West Bridgewater ‘Idol’ Contestant Talks About Her Final Season as a Cheerleader

By Jennifer Bray
Brockton Enterprise

At 23, Stephanie Petronelli, is getting ready to retire.

“You are only supposed to cheer for four years and this is my last year,” said Petronelli, who is one of 24 New England Patriots Cheerleaders.

The West Bridgewater native who recently made national news when she auditioned for a spot on “American Idol,” made the cut and will be heading to Hollywood. An estimated 15 million people tuned into the Fox show.

But getting to work as a cheerleader for one of the most beloved franchises in New England isn’t all glitz and glamour. Petronelli gave us a peek at what it takes to make the grade at Gillette Stadium.

“I do love football, but you have to know the game too,” Petronelli said in an interview in West Bridgewater on Friday. “You have to take a football test and you have to get a hundred,” she said. The six-page exam includes portions where candidates must write the name of every NFL team and list them by conference and division.

“It definitely helps you when you are on the field,” Petronelli said.

Studying is something that Petronelli is used to. She’s in her senior semester at Bridgewater State University, majoring in corporate communications and minoring in public relations.

“All of the girls on the cheerleading team are incredibly well-rounded and educated – we even have a neuroscientist on our team,” Petronelli said.

She has made very strong friendships with her cheering squad. Even after the intense official practices, a lot of the girls will meet on their own time to practice and learn all the choreographed moves, Petronelli said.

“You get very close when you are all going through shin splints and those long, hot August workouts where they make you run up the ramps in the stadium all the way to the nosebleed section,” Petronelli said.

“We also have to be able to do 160 high kicks,” she said. “We are also responsible for working out on our own, it’s mostly about being fit. You have to have a lot of stamina for those four hours when you are dancing back to back during the game.”

The cheerleading team has a trainer as well as a nutritionist. The cheerleaders also take part in events off the field, promoting the Patriots.

“I haven’t met Tom (Brady),” she laughed when asked. “We’ve been on the same field, but we’re not around the players. We are two separate entities and our job is to cheer for them and support them from the sidelines.”
She has seen Tom’s wife, Gisele (Bundchen), from a distance at Gillette and said she is tall, beautiful and elegant.

One of the perks of being a Patriots Cheerleader is the chance to model for the New England Patriots swimsuit calendar.

“I went to St. Lucia for the 2014 calendar,” Petronelli said. She’s also traveled to Punta Cana, Jamaica and Aruba for the swimsuit editions.

“After cheering, it’s the second most exciting part of the job,” Petronelli said. “You get to go on vacation and the photo shoots are really exciting.”

As the Patriots get ready to take on the Broncos in Denver on Sunday to play for the AFC title, Petronelli along with the rest of the New England fans hopes that the Patriots win it and head to the Super Bowl.

“I went to the Super Bowl when we played the Giants and it was an incredible experience,” Petronelli said. “Even though we didn’t win, it was still a historic time.”

She said she will miss performing on the field the most.

“When you hear the crowd right before you take the field, that’s the most exciting part,” Petronelli said. When the day comes that she has to watch the Patriots on TV and not from the sidelines, it will be tough, she said.

“To cheer and dance for the best team in the NFL has been amazing,” Petronelli said.

To follow Stephanie’s journey on “American Idol,” you can follow her on Twitter @StephPetronelli.