42-year-old mom of 4 trying to make comeback as NFL cheerleader
Melanie Way was a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader 21 years ago.
Now, at age 42, she’s looking to return to the sidelines for a different team.
On Saturday, she will be among close to 1,000 women trying out for the Houston Texans cheerleading squad.
If she makes it, she will become the oldest cheerleader in team history. Previously, the oldest was in her mid-30s.
https://twitter.com/TexansCheer/status/983841247629586432
Way is now married with four kids.
She had her youngest just a year and a half ago, she told KTRK-TV in Houston.
Way said she really enjoyed cheerleading for the Cowboys in 1997 and has been training hard to make another go at it, this time with the Texans.
“It was an amazing experience to be out there and the fans are cheering and you’re dancing and having a blast,” she told KTRK.
While about 1,000 women are expected to try out, only 35 will make the team. But Way is staying positive.
“I’ve been been telling myself, ‘When I make the squad, when I make the team,'” she told KTRK.
The fun and excitement are what make cheerleading appealing to her.
“Being on the field, the music is loud and people are excited to be there,” Way told ABC News. “That’s what excites me. It’s just really fun, and who doesn’t want to have fun?
“Yes, I’m 42. Yes, I’m the oldest. Yes, I’m a mom — just because you have kids, you can still write that book, be a singer, you can do whatever it is that you’re passionate about.”
That’s the message she hopes to deliver to her kids.
“I hope they see that and I hope they take that with them as they get older and they chase their dreams just like I am,” Way told KTRK.
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