Dubbed “America’s team,” the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys are a source of both deep admiration and deep antipathy across the country.
Besides the blue star on their helmet, the most recognizable sight at a Cowboys game might be the vivacious cheerleaders on the sidelines. Before the season began, a group of cheerleaders were able to take the show on the road to their fans at Azalea Trail Nursing Home & Rehabilitation Center, thanks to the persistence and patience of Activities Director Angela Wilson.
“It took some digging on the internet and looking for names and different contacts and I finally landed a contact and to get the cheerleaders to do an appearance,” said Wilson. “The first time it didn’t work out because we had to shut down with COVID-19, so I had to wait for a few more years to get them to come out.”
The idea came from dialogue at one of the community’s monthly resident council meetings. It may have taken a few years to fully manifest but it turned out to be worth the wait. While she initially thought it would be a typical meet-and-greet session, Wilson was pleased to see it develop into a meaningful experience for both the residents and cheerleaders.
“I thought that they would come in and just say hi and do a few cheers and it was nothing like that,” said Wilson. “They visited one-on-one and they were truly involved and interested in what the residents had done. [Residents] aren’t able to get out and go to football games so it’s important to bring things like that to them.”
As the Cowboys look to make a deep playoff run in the NFL’s treacherous National Football Conference, you can bet that the residents and staff will be following them and their new cheerleader friends on television. With so many NFL and other major sports teams’ cheerleading squads and mascots around the US, it figures to be a reproducible scenario for various providers around the country.
Whether or not they make it to the Super Bowl, at least “America’s Team” made its way into the hearts of the Azalea Trail community.
“A lot of them were really excited. It really did mean a lot to all of them, we had a lot of family members come up,” said Wilson. “Almost all of our residents still have pictures on their walls of the visit.”
