View the original article on Jewish News Syndicate. Photo by Brian Garfinkel
Elana Horowitz recounts: “Philadelphia has a thriving Jewish community, and not a single Eagles cheerleader is Jewish. Why can’t I be that role model?”
When Elana Horowitz auditioned for a spot on the Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders squad, her Jewish identity, spunk and a bit of chutzpah—coupled with exceptional cheerleading, athleticism and dancing skills—helped her land this coveted job. Now, the 32-year-old high school math teacher who started dancing at age 2 is gearing up to celebrate the Eagles Super Bowl victory with the team and the city of Philadelphia in a victory parade scheduled to take place on Friday.
Horowitz, who flew from New Orleans on an Eagle’s charter flight on Monday and was back in her Delaware classroom on Tuesday morning, spoke with JNS after school that day about her Jewish identity and how it comes to play in cheering for the Eagles.
Horowitz was born in Phoenix to parents who were both very active in Young Judea. When the family moved to Chicago when she was 2, she began dancing. “I have been taking ballet forever,” Horowitz says.
She attended the Solomon Schechter Day School of Metropolitan Chicago from kindergarten through eighth grade and danced throughout, including a five-year stint with the Joffrey Ballet in the children’s cast of “The Nutcracker.” Horowitz also attended Camp Young Judaea Midwest for five summers. After she began attending Glenbrook North for high school, a public school, Horowitz reports missing her time at day school.
And so, she says, “I switched to Camp Ramah in Wisconsin so I could be with my Schechter friends.”
Ramah began to occupy an important part of her life. Horowitz was a camper for two years and spent a summer in Israel with Ramah Israel Seminar. She then served on the dance staff for three summers and eventually married Daniel Soler, a physical therapist and former division head at Camp Ramah in the Poconos.
In high school, Horowitz continued to dance. She was on the Poms team, which danced and participated in pre-game and half-time ceremonies. “I fell in love with poms and learned this style, which is in line with the style of most NFL teams,” she says.
Horowitz graduated from high school and spent a year in Israel on the Nativ program. While she enjoyed the gap-year program, she reports that “there were not many opportunities for dance.”
Fortunately, her college years at the University of Maryland offered opportunities to continue dancing, as well as the chance to be “very active” in Hillel and the Sigma Delta Tau sorority.
Horowitz double majored in math and education, and minored in Jewish studies. She joined Unbound Dance Team, the club dance team at the University of Maryland, where she noted that two of the dancers went on to cheer for NFL football teams. She began considering the possibility of trying out for one. “I was on the same dance team as them—I can do this,” she thought.
‘An Israeli dance in my own style’
The very determined Horowitz graduated from the University of Maryland in 2015 and auditioned for the Baltimore Shuckers, a professional minor league basketball team, and for the Baltimore Blast indoor soccer team (she cheered for them for four years and received “Rookie of the Year” honors). Horowitz also auditioned for the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, where she “got good feedback” but “kept getting cut” from the cheerleading squad.
She was proud to be selected for the Playmakers, the Ravens promotional team, where she and the team “engaged and hyped up fans” in the stadium. Unfortunately, the program was eliminated. But it got her thinking seriously about her future. “Maybe this isn’t it,” Horowitz recounts. She had been teaching high school math and decided to begin a master’s degree program. She also decided not to abandon her cheerleading aspirations.
Horowitz really liked the Philadelphia Eagles’ approach, which focused on what each person brings to the team. “I figured I would audition and be willing to move to Philadelphia.”
She notes that her husband grew up in Voorhees, N.J., not far from Philadelphia, adding that “when we got married, we combined our loves—the Eagles, the Cubs and Liverpool!”
But first, Horowitz needed to make the squad. The first year of auditioning, she reports that she made it the interview round and got cut. She continued taking virtual dance classes and working on physical conditioning. Then, she had an idea that could have proven to be risky.
“I decided to lean into my Jewish identity,” she says. This included making an introductory video where I talked about being Jewish, picking the song “Hopa” by Israeli singer Omer Adam to go with the reassigned dance, and speaking candidly about being Jewish in her second-round interview. “When they asked, ‘Why are you auditioning now?’ I said, ‘Philadelphia has a thriving Jewish community, and not a single Eagles cheerleader is Jewish. Why can’t I be that role model?”
Horowitz was invited to proceed to the final round, which took place over two nights. She had to perform the same routine as the semifinals, though this time it was as a soloist and not as part of a group. For the second night, the requirement was to present a “meaningful” dance.
“I did an Israeli dance in my own style to “L’Olam B’ikvot HaShemesh,” she says. “I made the team!”
Horowitz is particularly proud of how much Judaism she has been able to share with the team. On the second night of Rosh Hashanah, Horowitz brought apples and honey for her teammates. “They were obsessed with the honey sticks,” she recalls. “They came up to me and thanked me so much for sharing.”
On Chanukah, Horowitz brought dreidels, gelt and an electric menorah.
Just before the NFC championship game, she volunteered to lead the pre-game huddle, explaining to her team a Jewish prayer: “We said the ‘Shehechayanu.’ Obviously, we won!”
As she looks back on the experience of bringing her Judaism to her fellow cheerleaders—many of whom are teachers, dental students and professionals from a wide range of fields—Horowitz reports that “it has been amazing to share my Jewish identity with the team. They embrace it!”
She was particularly moved when a fellow cheerleader came up to Horowitz to sheepishly tell her: “I am Jewish, too. I didn’t know about the apples and honey!”
But her biggest fan, she says, is her husband: “He is my No. 1 support system. He is so insanely proud of me and posts all the time on social media.” She also notes how useful it is to have a physical therapist at the ready who can help her with post-game recovery.
Horowitz still can’t believe how lucky she feels to be an Eagles cheerleader and member of the extended Super Bowl championship family. “The game was a truly amazing experience. Even though it didn’t feel like were home, most of the crowd was rooting for the Eagles. Our motto all season was ‘Not if, when.”
She recounts dancing with her team on the sidelines throughout the game and at the two-minute warning of the second quarter as victory was looking likely. She describes Gatorade thrown a bit early. “We then got together as a team, rushed the field and danced in the confetti. There is no feeling like it!” Horowitz was surprised to learn that each confetti piece was in the shape of the Vince Lombardi trophy awarded to the winner.
After the game, the cheerleaders went to the locker room to “clap it up.” After eating, they went to their hotel to change into “our winner’s dresses” and celebrate at the official Eagles after-party.
Horowitz says she is looking forward to the parade, to an off-season of appearances and to the yearly Eagles Autism Challenge event set to take place on May 17. The one-day bike ride and family-friendly 5K run-walk help raise money for autism. And, of course, she hopes to return to the cheerleading squad next year.
Rounding out her experience, she wants the world to know that “I got to dance for the Eagles—partly because of my Judaism. I pointed out what they were missing, and the Eagles saw that.”
