garcia’s sentiments.
“It was a lot of fun, but very nerve-racking,” she said. “Everybody’s talented, especially when you got to the finals. Everyone’s talented, everyone’s beautiful. You just don’t know what the outcome’s going to be like.”
For Garcia and Butler, the outcome was just what they wanted. They’re now officially a part of a squad that’s getting new uniforms, a new logo and shooting its first swimsuit calendar since 2003.
It’s all part of a grander plan to create more exposure for what coordinator Chato Waters called “Atlanta’s best-kept secret.”
“We’re taking the program to a whole new level,” Waters said. “The foundation is there, but it’s just about getting the word out about the cheerleaders. We’re creating a better presence for the ladies, not only on game day but in the community.”
Garcia, whose background is more in competitive cheering, and Butler, who hasn’t cheered since middle school, made it through the weeklong tryout process and will begin their official indoctrination into the squad when they go on a team retreat in May.
Butler will be the more familiar type of cheerleader on the sidelines on Sundays.
Garcia, though, will be part of an eight-woman experiment for the Falcons — a separate group that spends its time greeting fans at stadium entrances, talks to fans in the stands and makes visits to the high-rollers in Georgia Dome suites.
“That’s going to be awesome because I’m a people person, I love to talk,” Garcia said. “That will be perfect for me. I’m going to be really interacting with the fans because this year we feel like that’s really important.”
