Northampton native Lyndsey Raucher named to 2016 New England Patriots cheerleading squad
By Adam Hargraves
Daily Hampshire Gazette
May 06, 2016
AMHERST — A Northampton native will share the Gillette Stadium field with the New England Patriots this fall.
After an arduous tryout process, Lyndsey Raucher was named to the New England Patriots cheerleading squad for the 2016 season.
“I cried,” Raucher said. “Tears of joy. It was something I never thought I could do.”
Raucher, who graduated from Northampton High School in 2014, is a member of the UMass dance team. She had a pair teammates try out and make the Patriots cheer squad in 2015 and decided to give it a shot for this season.
“They told me I would be good at it,” Raucher said. “I’ve wanted to dance for a professional sports team my whole life.”
On Sept. 18 when the Miami Dolphins visit Foxborough, Raucher will see her goal of being an NFL cheerleader become a reality.
“Performing in front of 70,000 people will be insanely exhilarating,” Raucher said. “The NFL is the goal. I can’t imagine what the home opener will be like. I hope I can rise to the occasion.”
The four-week tryout process started in early March with open auditions and concluded with a final audition and then boot camp. Out of the 420 participants only 33 were selected.
Following the lengthy tryout process, participants had one final test. Raucher had to select a song and choreograph a solo dance. With some help from her UMass teammates, Raucher performed to a Jennifer Lopez song featuring Pitbull called “Dance Again.”
“I knew I could make an impression on the judges but only if I nailed it,” Raucher said. “About 10 seconds into the music I got completely in my zone and had a lot of fun performing. Afterwards I was very excited with how it went and was hoping for the best.”
Raucher began her Patriots journey with an informational workshop. After that, she knew that she wanted to become a cheerleader for the Patriots.
“The whole environment seemed awesome,” Raucher said.
In addition to working home games, the Patriots cheering squad makes appearances on behalf of the organization.
“We are representatives of the franchise,” Raucher said. “We do juniors cheerleaders with little kids. We meet fans and go to fundraisers.”
The squad also has a rigorous practice schedule to go along with appearances.
Raucher started dancing at a young age before moving to competitive dancing at 10 years old. She wasn’t a cheerleader in high school, as her focus was dance and not stunting and tumbling. The Patriots cheerleading squad does do some cheering, but it is mostly a dance team similar to the UMass dance team.
“We are on the sidelines at football games with pompoms,” Raucher said of her UMass squad. “But we dance.”
The sophomore is a double major in communications and history. With multiple career aspirations, Raucher’s options could multiply working at Gillette Stadium.
“A lot of good people work for the Krafts,” Raucher said. “There are a lot of prestigious companies all intertwined with the Patriots. There are a lot of opportunities. It’s a great thing for your resume.”
