The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have been around for decades, known for their high kicks and iconic uniforms. They were officially formed in 1961, just one year after the Dallas Cowboys Football team was created. Throughout the years they have performed revolutionary routines and provided entertainment for fans for years. With the new Netflix docuseries, America's Sweethearts, the Dallas cheerleaders have been on the rise. 

To answer the question I pose today, let's get the official definition and then my unofficial definition of a cheerleader. A cheerleader is a member of a team that performs organized chants, cheers, and dances in support of a sports team. By my definition, a cheerleader is an athlete who tumbles, stunts, dances, and performs chants or cheers. 

There are two types of cheerleaders, All Star cheerleaders and school cheerleaders. All Star cheerleading is comparable to a club team where they compete year-round with one team and one routine. Whereas school cheerleaders typically only perform for a football season with a small minute-long routine. Both would be considered technical cheerleaders by the official definition and my unofficial definition. 

When comparing the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders to All Star and school cheerleaders, they fall short in many different categories. The Dallas Cheerleaders do not stunt, tumble, or perform organized chants during the Cowboys football games. However, they do perform organized dance routines in support of a sports team. Unfortunately, by each definition the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders do not meet the requirements to call themselves cheerleaders.

A more accurate definition of the Dallas Cowboys Cheer team would be the Dallas Cowboys dance team. Most women on the team grew up doing competitive dance and or school dance. The requirements to be a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader are all dance skills like turns, kick lines, and jump splits. In reality, the team is made up of dancers, rarely actual cheerleaders or people who haven't done dance in the past.  

Then why are they called cheerleaders? The reason the team is mislabeled is because of the underdevelopment of the sport in the 60’s. Cheerleading was only invented in 1898 and was originally only male. At the time of the creation of the Dallas team’s cheerleaders, the definition and requirements for a cheer squad were not widely known or taken into account. The Dallas cheerleaders were simply named cheerleaders because of their role to support the Cowboys team and the unclear definition of a cheerleader. 

In conclusion, the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders are not cheerleaders, they are dancers. The most accurate definition would be a pom dance team, this includes the use of pom-poms with an organized team and synchronized dance. Either way, the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders have created a professional career of being a dancer, other than in the style of ballet, which is a major step to Cheerleading and Dance being taken seriously as a sport.