GINA: Cheerleader, Teacher … Mom

By Gina, New York Jets Flight Crew Cheerleader
NewYorkJets.com

December 2nd was the day the Jets beat the Arizona Cardinals, 7-6. To any Flight Crew Cheerleader, a Jets win is always a great day! To top my gameday experience off, my daughter was able to watch her mommy in action!!! Secret of mine — I always imagine her with me when I dance. It calms me before every performance.

My parents brought her to MetLife Stadium and the moment she walked off that train she was screaming, “Mommy’s Jets!” Almost every day of the week she would see me dressing up in some form of green and white attire. It had to blow her mind for her to finally see the Mecca of any Jets fan!

Right before the game started, they brought her to the Verizon stage, where she was able to watch me perform for Show Group! Seeing my daughter empowered me through every moment of the game! I couldn’t stop smiling towards her seat that day! Amongst 80,000 Jets fans there was one little fan that made me dance on a cloud, My Angelina!

Being a mother through the last two years on the Flight Crew made it a memory I will be able to share with her for the rest of my life! I was not only blessed to be a member of the 2007 Flight Crew Cheerleaders but I was able to come back in 2011 only 7 months after I gave birth to Angelina! She motivated me through long auditions, hard-core practices and intense performances, and Skyped me during calendar shoots. She was there for it all!

My favorite: Every day she had to sit at my vanity with me when I would get ready! (Mind you she would steal my makeup and knot rollers in my hair — memories!) I would be lying if I said the last two years of my life was a breeze, being a mother, a wife, a homeowner, a dance teacher/competition coach and an NFL Cheerleader! Yes, the jobs are demanding, but it’s not easy being a grownup!

Combining all those titles brings the largest sense of pride that one woman can carry! Hearing “Go Mommy, Go Mommy” when I dance, letting her brush my hair before I leave for work, and her knowing how to spell Jets before she turned 2 years old (thanks to our helpful Jets chant!) always kept me motivated through the seasons!

Anyone out there — fight to be the role model for your children, and any moment you can show them how amazing you can be, go for it! Don’t be scared to dream, believe and achieve as a parent! Don’t we always tell children, “You can do anything you set your mind to and when you have your heart in it, you’re unstoppable”? Remember, being a parent is such an achievement in itself!

“In life, as in football, you won’t go far unless you know where the goalposts are.” — Arnold H. Glasgow

J-E-T-S, JETS! JETS! JETS!

—Gina