Every walk of life has been affected by the COVID-19 crisis and NFL cheerleaders haven’t been exempt from the stay at home orders all across the country.
According to Front Office Sport, the Philadelphia Eagles are among a handful of organizations who’ve been forced to adjust the auditions for their cheerleading squads.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, there’s no way to audition cheerleaders in person. More than half a dozen NFL clubs, including the Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints, and Kansas City Chiefs are utilizing cell phones, Skype, Zoom and other forms of technology to hire their squads for the 2020 season.
Aspiring cheerleaders are answering the call – the Colts say they will likely draw double or triple the applications compared to a normal year.
The Eagles and Colts are among the clubs that will conduct the entire process online from start to finish.
The Eagles are unlikely to even have in-person auditions this go-round, and according to Jen Kavanagh, the team’s senior vice president of media and marketing, the organization is inviting applicants to “compete from home” via a virtual, open-call audition.
“Everybody has the basic tools to participate. Your camera phone, or Skype, or Zoom, or whatever it is. We all have those tools,” Kavanagh said.
Applicants for the Eagles cheerleading squad have been asked to provide a 30-second dance routine, then upload it to a club web site by April 30.
This isn’t the first foray into online competition for Eagles cheerleaders, as Kyle Tanguay, the first male cheerleader for the Eagles in three decades, was a recent contestant on American Idol.
