Kelcey Wetterberg Breaks Down Her Thanksgiving Gamedays with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (Exclusive)

• Former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Kelcey Wetterberg talks about her past Thanksgivings with the team during the team’s annual NFL holiday game
• “It’s always a bit of a wild performance because even the day before it can change the tone,” she says of the halftime shows featuring some of music’s biggest names.
• Despite the big holiday show, Wetterberg says she and the team “really eat” at a “big feast” before kick-off

Football on Thanksgiving has been a holiday tradition for decades, and the Dallas Cowboys are one of two NFL teams that play an annual Turkey Day game. Over the years, the halftime show featuring superstar musicians – and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, of course – has become an unforgettable part of the experience.

This year will be no different as the Cowboys take on the New York Giants as Lainey Wilson and the DCC crew – now bigger than ever after their first season America’s Favorites: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders — perform live at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Thursday, November 28.

Kelcey Wetterberg, one of the breakout stars of Netflix’s docu-series, describes what her days were like playing Thanksgiving with the cheerleaders, telling PEOPLE about working with artists like Dolly Parton and the Jonas Brothers on their routines and the turkey dinners the team has to share before going out on the field.

Depending on when the team finds out who is running the game at halftime affects how early before the game they can start figuring out what their routine will be. “We find out who the artist is at a different time each year,” Wetterberg says, adding that once that’s locked in, they eventually “get their set list and their music.”

Kelcey Wetterberg and the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders November 23, 2023

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There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes work that goes into creating the actual show, with DCC director Kelli Finglass and choreographer Judy Trammell putting together the final routine for the artist to see.

“It’s always kind of a wild performance because even the day before he can change the tone,” says the group’s former leader, explaining that “I can change my music a little bit, which completely changes our choreography.”

One such example is when the Jonas Brothers performed for the second time in 2022. Their halftime performance “actually changed the tone,” says Wetterberg, explaining that “the day before when they came in and started seeing everything—I mean, these artists are such specific visions and we obviously want to complete it — so when they come in and want to change things up a little bit, we just have to turn around and make it exactly what they’re envisioning.”

She adds, “Preparation can be a bit stressful, but it’s always so much fun.”

After they finish that day before Thanksgiving, there will be a few surprises on the day. Well, with Parton, 78, who was an exception and surprised the ladies by donning a DCC uniform during the 2024 show. “We actually didn’t know he was coming out in our uniform until we were standing to the side, out on stage,” Wetterberg says. “So that was a big surprise.”

Dolly Parton performs on November 23, 2023.

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She adds that Parton was her “number one” favorite performance, noting that “there’s nobody that competes with that in my mind,” before revealing that she also loved when Luke Combs performed in 2021. “Personally, I I’m a big fan myself, so that was fun.”

When it comes to celebrating the holiday itself, most of it is spent with the team, with team members arriving at The Star — the home of the Dallas Cowboys’ football operations — in Frisco by 10 a.m. “We’ll all get there for the day and then until the game ends at 8 and then we’ll be back home probably at 9 or 9:30,” Wetterberg says of the average Thanksgiving.

For the team, this means that all family celebrations are put on hold until the end of the game or the next day, Black Friday. During some years, Wetterberg spent the evening with friends’ families, who joined them for a meal, while others were with her fiance, Nate Crnkovich, and his parents, who are spending the weekend with them.

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“So we’re either going to have dinner a little later that night or we’re going to do it the next day,” she says, adding that her own family usually spends the holidays in Nebraska, where they watch halftime shows from home. .

“My mom is going to kill me for saying this, but she was so excited to watch it—and they all went back to Nebraska—and she was so excited to watch it that she forgot to turn on the oven for the turkey. And so they ended up not having a good turkey to eat until the end of the night and my brothers were a little upset,” Wetterberg recalls with a laugh.

Additionally, Wetterberg reveals that the DCC team gets their own pre-match dinner. “We have a big ballpark feast that’s actually really good,” she says, noting that she has all kinds of Thanksgiving cravings, including “pie, turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes.” Her favorite subject? “Pumpkin pie for sure.”

Kelcey Wetterberg performs on November 12, 2023.

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Much to the fans’ surprise, the cheerleaders “really gorged themselves” before the start of the game. “We eat a ton before dancing because you’re dancing for four hours straight,” says Wetterberg. “So that turkey and mashed potatoes, I mean, you burn it all.”

During dinner, she adds that they sit down in their four groups or as a team and “we’re going to go around and talk about what we’re grateful for, just sit in the moment and just be really grateful for where we’re at” who we’re surrounded by and just try the day make it special even though we are not with family.”

“It’s really cool to sit there with my friends and get away from the crowd and realize how lucky we really are,” she continues.

This Thanksgiving will be a little different for Wetterberg, who retired from the team at the end of last season. She’s now a DCC All-Star pediatric nurse, a former extension of the team, which means “she’ll be performing about two hours before the game outside the stadium,” she says, adding that she’ll then be able to go home early and spend the rest of the day with her fiancé and his parents. “We can have a real Thanksgiving meal,” she says.

Wetterberg adds, “You’re always going to feel a little nostalgic on Thanksgiving… Those are some of my fondest memories from my time on the team, and I got to dance with some really cool artists.”

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Source: HIS Education