Rudy Sandoval: Male Cheerleader in ROTC

Recently, I interviewed former collegiate male cheerleader Rudy Sandoval. He was born on August 21, 1978, in South Bend, Indiana, and was baptized at the Notre Dame Law School. He lived at the Notre Dame Law School until he was three years old then spent the rest of his life in San Antonio, Texas where both of his parents grew up. Sandoval experienced a full circle event by being born at Notre Dame and then attending college there. 

Growing up, Sandoval was encouraged by his dad’s side of the family to go into the military since almost all of the men on his father’s side had served. Going into college he knew he wanted to be in ROTC because it would give him the chance to start as an officer instead of a private. One of his most memorable eras was after college when Sandoval and his Black Hawk Pilot cousin were together on his first tour in Iraq. Sandoval served for nine years, stationed in Germany, and deployed into Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan. By serving, Sandoval fulfilled the expectations of his family and put all of his hard work in ROTC to use. 

Sandoval had another interest, cheerleading. But unlike the military, Sandoval wasn’t influenced to do it at all. In his hometown of San Antonio, he didn’t know any male cheerleaders; in fact, the first time he was introduced to cheerleading was in college. During his freshman year, he was friends with a girl on the cheerleading squad who happened to be missing a partner. She asked Sandoval to stand in and after her constant begging, he gave in. He agreed to be on the squad but only for one year, and they would never talk about it again. Sandoval then went on to stay on the team until his junior year and made varsity for two out of the three years he was on the team. 

Balancing ROTC training and being on the cheerleading squad was surprisingly easy, Sandoval mentioned. For cheer, he practiced five days a week and was required to do at least two days a week of weight training. The exercises he did for cheerleading helped him stay in shape for ROTC. The parts of cheerleading and ROTC that you see on TV were also easy to balance. Cheerleading always had power over ROTC and Sandoval wasn’t in the color guard, so during games he was free to cheer on the football team without having to march with a flag. 

The relationships that Sandoval made during college have stuck with him his whole life. He is still in touch with people he went to school with like his college roommate Daniel Fremer who was also a cheerleader. He is also still in touch with the school mascot, the Notre Dame Leprechaun, David Sweet. Sandoval created lifelong friendships by pursuing the activities that interested him

By Lucy Silberman