INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Colts are hard at work to keep the momentum of the season going as they touch down in Germany to take on the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
For the first time, the entire Colts cheerleading squad will travel with the team overseas.
When it comes to preparing to travel 4500 miles across the world to represent the Colts, it is a lot more than just practicing routines. The Colts cheerleaders are putting in the work to make sure they are ready come kick off.
“Our practices have run very late most nights, and it’s so worth it,” said Allison B, a Colts cheerleader.
It has been months of preparation for the women as the entire squad is getting to join the team overseas in Berlin for the first time.
“I think it’s going to be an opportunity where we make a big impact over there, create a lot of Colts fans, and then also just create a lot of memories amongst our squad,” said Kelly Tilly, the team’s director of cheerleaders and entertainment.
One of the squad’s top priorities for the trip, of course, is entertainment. We early on decided that these are some really impactful, powerful routines that we think the crowd’s gonna like over there,” said Tilley.
They also need to be able to interact with the fans in the streets of Berlin to welcome new members of Colts nation.
“I took four years of German in high school and I studied abroad for a couple of months. Just kind of a skill that I didn’t really know I was going to take back out,” said Danae M,. a Colts cheerleader. “So I just kind of like watched videos, listened to TV in German, read some books, and then it just kind of brought back some of those words.”
While some are spending time brushing up on language skills, others are studying the culture.
“I’ve been doing a little bit of historical research there. I’m not sure how many times we’re going to be able to really explore. We do have a couple of teammates who are familiar with the language. It’s very hard for me. I can speak Spanish a little bit, but not sure that’s going to translate,” said Allison B.
Beyond the language, the team held a special session ahead of practice to learn about cultural differences in Germany hosted by the International Center. The purpose was to learn certain nuances that may not seem natural to Americans in the Midwest; things like navigating public transportation, dollars to euros, tipping culture, what to wear, and outlet adapters versus converters, so there aren’t any electrical mishaps.
“There’s just so many small details that go into making sure that things… run smoothly and that we have a good time and that we’re not stressed out,” said Tilley
Their schedules have them running all over the streets of Berlin to make sure the entire city knows the horseshoe has landed. That means they have to compete with the elements.
“So we traditionally wear a skirt. And so we had to come up with a pant option. We had to come up with a rain option. We had to come up with like, I don’t know, what if it snows,” said Tilley.
All the planning and practice will be worth it as the team looks forward to making once-in-a-lifetime memories.
“You like dream of these moments as a dancer, as a performer. To get to travel and see new places with such an amazing organization like the Colts is just awesome. And the memories that we’re going to make not only with fans over there, but with our own teammates and how closely bonded we’re all going to be after this is just something I’m so looking forward to,” says Danae M.
The Colts take on the Falcons in Berlin at 9:30 a.m. Sunday local time. You can watch the Colts game on FOX59.