A Moment of Weakness

I'm pretty sure I just had a religious experience, and I'm sad to say that it involves the Dallas Cowboys. As a lifelong resident of Washington DC and someone who lives and dies by the daily goings-on of the Redskins, it's been ingrained into every inch of my being to loath everything about our hated rival. But there is a television show on Country Music Television, or CMT (don't feel bad, I'd never heard of it either) that follows the rigorous process of becoming a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader called, appropriately enough, "Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team." This will be my one exception to the "Dallas Sucks" rule that guides my life. Don't like it? I dare you to watch "Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders" and say any differently.

In a word, this show is brilliant.

While the title of the program pretty much sums it up, cameras sit and watch - nay, gaze upon the cheerleading squad as they rehearse their routines and choreographers separate the outrageously gorgeous wheat from the not-quite-as-outrageously gorgeous chaff. Highlights include: looking on as the squad shakes pom-poms, looking on as the squad does jumping jacks, looking on as the squad crawls through an obstacle course, and looking on as the squad gives each other moral support (i.e. jumping up and down and hugging one another). Tiny shorts and sports bras are the required uniform.

And what on earth does this have to do with country music to warrant its airing on CMT? I'm not really sure, but I also don't really care.