Woman Auditioned to Be an NFL Cheerleader 9 Times (Exclusive)

• Joyce McNally tells PEOPLE exclusively about her journey to becoming an Atlanta Falcons cheerleader at age 30 after nine NFL cheer squad tryouts.
• The Florida native breaks down the nearly decade-long process to achieve her goal, including the mental toll it took on her and how she stayed motivated despite rejection year after year.
• McNally shares inspiring advice for those interested in becoming an NFL cheerleader themselves, despite not having years of technical dance experience.

Joyce McNally is proof that you should never give up on your dreams.

Before ultimately achieving her goal of becoming an NFL cheerleader, McNally had a long and arduous road.

During her senior year at Florida State University, the then-22-year-old cheerleading hopeful decided to skip over the college athlete level and attempt to go pro despite not having the typical qualifications upon her first audition in 2011.

What she did possess, though, was unbreakable grit and determination — not to mention, spirit — which had McNally standing strong throughout nine NFL cheer tryouts over the course of eight years, before ultimately making the Atlanta Falcons in 2019 at age 30.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, McNally recalls her nearly decade-long attempt at becoming an NFL cheerleader, including what kept her going despite constant rejection.

“Maybe I’m a little delulu and very stubborn, but I was like, ‘I know I can make this team. I know,'” McNally, now 36 years old, tells PEOPLE exclusively of her locked mindset throughout her audition span.

When chatting with McNally, it’s obvious how she eventually cracked the code given her optimistic and upbeat personality. Despite nine NFL squad denials, she doesn’t speak negatively about any of her rejections.

Rather, McNally leaned on each rejection as experience to shape her. Plus, she used her personality to her advantage at the time, a pivotal factor the Atlanta Falcons consider when building the squad.

Skills aside, McNally notes personality “is a really important part of being a cheerleader for the organization” due to the fan interaction and community involvement that comes with the responsibilities of being an Atlanta Falcon.

“There’s more to being put on a team than that technical aspect. That’s how I got on the team, I think,” she says. “I can speak in public. I’m amazing with the kids. I can talk to a wall if I need to. I can represent on media outlets. I can do all of that and I can blend and jam with my team.”

McNally adds, “So I think that’s what I really leaned on during my time trying to make the team.”

Born and raised in St. Petersburg, she initally had sights set on becoming a cheerleader for Notre Dame University during her college years. “That was just my dream,” she says, though notes she pushed that dream aside when she didn’t get accepted into the school.

Ultimately committing to Florida State, McNally — who had “traditional” cheer experience, having grown up on the sidelines doing the stereotypical “rah rah” chants — was interested in pursuing FSU cheer as well, but “let that dream go” after learning advanced tumbling was required.

Lacking “triple toe touch” and “back tuck” abilities herself, McNally still wanted to be involved in “a spirit group” in some capacity, so she participated in FSU’s spirit organization.

“Then when I graduated sometime around December of my senior year, I was like, ‘Well, what if I try to be an NFL cheerleader? They don’t tumble. They just dance.’ And I was like, ‘I can figure that out!'” she recalls of her confident, younger self.

And that she did upon her relocation to Atlanta after graduation, enrolling in a few prep classes before auditioning for the Falcons for the first time in spring 2011.

“I went, had no idea what I was doing, had taken a couple very basic Zumba style classes in Tallahassee and I had started to teach myself some dance technique from YouTube, like a pirouette,” she recalls of her prep.

Of her first audition in 2011, McNally — to her surprise — made it to the semi-final round, but was the second person cut. “That was fine,” she says, noting she came back the next year and made it to the semi-final round again before getting cut a second time in 2012.

In 2013, McNally made it to finals. “Third time’s charm,” she recalls of her mentality that year after taking dance classes and learning the technique to increase her chances.

“So that year I got to finals, which was great because I got to see the entire process all the way through… I thought I did the best I could and didn’t make it,” she says, remembering the girls being really technically trained that year.

McNally skipped auditions in 2014 due to physical complications but resumed her candidacy in 2015. “Did not make it to finals,” she says, admitting it “was a little humbling since I had been to finals before.”

Then 2016 rolled around. “I was like, ‘All right, here we go,'” she recalls, determined ahead of her fifth tryout. “Didn’t make it to finals,” she says, though quickly notes she advanced to finals in 2017 during her sixth attempt.

While she remembers having a “great audition” that time, McNally cites a lack of spots on the team that prevented her from securing one. “They had a slew of veterans that year,” she makes known.

Though she referred to 2018 as her “lucky” seventh attempt, as seven is her lucky number, she never could have forseen what came next. “Had great prelims, made it to finals,” she says, explaining that she had a few days before her next round.

Hungry after a day’s hard work, McNally went to refuel at a new restaurant joint (a switch-up from her usual go-to, Chipotle) — and alas, the unthinkable happened. “Got devastating food poisoning that evening,” she says.

“I barely could practice because I was dying all day,” McNally remembers of her final tryout, which she still attended to prove she was “dedicated” despite being sick. “I just didn’t have a good audition. They just didn’t see me at my best, so I didn’t make it,” she says.

As McNally reached her eighth year trying out for the Atlanta Falcons, her luck finally began to turn around. (Though she notes she also attempted to tryout for the Atlanta Hawks basketball team in 2018 and the New York Jets in early 2019).

“That’s the year I made the team,” she joyfully confirms, though notes she still was “devastated” every year she didn’t make the team.

“Deep down I always knew that my technique, my lack of technical background held be back. It’s not my strong suit,” she says. “As much as I practice it, I don’t have a background in it, so it was just always hard for me.”

That’s why McNally praises her Atlanta Falcons’ choreographer, who played to her strengths and allowed her to dazzle on the field for six straight season after making the NFL cheer team in 2019.

“I think what’s great about my team is that my choreographer, who runs all of our dances and sets everything, really acknowledges and recognizes people’s strengths within the dances that we do and puts people in areas where they can really shine,” she says.

Now, McNally tells PEOPLE exclusively that she’s making the decision to retire from professional cheerleading ahead of the 2025-2026 NFL season.

“This is the first time in 14 years that I haven’t had to prep for auditions,” she says with a laugh, assuring that she will be “a very active alum” on the Atlanta Falcons in some regard despite her retirement.

Looking back, McNally doesn’t view those rejections as failures, but simply timing.

“I have a little tagline that I tell everyone. It’s that, ‘Your dreams are worth the wait,'” she says with a smile. “The time is going to pass anyways for any goal and so why not keep trying if your heart is still in it?”

When thinking about her then 22-year-old self walking into Falcons auditions for the first time, her message is clear.

McNally shares, “I would tell her, ‘It’s worth the wait. It was totally worth the wait.'”