Hey fans, it's Betsy, checking in from the 2008 Texans Cheerleader Tryouts.
We had almost 500 girls show up on Saturday, including a lot of the vets from last year. When I saw all the girls crowding into the Bubble in the morning, the only thing I could think was that I hope I'm one of the 35 that's left.
As a veteran – or wanting to be a veteran; I'm not a veteran yet – I think it's harder this year. Last year, I came into it and I didn't know as much, so all you had to do was just do your best and you didn't know what you had to lose. But now you want your spot back so badly, and I value everybody on the team.
I don't want to have to think of other options; I want to be a Texan. This is a dream of mine. So this weekend was just very stressful, but it was a good kind of stressful. All you can really do at the tryouts is just sweat and make sure you do the dances perfectly, and the rest is up to Alto and the other judges.
I think that it's harder to keep your spot than get a new one because Alto and the judges have all been able to watch you for a year. So if you've done well, then that's great. If you had a few mess-ups, though, then that can go against you, too. You just try and be the best that you can be all the time. You just try and do everything to the best of your ability and at least let them know that you're working as hard as you possibly can, and that's about all you can do – and just keep smiling.
We had four rounds on Saturday, with cuts after each one. One of the things I really focused on was just trying to keep my footing, especially in the fourth round. That dance came at the end of a long day, and it was a lot harder than the other dances, too. It had some stuff that required us to be airborne for a second, and landing in three-and-a-half inch boots is not an easy task, doing it gracefully and not breaking your ankle. So I really tried to just be able to be strong and just keep my muscles really tight, keep everything focused and everything together, and that's basically what you do and you just perform and put all your heart into it.
I remembered from last year how long the first day is, so I brought some food to keep my energy up. I woke up at 6 a.m. on Saturday, had some oatmeal and got ready and came to the stadium (we had to help register), and then I went home and ate a snack. We rested a little bit, and when we got back I kind of snacked on little things like goldfish or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I tried to eat as many carbs as I could. I'd been holding off on carbs up until then, but Saturday I tried to eat carbs so that I could sustain my energy.
After we got done around 8 p.m. on Saturday, the last 50 or so girls were invited back on Sunday afternoon to learn the routine we'll be performing during the finals on Friday. It's such a great feeling and an honor to make it through even a few rounds, let alone through the whole long day Saturday and into the finals. I'm really happy to be here, and I can't wait for Friday to come.
