Joyce McNally, an Atlanta Falcons cheerleader, is unlike many girls in the league because of her advanced age when she got started.
The challenge of a professional cheerleader in the National Football League is drawing attention this week because of one woman.
McNally, a cheerleader for the Atlanta Falcons, achieved her dream of becoming a professional cheerleader at 30 in 2019.
She didn’t get started late; she failed to make the team in eight auditions over a decade since 2011.
McNally is proof that you should never give up on your dreams.
McNally, from Florida, had dreamed of being a cheerleader for the University of Notre Dame in Indiana since she was a child. However, the current Atlanta Falcons cheerleader failed to gain admission and decided on Plan B to become a cheerleader for Florida State University.
She quickly realized it would be difficult to join the cheer squad since it required advanced tumbling skills, such as backflips. She decided to join their spirit team, an organization that engaged in activities similar to cheerleading and helped boost school spirit during games.
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Just before her last semester of college, Joyce McNally realized that cheerleaders in the NFL focus more on dancing than tumbling, so she moved to Atlanta in 2011. She was only 22.
The Work Begins For Joyce McNally
Before the Atlanta Falcons audition, McNally taught herself to dance via YouTube and take Zumba classes.
Her hard work had her reaching the semifinals in the audition that year, but she ultimately was eliminated.
Not to be discouraged, she attempted again the following year but had to bow out just before the finals.
She made it to the finals in 2013 but did not make the final 36. Health issues in 2014 prevented her from trying out, but she kept at it from 2015 to 2018.
Finally, Joyce McNally received the news of her acceptance in 2019. That is the year she turned 30.
McNally noted, “2019 was the year I thought, ‘Let’s give it one last shot.’ It is true that my lack of skills had always held me back. Technical ability was not my strength.”
Having spent six years as a professional cheerleader, McNally plans to retire at the end of the 2025-2026 season.
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