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    Full out

    New Netflix hit show puts Texas' Navarro College cheerleaders on the mat

    Stephanie Allmon Merry
    Jan 15, 2020 | 2:45 pm
    Cheer Netflix
    Cheer is now streaming on Netflix.
    Photo courtesy of Netflix

    A Netflix crew found its way to tiny Corsicana, Texas for a reality show about cheerleading, and a week in, America is flipping out.

    Cheer, a six-episode series about Navarro College Cheer Team’s 2019 quest to win its 14th national championship, started streaming January 8. Seven days later, it's earned a 100 percent rating from critics and 94 percent from audience members on Rotten Tomatoes.

    Twitter users have tumbled into their feelings about #CheerNetflix, and Buzzfeed has already published a "Which Navarro Cheerleader Are You Most Like?" quiz.

    Even the vaunted Washington Post has called it “The documentary that hard-working cheerleaders have long deserved,” with acclaimed TV writer Hank Steuver admitting that it "quickly and effortlessly becomes all-consuming for the viewer."

    Viewers are getting hooked one episode in.

    Dallas, as the show reminds, was the birthplace of modern cheerleading. Southern Methodist University cheerleader Lawrence Herkimer famously invented the “Herkie” jump in the 1940s, then went on to found the National Cheerleaders Association, or NCA. Dallas-Fort Worth is home to many competitive cheer gyms, and the owner of one is interviewed throughout the show.

    But somehow, just an hour from Dallas, Navarro College’s cheerleading legacy is a bigger secret than the Collin Street Bakery fruitcake recipe (which also calls Corsicana home). Not even residents of the town, population 24,000, know about it, the first episode reveals.

    The two-year college of 9,000 is attracting some of the most elite cheerleaders from around the country to cheer in one of the best programs in the world under one of the best coaches in the world, Monica Aldama.

    “The kids,” as she calls them, are fearless flyers, powerful tumblers, and superb stunters. She pushes them to the highest levels using her motto, “You keep going until you get it right, and then you keep going until you can't get it wrong."

    Most of Cheer (directed by Greg Whiteley of Last Chance U) is spent in the gym with the team and the coaches, choreographers, and athletic trainers — someone’s always there to render aid when a stunt falls (50 push-ups for everyone if a girl hits the ground!).

    Like every great sports documentary, Cheer details the highs and lows along the team’s journey: who gets “on mat” (makes the competition team)?; who’ll replace injured stunters in the routine?; can they finally achieve pyramid perfection before the championships in Daytona?

    But the heart and soul of each episode are the backstories of the kids; the life experiences that have shaped them and brought them to Navarro — and the personal drama that they must check at the gym door to succeed on the mat.

    We follow Lexi, the troubled high school dropout from Houston; Morgan, the flyer from a broken home in Wyoming; Gabi, a “cheer-lebrity” balancing college demands with the challenges of being her own brand; La’Darius, the over-the-top former football player who’s been called “fruity” his whole life; and Jerry, the big-hearted stunter who lifts his teammates up as high emotionally as he does physically.

    Their relationships with each other, and with their beloved coach Monica, are the emotional sunshine that the world needs right now. There’s no Real Housewives-style cat-fighting; no season-jeopardizing drunken college parties; no surprise mid-semester pregnancies. Positive “mat talk,” not negative “trash talk.”

    When a stunter drops his partner and blames her behind her back, Monica swoops in to suggest he call her and talk through what went wrong. They do, and they nail it the next day. When a female tumbler’s social media account gets hacked and compromising pictures get posted, Monica takes her to file a police report. A conservative Christian, Monica passionately defends her team members who are gay or nonconforming, saying, “These are my kids and I’ll fight tooth-and-nail for them.”

    It’s no wonder they revere her.

    By the final episode, we’re practically toe-touching for the team and “mat talking” each person through their 2 minute and 15 second-routine that we've come to know so well. The performance is utterly heart-pounding, augmented by the fact that Netflix wasn’t allowed to film it and relies on shaky cellphone coverage shot by attendees. And yes, their chief rival is also a Texas school — Trinity Valley Community College in Athens — but if Navarro wins, we get to see them run into the ocean with the trophy, and we really, really want to see this happen.

    By the end, we’re also cheering for the kids to make good life choices. As Navarro is a two-year school, many won’t be back. And as the series points out, there’s no professional career for competitive cheerleaders. This is it — a college national championship is their biggest, best, and last moment as a cheerleader.

    One thing we know: Coach Monica is back at Navarro, and tryouts for next year’s squad are already under way. According to the school's website, a Recruit Clinic and Tryout will take place there January 20.

    No pressure, Netflix, but this might just make compelling footage for a Season 2.

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    news/entertainment

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    Concert News

    Def Leppard and Goo Goo Dolls team up for 2027 Houston tour stop

    Alex Bentley
    Oct 9, 2026 | 9:00 am
    Def Leppard in concert in 2026
    Photo courtesy of Def Leppard
    Def Leppard will co-headline a 2027 tour with Goo Goo Dolls, stopping at Dickies Arena on April 18.

    It will be a rockin' good time when Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Def Leppard and Goo Goo Dolls team up for a co-headlining tour in 2027, which will include a stop at the Toyota Center in Houston on Tuesday, June 1.

    The two bands, along with special guests The Struts, will set out on a 45-city journey through the U.S. and Canada, starting on March 2 in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

    In addition to Houston, the tour will stop in Austin on April 13, Fort Worth on April 18, and San Antonio on May 29.

    Def Leppard is celebrating its 50th anniversary as a band, having been founded in 1976 in Sheffield, England. The group released its debut album, On Through the Night, in 1980.

    They went on to become one of the most successful bands of the '80s and '90s, scoring No. 1 albums with Hysteria and Adrenalize, and notching hits like "Pour Some Sugar on Me," "Love Bites," and "Let's Get Rocked."

    They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.

    Goo Goo Dolls started releasing albums in the late '80s, but didn't break out out until their 1995 album, A Boy Named Goo, which featured the hit song, "Name."

    The group became iconic with hits like "Iris" and "Slide" off of the 1998 album, Dizzy Up the Girl, going on to release a string of top 10 albums.

    Def Leppard's most recent release of new songs was Diamond Star Halos in 2022. Goo Goo Dolls put out its most recent album, Chaos in Bloom, the same year.

    Tickets will be available starting with an Artist Fan Club presale beginning on Monday, October 12 at 10 am, followed by a Citi and Verizon presale for the U.S. dates on Monday, October 12 at 12 pm.

    Additional presales will run ahead of the general on-sale, which begins on Friday, October 16 at 10 am at Livenation.com.

    For every ticket sold, $1 will be donated to City of Hope, one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States, helping advance groundbreaking research and innovative treatments for people facing cancer.

    DEF LEPPARD + GOO GOO DOLLS 2027 TOUR

    • March 2, 2027: Allentown, PA - PPL Center
    • March 5, 2027: Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
    • March 7, 2027: Detroit, MI - Little Caesars Arena
    • March 9, 2027: Toronto, ON - Scotiabank Arena
    • March 11, 2027: Quebec City, QC - Centre Vidéotron
    • March 13, 2027: Newark, NJ - Prudential Center
    • March 17, 2027: Boston, MA - TD Garden
    • March 19, 2027: Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
    • March 21, 2027: Washington, DC - Capital One Arena
    • March 23, 2027: Pittsburgh, PA - PPG Paints Arena
    • March 25, 2027: Chicago, IL - United Center
    • March 27, 2027: Minneapolis, MN - Target Center
    • March 29, 2027: Denver, CO - Ball Arena
    • March 31, 2027: Salt Lake City, UT - Delta Center
    • April 13, 2027: Austin, TX - Moody Center
    • April 16, 2027: North Little Rock, AR - Simmons Bank Arena
    • April 18, 2027: Fort Worth, TX - Dickies Arena
    • April 20, 2027: Mobile, AL - Regions Arena
    • April 22, 2027: Wichita, KS - INTRUST Bank Arena
    • April 24, 2027: Lincoln, NE - Pinnacle Bank Arena
    • April 26, 2027: Kansas City, MO - T-Mobile Center
    • April 29, 2027: Glendale, AZ - Desert Diamond Arena
    • May 1, 2027: Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl
    • May 5, 2027: San Francisco, CA - Chase Center
    • May 7, 2027: Sacramento, CA - Golden 1 Center
    • May 9, 2027: Seattle, WA - Climate Pledge Arena
    • May 11, 2027: Spokane, WA - Numerica Veterans Arena
    • May 14, 2027: Vancouver, BC - Rogers Arena
    • May 16, 2027: Edmonton, AB - Rogers Place
    • May 29, 2027: San Antonio, TX - Frost Bank Center
    • June 1, 2027: Houston, TX - Toyota Center
    • June 3, 2027: Oklahoma City, OK - Paycom Center
    • June 5, 2027: Milwaukee, WI - Fiserv Forum
    • June 7, 2027: St. Louis, MO - Enterprise Center
    • June 9, 2027: Louisville, KY - KFC Yum! Center
    • June 11, 2027: Savannah, GA - Enmarket Arena
    • June 13, 2027: Tampa, FL - Benchmark International Arena
    • June 17, 2027: Atlanta, GA - State Farm Arena
    • June 19, 2027: Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center
    • June 21, 2027: Cleveland, OH - Rocket Arena
    • June 23, 2027: New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
    • June 25, 2027: Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
    • June 27, 2027: Philadelphia, PA - Xfinity Mobile Arena
    • June 30, 2027: Charlotte, NC - Spectrum Center
    • July 2, 2027: Indianapolis, IN - Gainbridge Fieldhouse
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