NEED TO KNOW

• Abby Summers of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders posted a pom pom fluffing tutorial on her TikTok, breaking down the tedious process of tying each spirited accessory herself
• The DCC squad member caught up with an episode of Love Island as she went on to “tie knots” throughout each of the straightened strands of the pom pom
• Summers’ tutorial shocked her TikTok viewers and racked up hundreds of comments from users who voiced their discontent with DCC cheerleaders having to pom pom fluff themselves

Fluffing is an art.

Abby Summers of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders revealed that she has to fluff her own pom poms for games, demonstrating the intricate process in a video shared to her TikTok on Monday, June 30.

In the clip, Summers — who joined the DCC as a member of the 2024 rookie class — sat on her coach with an unfluffed, shimmery blue and white pom pom on her lap before taking viewers through the routine.

“Tonight starts pom pom fluffing time,” the DCC cheerleader says in the video. “As I fluff, I’m going to catch up on the rest of my Love Island episode,” she continued, while beginning to “tie knots” with the prop’s straightened pieces.

Summers continued her demonstration as she watched the reality TV show, sharing her takes on the contestants. The process was tedious and time-consuming, taking her through most of the episode.

“You just keep repeating this process of tying in different directions until it gets fluffy,” she explains of her pom pom demo, which also has to be done delicately due to the strands that continuously ripped as she tied them tightly in the video.

“We’re a fourth of the way done,” Summers said halfway through her clip, before starting the process all over again for the second side of the pom pom. She added a fast-forward effect as she fluffed the second half.

The entire duration of her TikTok video was for one singular pom pom. She then held up her second pom pom that had yet to be fluffed.

“I’m calling it quits for the night,” she says in a clip to conclude.

Summers’ TikTok post racked up hundreds of comments from viewers who didn’t hold back their opinions about how the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have to do the pom pom fluffing themselves.

“DCC is literally so embarrassing what do you mean you have to make your own pom poms and wash your own uniform that you don’t even get to keep when you retire?!?!?!?! It’s a multi billion dollar organisation 💀,” wrote one user.

“Imagine if the football players had to blow up the footballs themselves and make their costumes 😐,” commented another.

“Not me thinking they came pre fluffed,” wrote a third, to which Summers responded, “I think some do?”

“I had no idea this had to be done,” wrote another, to which Summers replied, “😂😂😂Me too.”

Summers isn’t the first NFL cheerleader to demonstrate the pom pom fluffing process, and shock users at the same time.

Miami Dolphins cheerleader Bella Denton uploaded a TikTok video in November 2023, surprising viewers with the lengthy time it takes to fluff them.

“We fluff our own poms and fluffing one palm takes me like two-and-a-half hours,” Denton said in the clip where she rattles off “things that you might not know” about NFL cheerleaders.

However, the squad member assured that the time-consuming process was worth it in the end.

“It takes so long to fluff,” reemphasized Denton, adding, “But once it’s done it’s so rewarding because they look so pretty and new.”

In another TikTok post, fellow Miami Dolphins cheerleader Dre DiLorenzo uploaded a pom pom fluffing tutorial, breaking down the step-by-step process after getting “a ton of requests” about how they do it.

Since each strand has to be individually tended to, DiLorenzo’s video backs up Denton’s mention of why the pom pom fluffing process takes so long.

“With our poms specifically, they are very big and have many different sections and different colors,” she says in the clip, displaying her team’s iconic orange, aqua, white and silver props. “It’s definitely time-consuming, especially if you’re new to it.”

She explains, “Basically the tugging and pulling in opposite directions makes the fluffing effect.”

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Ava Lahey shocked the public with a different DCC revelation in May, revealing that she and her fellow squad members have to wash their own iconic blue-and-white uniforms themselves.

In the TikTok video, Lahey — who first joined the DCC for the 2024-25 NFL season — took viewers through the “long process” of washing her recognizable ensemble, star-spangled shorts and all.

At one point in the clip, Lahey used a toothbrush to scrub out all of the stains from the garments before she puts them in the washing machine (sequinned-lined stars and all).

“I put them in a Tupperware with warm water and Dawn dish soap,” she said, placing them in the container after individually scrubbing each one down with a toothbrush.

The fascinating lives of the DCC cheerleaders is documented in Netflix’s hit series, America’s Sweethearts, which recently released season 2 on June 18.

In the second installment, the franchise was praised after it was revealed that they’ve settled on a pay increase after the DCC had been earning $15 to $20 per hour or $500 per game.

According to NBC Sports Boston, that made their yearly salary approximately $75,000.

However, as seen in season 2, some of the squad’s veterans banded together to fight for higher pay, which resulted in a “life-changing” 400% pay increase for the upcoming 2025-26 season, fourth-year member Megan McElaney told cameras.

“We pushed and we got back good results,” fifth-year veteran Armani Latimer said. “I get emotional knowing that I was a part of that. I love the fact that I made change for the girls that are coming up behind me, even if I’m not getting a chance to benefit.”

Read the original article on People