Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader shares secret behind 'Boot Buddies' tradition

The Dallas Cowboys are the most iconic and valuable brand in the NFL, dubbed "America's Team." Being a part of the organization comes with a lot of prestige.

Especially when you are a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, also known as "America's Sweethearts." Like the Cowboys, the DCCs are one of the most recognizable brands in all of sports with their eye-catching uniforms and signature boots.

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are so popular that they just wrapped up season 2 of their Netflix docuseries America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, which tells the stories of those fighting to make the team.

MORE: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders reveal massive pay raise in Netflix series

While there is so much publicity and attention on the football and cheerleading teams, there is one lesser-known tradition for the cheerleaders, "Boot Buddies."

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders wear boots made by Lucchese in El Paso as they perform a dance routine featuring light-up outfits. | Gaby Velasquez/ El Paso Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Recently, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Kleine Powell pulled back the curtain on the "boot buddies" tradition in a video on TikTok, explaining the concept.

"So I got a couple questions last night because we got Boot Buddies, and so a lot of people were asking, 'What the heck is a Boot Buddy?' " she said in the video, as transcribed by PEOPLE. "So a Boot Buddy is basically the DCC version of a sorority Big-Little."

MORE: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders celebrate 2024 rookies with special gift

Initially, a cheerleader's buddy is a secret, with little gifts throughout the audition process end up leading to the big reveal.

"Before practice, we got to set out little gifts that we had made and write notes with clues in them to see if they could try and guess who we are before we did the whole reveal," she said. "So I thought I'd be sneaky and take a secret little video of my boot buddies... which they saw immediately."

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders 'Boot Buddies' tradition pic.twitter.com/Ctu7Ir1apN
— Athlete TikTok (@AthleteTikToks) July 16, 2025

So, there you have it. Every veteran on the squad gets a "boot buddy" that they can help mentor throughout the process and service as their confidant.

As we've seen with reveals during the trend on TikTok, it's a special moment for everyone involved.

Dallas Cowboys cheerleader performs during the game against the Washington Commanders. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

— Enjoy free coverage of the Cowboys from Dallas Cowboys on SI —

Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott snubbed in ESPN top QB rankings

Cowboys’ Brian Schottenheimer blasted in NFL head coach rankings

Cowboys’ insider selects shocking breakout candidate for 2025 season

Cowboys' biggest concern heading into training camp for 2025 season

PHOTOS: Ava Lahey, star of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Netflix doc