West Texas native fulfills lifelong dream

by Nathan Wall, staff writer

 

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have become an international icon. Even if you travel to the most remote parts of the planet, where American football is a distant reality rather than a way of life, you can still find people who know who the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are.

For Kandi Harris, becoming a cheerleader for the silver and blue has been a lifelong dream. Not only is becoming a cheerleader a great opportunity, but as she also said, it’s a way for her to push herself to be a better performer and help give back to the community.

Harris and other members of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders will be at South Plains College on Feb. 14, when the Texans and Lady Texans square off against Odessa College in a pair of homecoming games at Texan Dome.

Every year, 12 young women from the Dallas squad travel and visit United States soldiers stationed in Iraq and Korea. Harris was one of those lucky women who participated in the most recent trip, describing the experience as one of the most rewarding things she had ever participated in.

When asked what her favorite part of the USO tour was, she replied, “The eight days I got to spend in Iraq, bringing a smile to the soldiers’ faces.”

Certainly getting to meet a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader on a normal day is reason enough to smile. But when you’re in a hostile country, with no family, and constantly worried about personal safety, getting to meet the wonderful cheerleaders can be a huge moral booster.

Harris’s days in Iraq were filled with waking up early, riding on Black Hawk helicopters and visiting a new camp everyday. She recalled getting up early in Kuwait City, boarding a C-130 with one bag (which must contain her uniform, day wear and personal items) and flying into Baghdad. Once in Baghdad, she got to stay in one of Saddam Hussein’s old palaces.

An Odessa native, Harris described the sound of mortars being launched toward the camps like distant firecrackers. Even her friend, fellow cheerleader Megan Fox, saw mortars heading toward one camp while she was on stage performing her routine for the troops.

“Nothing happened to us that was too scary,” she continued, “We always felt safe. But the one time when we were really startled was riding out to another camp on a Black Hawk. The pilot was trying to give us a fun ride when the gunner proceeded to fire his machine gun. It was loud, and I thought that we were under attack. When the shooting stopped, I learned it was just a tactical precaution that they take, in case there was anyone around who thought about shooting at us.”

However, life as a Cowboys Cheerleader is not always filled with loud machine guns and 110 degree treks across the desert. In fact, training and auditioning for the squad is the hardest thing Harris has ever been through.

She described the auditions as a big cattle call, where you are always watched. Every cheerleader performs as part of a group and has a solo act. Even if you make it past the initial auditions, you still have to endure the long training camp, where any night you could be making that sad call home to your mom, letting her know of your departure.

Luckily, Harris never had to make a call like that to her mom. Instead, her mother was the first person she called to give her the wonderful news.

Kandi does have other experience with performing for a professional sports club already, as she previously has performed as a Mavericks dancer.

When asked which would win in a dance-off, the Cowboys Cheerleaders or the Mav’s Dancers, she just laughed, saying, “They’re both very different. But the Dallas Cowboys are much harder to prepare for.”

Asked if she felt that she was a role model for younger girls, and if she liked that, Harris replied, “Yes, I do. Young girls have the pressure to stay skinny and look fit. But when they watch our television show, they can see how hard we work to be in the shape we’re in.”

“Advice I would give to young girls, who want to get to this level, is always work hard and never give up. Get in a dance class and make it a part of you. Nothing comes easy. For me, the most difficult things to do are the famous leg kicks. So I have to make sure to always keep stretching, because I am not flexible at all,” Harris said.

Harris is also a diehard Cowboys fan herself. One of the most exciting experiences she has ever had was getting to perform at the recent playoff game, even though they lost. She expressed her happiness with Jason Garrett coming back as offensive coordinator and added that her future Prince Charming must be a Cowboys fan.

When she isn’t performing, or traveling the world, Harris likes to spend her days like any other woman would, with her family, watching “Law & Order” or shopping. She goes to class at a local Dallas university, where she studies fashion merchandizing.

Some of her other favorites are Taco Villa, “Monsters Inc,” the Bible, and when pried for an answer, admitted she thought Batman was better than Superman.

She doesn’t feel like she has accomplished everything she wants but feels that she is headed in the right direction.

In the end, her stay so far as a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader has made her a much more confident person. With how hard she worked towards becoming a Cowboys Cheerleader, and then actually accomplishing that feat, she now feels that she can accomplish anything and is very thankful for all the doors this has opened.

                                                                                        All photos courtesy of Bobby Badger