'America's Sweethearts: DCC' Bosses Kelli Finglass & Judy Trammell "Proud" Of Squad For Pay Increase

New York Post

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00:00Helly, I love how Greg and his team don't hide the fact that season one was

00:05streaming on Netflix while y'all were filming season two.

00:08Our one!

00:12Okay, here we go.

00:14Why do you think you want so badly to be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader?

00:18I love it.

00:19Yeah, we do.

00:20Yes!

00:21How did that impact your training camp process, if at all?

00:24I think, honestly, we're used to cameras, and Greg's team manages to be as discreet

00:35and less intrusive, as least intrusive as possible, so it doesn't really affect what we're doing.

00:42I mean, we're training for a football game and a live performance, and the cameras are

00:47just capturing that.

00:48Thank goodness they don't take a lot of time to repo and do some of the things that really

00:53slow down the momentum, because we do have a lot to accomplish in a three-hour rehearsal each night.

00:59Getting into sort of the meat of the season, Kelly, you really took cutting Dayton hard.

01:04I want to too, but not if it's, if I'm not ready for it.

01:10Right.

01:16It's hard to say you're not ready, because you've been around this your whole life,

01:19you know what I mean?

01:20Do you wish you had made that tough decision earlier, or did you want to give her every

01:27opportunity to prove herself?

01:29We were giving her and everybody else in training camp every opportunity.

01:34We don't have a formula for we're cutting one person or two people tonight.

01:41We know when we're getting closer and closer to the season and what our final roster of 36 would be,

01:46but in Dayton's case, we absolutely gave, I think we cut her earlier in training camp than later,

01:56but we gave her every chance we could, and then we could just see there was some struggle

02:03from her on the choreography. And so we don't want to keep someone longer than we need to make the

02:10right, thoughtful, purposeful decision. And just following up with that, how is your relationship

02:16with Shelly today? It's fine. I mean, Shelly's a co-worker of ours. I'm sure there's some

02:23unspoken, a little scar tissue or pain points. It has to be. She's a mother and it's her,

02:30it's her daughter. But she's always been a very valuable member of our staff.

02:35Judy, after 40 years with the squad, season two saw you grappling with your legacy. You say you don't

02:42want to be remembered as a hard worker, but rather as someone who's warm and known for their hugs.

02:48Were you surprised how vulnerable you became in front of the cameras?

02:52I think I've always been that way. I've always wanted the girls to love us. That's been really

03:01important to me. So maybe I just let loose a little bit more this year because there were some

03:07that needed it. They needed me to be changed, to be different towards them this year.

03:14And Kelly, did Judy's confession surprise you at all?

03:17Not really because I know Judy's core is harmony. She wants harmony amongst people. Her job requires

03:26her to command a room, take charge and react quickly. And there's times where it's no conversation,

03:32no questions. We're changing a routine because someone's injured and we have two minutes. So

03:39she commands a room when she has to, but her truest nature is that of harmony.

03:44Judy, you mentioned that some of the girls had a little tough this season, needed a little bit more

03:50love. You were one of the first to mention that Shandy was having a tough time. You noticed something

03:56was off with her before the Bahamas trip. After we came back from the Bahamas and Shandy needed to take

04:06a leave of absence, we had to go on with rehearsals.

04:10Was revisiting this last season tough for you and are you proud of her today?

04:17I think the whole situation was tough. It was tough on our whole team, but we relate to Shandy and we

04:25understand that she was going through some really tough times and we will always support Shandy. We love her.

04:32She's been a great cheerleader for six years and she had a little hiccup at the end, but we still respect

04:39her. And Kelly, I know you would do anything for your girls and I know you had to be thrilled to see

04:45them receive what they felt was fair compensation. Our efforts were heard and they wanted to give us a

04:54raise and we ended up getting a 400% increase, which is life-changing. What was it like to see them

05:03achieve their goals? I was very proud for them. We all, the entire organization wants to make sure they

05:13feel valued and it just needed to be a discussion at the right time when we could make changes and that

05:20has happened now. And they're happy with the program's enhancements. We're happy with them.

05:27And it's a great thing. We want our team to be productive and happy and feel valued.

05:35Judy, I know our Cowboys didn't have the greatest season last year. What's the biggest challenge for

05:41the girls to perform when maybe the fans are feeling a little low?

05:45I think it showed a lot this season what troopers they are and what they can bring out of themselves

05:53to give great performances even though we're not winning the game. And it was very disappointing

06:01this year, but our job has to go on. And Kelly, like you, I am a huge Kacey Musgraves fan.

06:07You're my therapist now. Y'all got to see what she did. You got to really listen to her words. I have no

06:12business being anyone with therapists. I have a good one myself. You're very inspirational.

06:16Thank you so much. She is a brilliant poet, songwriter. What was that experience like for you?

06:22I feel like I have a relationship with Kacey. We're both from East Texas. We've communicated,

06:30so that's how that whole performance came about. She's just, I think she's a beautiful artist. She's a

06:38fellow East Texan for me. I think she's a poet. I think she's just a beautiful artist. And I was

06:44thrilled. I mean, so many things, literally our stars aligned or our planets with Kacey for that

06:51to work. It was a busy day too. We also had a Christmas show the same day. Oh, that's right.

06:55I've told her, I've told her that I'm like, when I really need to chill, I just turn on my Kacey Musgraves.

07:00But she equally is a big fan of the cheerleaders and hopefully we'll have more activities with her.

07:08And is Deeper Well your favorite song or do you have another that is a go-to?

07:14Oh, I love all of her songs. I like her song Rainbow.

07:21And that one was so beautiful at the concert. I like all of her songs.

07:25Uh, so I, I can't pick a favorite and I like her, one of her originals, Merry Go Round.

07:32But her songs remind me so much of my hometown that they're just, they're just so familiar. They

07:37just, you know, make you yearn for home. What do you think the legacy of this season's DCC

07:44squad is going to be? Each year our squad chooses a hashtag that kind of is their thing. And this year,

07:52interestingly, and way early in the season, their hashtag was United. And I think they have been

07:58united. I think they've been united on, on many, in many situations this year that have, have given them strength.

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