Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders applaud new changes at stadium

By ERIC AASEN
The Dallas Morning News
August 20, 2009

The Dallas Cowboys aren’t the only ones making their debut this week in the new stadium.

How ’bout them cheerleaders?

Friday’s preseason opener at Cowboys Stadium brings lots of changes for America’s Sweethearts – from the way they enter on to the field to their locker rooms. But one change is making them a tad self-conscious: seeing themselves on the ginormous HD video boards that hang 90 feet above the field.

“You look like you’re 70 feet tall and 60 yards wide,” Kelsi Reich said of the world’s largest high-definition monitors.

“We’re working out a little extra hard to try to be ready for that big screen,” Justine Phillips said.

Reich, 19, said she’s thrilled to be part of the stadium’s debut because “it’s being a part of history.”

“I could not have joined this team at a better time,” said Reich, who is starting her second season as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. “It’s the most amazing experience that anyone could have asked for.”

Phillips is starting her fifth season with the squad, so she was comfortable with the Texas Stadium performance setting. Moving to the new stadium means soaking up many new details in a short amount of time.

“We’re doing everything from scratch,” said Phillips, 25. “The way we enter the field is new. Kickoff procedures are different. It’s a new learning process.”

But the new locker room makes all the work worth it.

At Texas Stadium, the cheerleaders fought over mirror space and two electrical outlets in a cockroach-infested room. Power strips and extension cords snaked across the room. There were two bathroom stalls – and the toilets were leaky.

Now, each woman has her own locker, a mirror and storage space – and there are five stalls.

“It’s the ultimate in luxury for a cheerleader,” Phillips said.

While a new stadium is nice, the cheerleaders are most sentimental when they reflect on their experiences with the squad off the field – appearing at community events, performing for the troops overseas and especially when they meet children.

“Just putting smiles on their faces and hugging them and making them laugh makes us so honored to be part of the team,” Reich said.