Former Oregon Ducks Cheerleader Delaney Burns Makes New England Patriots Dance Team
By Pete Christopher
The Oregonian
When Delaney Burns applied to become a New England Patriots Cheerleader, she kept it a secret.
“I didn’t want to jinx it for myself,” she reasoned.
Originally from Beaverton, Burns danced at Westview High School before cheering for four years with the Oregon Ducks, where she served at team captain her senior year. She moved to New England, where her family resides, after graduating in 2014. Burns kept her goal of making an NFL cheer team quiet from nearly everyone except family, including Oregon cheerleading coach Dana Guthrie.
“I actually didn’t even find out she was going through the process until after she was in it,” Guthrie said. “She didn’t want to tell many people in case it didn’t work out.”
Although Burns grew up in Oregon, her family roots in New England made her a Patriots fan from a young age. In March, Burns began a month-long tryout with the Patriots that included four rounds of auditions, interviews, performances and cuts. By the end of the month, Burns was one of 28 women who made the team among nearly 300 applicants.
If college athletic program success is measured by the percentage of athletes that reach the professional ranks, Oregon’s top program might well be cheerleading. Five others in Guthrie’s six-year coaching career at Oregon are now with professional sports franchises that include the Portland Trail Blazers, the Golden State Warriors, the San Francisco 49ers and the San Diego Chargers.
“I wish more of them would come east with me, but I have just lucked out where I’ve landed,” Burns said. “It’s also fun hearing from friends with the Blazer Dancers, which is way different from an NFL experience.”
Cheerleaders and dancers in the NBA typically work at all 41 home games, but perform routines intermittently during game breaks. NFL cheerleaders are responsible for fewer games during the season, but are visible in the spotlight throughout the entire game.
Burns enters the professional cheerleading ranks at a turning point in the sport’s history. In July, California legislators passed a law requiring all professional cheerleaders in the state to be treated as team employees, as opposed to contract workers. The law, which goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2016, gives cheerleaders access to minimum wage, overtime, sick pay and more benefits.
The bill stemmed from a lawsuit filed by cheerleaders for the Oakland Raiders, who claimed that they were denied basic benefits because of their contract worker status, even though they were otherwise treated like team employees.
Although no such bill exists in Massachusetts, Burns is considered a team employee with the Kraft Group, which owns both the Patriots and their home in Gillette Stadium.
Getting ready for her first NFL season is not the only thing Burns has on her mind, as she also holds a full-time job outside of the NFL as a merchandising analyst for a home furnishing company in Boston. Several of her Patriots teammates are graduate students. The Patriots cheerleading team holds practice twice per week, with occasional promotional appearances included.
When the regular season begins in September, Burns’ schedule will get even busier. The Patriots cheerleading team works during all eight regular-season home games, and during two preseason home games. Those Sunday home games require Burns and her teammates to arrive up to five hours before kick off. When asked if she would still be able to watch Oregon Ducks games on Saturday, she sighed.
“I’ll record any games that I can’t watch live,” Burns said. “I’m still trying to figure out if I can go to any, but it is not looking likely. I have still never been to Patriots game, but Ducks games are just special.”
