Susie Sanchez, grandmother and former Oakland Raiderette, tries out to become Dallas Cowboys cheerleader

Dallas News
May 4, 2013

ARLINGTON — More than 200 hundred women came to the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders auditions on Saturday. Only one was a grandmother.

Susie Sanchez is 39 years old and the mother to a 19-year-old, a 14-year-old, an 11-year-old and grandmother to a two-year-old. She’s also a former Raiderette.

Sanchez quit dancing for 11 years before picking it back up in her early 30s. The California native spent five years trying to become a Raiderette. In 2011, the dream was realized, shortly after her grandchild was born.

“The year I was on that team, some of the girls were born the year I graduated,” Sanchez said. “If you look at the numbers, it’s ‘What am I doing?’ ”

With 40 closing in August, Sanchez wanted to take one more shot. This time with the Cowboys.

“I thought why not?” Sanchez said. “I got to go to the big guys. I’ve got to go to the best team in the NFL.

Sanchez caught a flight in to Dallas on Thursday. Given no. 373, she was one of the last dancers of the day, but not the oldest, which was 41.

Just like the 18-year-olds she was competing against, Sanchez got her 90 seconds in front of the judges. The dream ended a short while later during the first cuts.

“This year I decided this was going to be it for me,” Sanchez said. “I was telling myself, I’m going to end it here.”