TAMPA BAY — The odds of making it onto the cheerleading squad of a professional sports team are slim.
The chance of a mother and daughter both achieving that feat is even slimmer, but such is the case for a Greenfield woman and her daughter, the latter of whom now cheers for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Mt. Vernon High School graduate McKenna Jones made her NFL debut on the sidelines of the Bucs’ season opener Sept. 9, when the Bucs defeated the Dallas Cowboys on their home field.
Her mom, Ellen Jones, was there to cheer her on from the stands.
She knew exactly what the game-day experience was like for her daughter, 24, as the younger Jones basked in the excitement of her first NFL game.
Back in the 1980s and ‘90s, Ellen spent five years cheering for the Indianapolis Colts and the next four years as a Pacemate for the Indiana Pacers.
“It’s just kind of in the blood I guess,” joked Ellen, 59.
McKenna, who cheered for Mt. Vernon High School as well as the University of Louisville, said it’s been thrilling to follow in her mother’s footsteps.
“My mom being a former NFL cheerleader greatly inspired me to reach for the goal of dancing in the NFL,” said McKenna, who now lives in Tampa.
“She has told me so many stories of dancing at the games, her teammates and all of the amazing experiences you get to be involved with around the community…. She pushed me to be the greatest version of myself for my auditions, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that,” she said.
Making the squad was no small task, given the competition.
Between 600 and 700 people applied online to be part of the Tampa Bay squad this year, submitting recorded dance routines in May.
From that the field was cut down to 44 finalists who traveled to Tampa to audition in person. Ellen went along for the trip, keeping her daughter company as she anxiously awaited word of whether she had made the squad.
The mother and daughter were visiting Orlando’s Universal Studios in June when McKenna received word she had made it through to the next round.
The next day, she returned to Raymond James Stadium to go through the routine with the other finalists.
The group went through the routine six times. At the end of the seventh walk-through, they were told to turn around and look at the big scoreboard behind them, which was lit up with “Congratulations!” They had all made the squad.
It was a thrilling moment for both McKenna and her mom, who have shared a string of success in cheerleading over the years.
McKenna helped win five national championships as a cheerleader for the University of Louisville, which she attended from 2015 to 2021.
Her mother has spent more than 30 years coaching young dancers at Mt. Vernon and Greenfield-Central high schools, in addition to her nine years cheering for professional sports teams.
She fondly recalls the thrill of making the cheer squad for both the Colts and the Pacers.
“Cheering in a huge venue with a big crowd is so much fun,” said Ellen, who said her first year with the Colts in 1984 was especially exciting.
“There was so much hype about the city finally having an NFL team that everyone was really pumped up, and the stadium was full all the time,” she recalled of the Colts’ first seasons in Indianapolis after moving from Baltimore.
Ellen had just moved to Greenfield that same year with her husband, Craig, and was looking for a new challenge and something fun to do, so she decided to try out for the squad.
She had danced in both high school and at the University of Evansville, and she thought she might just have what it takes.
Ellen cheered on the Colts from 1984 to 1988. After some turnover on the squad she switched her sights to basketball, and cheered as a Pacemate for the Indiana Pacers from 1989 to 1992.
“It was a really fun experience,” said Ellen, who made a lot of great friends through the process.
“I just got a message from (a former teammate) who is throwing a big birthday bash and wants us to all get back together and dance for the birthday party. I’m not sure if that’s going to happen or not,” she said with a laugh.
The love for cheering is still in her blood, said Ellen.
She coached the combined color guard and dance program at Greenfield-Central High School starting in 1990, then eventually created a dance team separate from color guard at the school, where she taught through 2009.
That same year she started a dance program at Mt. Vernon Middle School, expanding the program to the high school the following year.
While she still loves to coach, her biggest thrill is seeing her daughter follow in her footsteps on the sidelines of a professional sports team.
One nice perk is that McKenna gets two tickets to each home game, which are typically sold out — in no small part due to the quarterback, seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.
Her parents go to as many games as they can, and are familiar with the area. They’ve taken family vacations to nearby Anna Maria Island for years with McKenna and her brother Carson, who plays soccer for Indiana University East and coaches the Richmond High School soccer team.
Craig Jones said his daughter moved to Tampa shortly after graduating from college this spring, determined to make the Tampa Bay squad.
Now that she’s achieved her dream, she’s “pretty distinguishable” along the sidelines as one of the only two redheads on the squad.
“It’s pretty exciting to see her out there, whether in person or on TV,” he said.
