Can we talk about DCC/America's Sweethearts?

For anyone like me who doesn’t know what “DCC” is or what this references, it’s a documentary (I think?) about the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.

DCC Making the Team had many seasons on the CMT channel. Not sure if the Netflix show is the same. The show is hilarious for all the wrong reasons. The cherry on top is a fat Kelli Finglass telling these girls to lose weight. 🤣😂🤣 I mean look in the mirror lady.

With her daughter working there too. And Jerry Jones is worth billions? 

I'm just finishing up the first episode and there is a dancer from my town, Coppell Tx - a suburb of Dallas. 

I actually think that if you want me to put the amount of money into grooming myself that those women are required to spend and expect me to have the flexibility for performance that they have to have, $75,000 isn't much, and definitely not much for what is supposed to be the most elite group of women at the specific thing they do.  I really feel like it's a salary that reflects that they are supposed to feel honored to be selected to be part of the DCC, and that they are supposed to feel like they are being paid in cache.  I do get what you are saying.  I do!  But I don't actually think it's that much for what they are required to do (and $22,000 is insane).  If you want my opinion, it's that the DCC take advantage of the fact that these are women who, as girls, were conditioned to spend a gazillion dollars on participating in dance and cheer.

my sister who had daughters in dance knows Tina Kalina, a former DCC and the mom of Victoria who made the team. They keep showing my town and it's pretty cool. I'm enjoying the series so far.

I already posted my thoughts on the other thread. But let me add several paragraphs more since no one I know IRL it's watching this. And yes I did see many episodes of the previous show about Making The Team or whatever it was called. I watched a couple more episodes last night. The girls are so sweet, or at least very good at presenting themselves that way. I could never keep that up.

I agree if there is a height restriction, make that a thing BEFORE they try out.

I find the whole thing ridiculous on the one hand, and adorable on the other. They look so good out there dancing in unison, smiling, pretty, and then they're super sweet to everyone they meet in person. Watching the little girls' faces light up when they are greeted by the pretty ladies is both super sweet and kind of, IDK, has me thinking it's all wrong to be so fixated on how pretty they are. DCC is still run by white women with 80s ideals of beauty left over from their heydays.

But then again it's human nature to want to look at attractive people.

When I was little, I idolized the DC Cheerleaders, Miss America, Charlie's Angels, Playboy bunnies (like, the pretty ladies they showed on TV at the clubs, not the naked centerfolds), SI Swimsuit models, Cheryl Tiegs, Christie Brinkley... You get the idea. Was that healthy? But was it harmful?

Suspicious lack of brown girls. Not total lack, but I think you get the feel for what they're looking for and it's 1980s Texas standards meets Hef's girlfriends from the 2000s. I didn't see any Asian girls at all, probably "too short". Are there Latina girls? Not clear.

All that to say, I particularly love Reece (despite her practically brainwashed love of Jesus and her apparent blindness to what an incredible dork she's gonna get hitched to--I hope she wakes up quickly bc their romance feels like the start of a Dateline special about a repressed Christian nerd who eventually kills his wife) and Kelsey (a nurse! For a special needs child! Who loves the Lord! She's practically too good for the earth, let alone this organization).

And I AM Kleine: where, indeed, is my fucking ornament? You withered old bitch? And that would have been the end of me. 🤣🤣

Did her mother go with her?

I think I spent too much time involved in the dance community, because the only thing that rubbed me the wrong way in this season was the big grand speech about how they don’t make very much money, but they’re honored to do it blah blah blah that lady pissed me off.

I loved the way they circled the wagons when the photographer was inappropriate with one of the dancers. You could see that Kelly and Judy were genuinely upset and I thought it was great that they didn’t even hesitate to pull her off the field.

I understand how the body type and weight conversations can sound, Especially when you lay it against today’s social climate regarding body. It’s odd to say that Kelly is being hypocritical to have conversations with the girls about their weight when she’s heavy herself. She’s not a cheerleader anymore, that’s not her role and she doesn’t have to cram herself into the DCC uniform. But when she was a cheerleader, she had to maintain her weight like everyone else.

I saw on another site that her mom was going to visit her 3 times a month!

I think her relationship with her mother is part of the reason she can't connect with other people and she hasn't learned the skills to interact well with others. They seem a bit too dependent on each other.

Well, Paramount+ has all the old seasons of Making the Team (which I have never watched) so I am watching season 16 which was filmed in 2021 for more cheer goodness. lol

That voice of Reese's is her real voice, imo. She reminds me a lot of my niece. Love the girl, but that really soft, baby-like voice is a lot and she is actually truly that nice in person. Its not an act. Me? I'm loud and swear and it's vastly different from the way I speak.