There is no bigger fan of the Washington Redskins than Lindsey McCormick.
Photo Courtesy of NBC4
McCormick was born and raised in the D.C. area and quickly adopted her family’s passion for the hometown football team. She bled burgundy and gold. More telling, however, is the tune that echoes throughout her home each time the doorbell rings, “Hail to the Redskins”.
“I don’t know whether to answer the door or cheer,” said McCormick, a three-year veteran on the Redskins cheerleading squad and a current Mason student.
A competitive dancer throughout high school, McCormick tried out for the Redskins cheerleading team at 19 years of age. She spent one year on the non-dancing ambassador group before earning a spot on the sidelines every Sunday for her favorite team.
“I love to dance and I love the Redskins,” McCormick said. “I had the urge to continue my dance career; I didn’t want to stop dancing. But it wasn’t until I got older that I started to think, ‘Dancing and Redskins together might be a good idea.’ It was the best of both worlds.”
Since her debut on the sidelines in 2010, McCormick has dedicated a vast majority of her time to the Redskins organization.
While other students were enjoying their spring break at home last year, McCormick was on a promotional tour to Iraq and Kuwait, visiting members of the U.S. military and performing variety shows for troops in the Middle East.
“Just to meet all those guys and see how they [were living] was pretty crazy,” McCormick said.
As a member of the team, McCormick is required to attend 20 promotional events per year in the D.C., Maryland and Virginia area. She must either hold a full-time job or attend school full-time, on top of the full-time job of cheering for the Redskins.
“You don’t just show up on game day and happen to know all the dances everyone around you knows,” McCormick said. “It’s a whole lot more than dancing. It’s a lot of work, but it’s also a lot of fun.”
Early this summer, McCormick traveled to Aruba with her squad for the annual photo shoot for the Redskins’ First Ladies of Football Cheerleaders calendar. Each of the 40 women participated in the event with only 12 appearing in the annual calendar.
McCormick was chosen by management to lead the way as the 2012-13 Redskins cover girl.
“I was very surprised, to say the least,” McCormick said. “[It was] really cool, though.”
Aside from Redskins-specific events, McCormick spends a significant amount of her time visiting veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, attending charity golf tournaments and volunteering at Fight Night, one of the largest events in D.C.
“[Cheerleading] has given me a lot of opportunities to see different things,” McCormick said. “I have been able to meet a lot of different people.”
McCormick has the opportunity to cheer for a team that has more buzz and excitement surrounding it than any former Redskins team in recent history. Like many other fans in the area, she looks forward to the future with player Robert Griffin III leading the way for her team.
“There is a whole different vibe in D.C.,” McCormick said. “There is a whole different energy.”
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