![\"Sherri](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/TMC-L-eaglescheerleader-02-1.jpg\")
Sherri Hines was a Bethlehem Steelers cheerleader as a teenager. (Courtesy Sherri Hines)<\/p>\nEver since she was 12 years old, Sherri Hines has dreamed of being a cheerleader for her favorite team, the Philadelphia Eagles. A lifelong fan, her father was the one to get her invested in football and the Eagles.<\/p>\n
Now 58, Hines submitted a cheerleading audition tape to the Eagles, not because she thinks she will get the part but because she has always wanted to audition, and felt it was better late than never.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I didn\u2019t do it now, I was never going to do it,\u201d Hines said.<\/p>\n
She submitted the video Feb. 24 with the help of dance coach Yangel Yambo Nieves, who works for Ely Dance Studio in Allentown. Hines said meeting and working with him was the best part of this experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was just the nicest person ever and I think the world of him,\u201d Hines said. \u201cHe was very kind and patient, and I wish him all the best.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yambo Nieves has been a dancer almost his whole life, but he only started coaching a couple of months ago at Ely Studio. While he has never helped anyone audition for the Eagles cheerleaders, he said he was happy to step in and coach Hines.<\/p>\n
Since Yambo Nieves knew that Hines hadn\u2019t danced in a while, he did his best to support her where she was at.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it comes to dance, the first thing I want you to do is to get out of your head, get comfortable, get in it,\u201d Yambo Nieves said. \u201cWhen it came to doing choreo, I said this is how it is. We can slow it down. We can make it faster for whatever you can do, because I don\u2019t want to get in your head and not be having fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherri Hines was a Bethlehem Steelers cheerleader as a teenager. (Courtesy Sherri Hines)<\/p>\n
The video was a minute and a half long and while there is a set choreography, the dancer can choose the song and the tempo.<\/p>\n
Hines chose the song \u201cTake You Back\u201d by Frank Stallone, famously featured in the \u201cRocky\u201d movies, which are some of her favorites.<\/p>\n
According to the Eagles website, the cheerleaders are brand ambassadors who represent the organization and \u201cthe squad\u2019s humanitarian efforts are at the forefront of their role.\u201d They look for cheerleaders who can master professional level choreography, have a passion for helping others and have excellent interpersonal skills, among other qualities.<\/p>\n
When she was growing up, Hines, a Bethlehem resident and teacher with the Diocese of Allentown, cheered for the Bethlehem Steelers, a positive experience that she said has stuck with her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still keep in touch with some of the girls that not only did cheerleading together, but we also had gone to school together,\u201d Hines said. \u201cWe had a lot of fun times and after some of the football games, we would go afterward and have pizza. It was a good community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of Hines\u2019 best memories have been celebrating the Eagles, like when she went to the Super Bowl victory parade last year on Valentine\u2019s Day in Philadelphia.\n<\/p>\n
She said she wishes her dad could\u2019ve been there to see them win last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve just been a lifelong fan and I was sobbing like a baby when they won,\u201d Hines said. \u201cMy dad had already passed at that point, and I wish so bad he could\u2019ve been there to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hines said she is not the only older woman who has tried out for an NFL cheerleading spot, and she encourages others who have similar dreams to follow them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s never too late, and never give up,\u201d Hines said.<\/p>\n
Yambo Nieves had a similar sentiment. He said he believes people can limit themselves because of their age or other factors but if they put their mind to what they want, they can achieve it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have the will to go for it, you can definitely do it,\u201d Yambo Nieves said. \u201cAnyone can pretty much do anything. I feel like age is what you limit yourself to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Semifinalists were announced Monday, with the final squad announced in May.<\/p>\n