Rookie Evony takes a tumble, in a very good way, in her first game with the Titans Cheerleaders

Anyone who attended downtown Nashville’s pre-season Code Blue Pep Rally would have naturally assumed that brand new rookie Titans Cheerleaders Evony was a lifelong dancer, exemplified by sky high kicks that seemed to reach halfway to a beaming sun. But au contraire, Evony actually is strictly from the realm of all-star and college cheerleading, without the expected years and years of dance class training. Evony’s journey to prepare and succeed with the Titans Cheerleaders included finding the best people to help her, her own hard work ethic, and a devotion to some healthy food choices. And it all paid off, as Evony not only made it onto the elite Titans Cheerleaders, she also was a featured tumbler in her first regular season game’s first routine!

Born in California, Evony lived in the Fort Ord vicinity until a move during second grade to Tennessee. Evony is a junior at Nashville’s Tennessee State University, studying Health Science with a concentration in Speech Pathology, and also with a Spanish minor. “I am going to help English and Spanish patients,” Evony explains.

Although Evony’s boyfriend knew Vandy student TTC’s Jessica and Amber from his Vanderbilt days, Evony did not know any of the Titans Cheerleaders. But the esteem for the squad throughout Teneessee drew Evony to consider trying out for the squad. “I know that the Titans Cheerleaders help out a lot in the community, and they look beautiful. And I want to be around people like that who help out the community.”

But being an NFL cheerleader required that Evony prepare for a new set of challenges. “I’ve just been a straight up cheerleader,” says Evony, whose long time All-Star cheerleading eventually led to being a cheerleader at Tennessee State. “When you cheer, they dance, but it is more of a motion thing.”

And although Evony did not start dance classes as a wee pre-schooler, her childhood activities did help lead her to being a feature tumbler during her first regular season game. “When I was growing up, I did tennis and gymnastics,” Evony explains. “So I didn’t even start cheerleading until I was in sixth grade. My tumbling is really pretty because of gymnastics.”

So Evony, how did you prepare for trying out for the Titans Cheerleaders? “Oh my goodness, I ate oatmeal, yogurt, spinach,” Evony recalls. “I worked out SO much. I had to work on my physique. “

Try-outs, as expected, featured an abundance of talented women looking for a spot on the sidelines in the entertainment capital of Nashville. “It is super competitive, I tried out for the first time and made it, so that was another shocker,” laughs Evony. But Evony, were you really shocked? “Oh yeah, I mean, everybody was beautiful, thin. I couldn’t even believe it. (I thought) ‘Are you serious, ME?!’ But it was a tough competition.”

And after all that preparation, Evony had to wait a teeny smidgen longer than anyone else at try-outs to hear the good news. “They call your number, and I was the last number,” Evony recalls. “I was number 48, and (Stacie Kinder, the Titans Director of Cheerleading) gave out this speech before she gave out my number. So I thought I didn’t make it. I was walking up the stairs, and people called out, ‘Evony, come back, you made it!’ I was like, ahhhh!”

So, Evony, you worked hard, made the squad, now it is all super easy, right? “No, it is not coming easily,” Evony says. “I actually had to put in a lot of extra work to catch up with everyone else.” But what about those sky high amazing kicks, there is photographic proof from the pep rally? “I actually had to hire someone to help me,” Evony replies. “She was an expert. She definitely helped me.”

Plus, certainly her Titans Cheer sisters help out the engaging rookie. “Oh yeah, all of the time,” Evony describes. “Stephanie A has given me advice; Anne P has given me a lot of advice. They’ve really helped me.”

So how did Evony feel at the first pre-season game? “At first, I was so nervous,” Evony recalls. “But it was crazy. I was nervous, but as soon as I soon as I stepped foot on the field, it just all went away, it was SO much fun.”

And, as she talked with UltimateCheerleaders prior to the first real home game at LP Field, Evony described her feelings as, “It is just crazy! We have to get here so early and get ready. We practice all summer, and it is just so exhilarating being out there. It is worth it, because we work so hard.”

So I was intrigued by her first name, and Evony explained, “My name was actually supposed to be Ebony, but my mom said, ‘I want something different: Evony!’” But given Evony’s bilingual Spanish side, the v and the b aren’t so different phonetically. “So in Spanish, people say ‘Ebony’ anyway,” Evony laughs.

So as Evony’s professional career advances, she would like to go wherever the best speech pathologists are, because she always wants to be around the best. Certainly she applied that mindset to pro cheer, to not only work hard but surround herself with the best people, so that she herself achieved an elite goal. Just as Evony hit her tumbling marks, in an on-field routine only a quarter into her first game, illustrating that her dedication paid off on the field, certainly she has found right formula that she can apply in all aspects of life, all of her life. Respect the talents of those one aspires to be, but show the drive to not be intimidated to reach their lofty standards, learn from the best, and then, time will find oneself setting lofty standards. That’s Evony’s way, and she is on her way.

Problem is, along the way, Evony may leave everyone speechless, a possible occupational hazard.

We are so appreciative that Evony took time out prior to the her first real game to share her emotions and experiences during the launch of her Titans Cheerleader journey. Thanks SO much to Stacie Kinder, the Titans Director of Cheerleading. More photos of Evony from the first home game are here at this link.