Nelson's News helps judge Atlanta Falcons Cheerleader finals

ATLANTA — Like any jobs, some days are better than others here at Nelson's News on wsbtv.com.

What qualifies as a better day? Recently, I received an email from the Atlanta Falcons with "Celebrity Judge Cheerleader Finals" in the the subject line. In the email was the question, "I wanted to see if you could be a celebrity judge at this year’s Cheerleader Finals on Thursday, May 4 at Mr. Blank’s Family Office?"

Yes, Yes I do.

As Facebook fan Casey Goode put it, " I can think of worse jobs. ...yup...every other one."

Yes, there are worse jobs, but this one was full of pressure, too.

Some days, if I mess up, I might miss a photo, shoot some blue video or even forget to put a snack in my daughter's lunchbox. If I messed this judging gig up, the whole city of Atlanta and beyond might be upset with me.
So, such was the task Thursday night. I was part of a judging panel that selected the next group of Atlanta Falcon cheerleaders.

We scored the finalists on appearance, showmanship and dance ability. Each finalist was scored on a scale of 1-5 in each category.

Two by two, more than 60 finalists came out and performed the same routine for the judges. After each set, we handed in our scores. Once the final pair performed, organizers gathered all of the scoring sheets, moved to another room, added the sheets together and determined which of the finalists would be part of this coming season's Atlanta Falcons Cheerleading squad.

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Thankfully as judges, we didn't have to pick who should make it and who shouldn't. At this point in the competition, that would have been a nearly impossible task.

And even though some very worthy candidates did not make the final cut, looking back, I think the judges did the franchise and city proud. This is definitely a cheerleading squad to check out.

In addition to cheering at the games, the cheerleaders make hundreds of appearances around the community each year.

To learn more about the Falcon cheerleaders, check out the squad's website.

WSBTV