In the “most competitive” year ever, the Chiefs cheerleading tryouts go viral with fiery videos

Being a Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader these days comes with something special – like a certain piece of jewelry.

Last August, Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt presented the team's cheerleaders with their own Super Bowl LVII rings in a red carpet ceremony just for them.

On Monday, after three days of final exams at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs Cheer announced their 2024 team, which will be part of Kansas City's Chase for the third straight year.

“We just completed the most competitive auditions in Chiefs Cheer history. The final was great and this squad will be elite!” Tavia Hunt, Clark Hunt’s wife, wrote on Instagram.

Photos and behind-the-scenes videos from the auditions posted to Chiefs Cheer's Instagram page went viral last year, and it's happened again. A solo performance quickly racked up more than 800,000 views since it was posted on Sunday.

“These solo routines are getting hotter and hotter,” the cheerleading team wrote in the post.

“This takes Chiefs cheer to a whole new level! Choose her and let her choreograph!!” was just one of dozens of comments generated by the video, which has less than 23,000 likes.

For security reasons, the Chiefs only release the first names of their cheerleaders, but that doesn't stop family members, neighbors and dance coaches from outing them in congratulatory posts.

Social media tagged DaVanna L. in the video. Like other veterans on the team, she had to audition to keep her spot. She will come back.

Candidates had to be 18 years old to audition on April 3rd. This year's finalists included many who competed in college or were members of dance teams, including the universities of Arkansas, Utah, Oklahoma, Nebraska-Lincoln and Kansas, as well as Johnson County Community College.

The preliminary and semifinal auditions will take place virtually, after which the finalists had to be at Arrowhead for three days of testing.

Last year, Contessa Weishaupl, a beauty pageant winner from Minneapolis, Kansas, north of Salina, gave her Facebook followers a detailed overview of the process during her audition. (She didn't make the team.)

She explained how applicants will be assessed based on their communication skills and general football knowledge – including Chiefs history – as well as their athletic ability and fitness. They conduct mock interviews, give mock speeches, take part in photo shoots and learn choreography. They perform alone and with a group.

“It started on Friday evening when our dance was judged for the first time!” Weishäupl wrote. “Today we did our fitness test: 1 minute of push-ups, 1 minute of sit-ups and 5 minutes of planks. Soccer Test: I’m not sure how I did, but I knew more than I thought!”

Over the weekend, Chiefs Cheer fans closely followed the daily Instagram posts and made supportive comments that, since the contestants were not named, sometimes sounded like this: “The one in the red two-piece with the curly hair. Should be on the field, she was great all weekend.”

They also expressed their condolences to the judges. One person wished the public could vote.

“How do you choose? Someone has a hard job!” wrote one follower.

“Take them all!!!” wrote another. “It's so fun to go behind the scenes here in Charlotte, North Carolina! Good luck everyone!!”

“The talent this year is second to none and you should all be VERY proud of yourselves. We can’t wait to announce the 2024 team, so stay tuned,” Chiefs Cheer wrote on the final day.

All of this was news to this person – perhaps a 49ers fan? – who commented: “The Chiefs will have cheerleaders now???”