SCRANTON, Pa. — The Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will square off this weekend in the Super Bowl in Tampa, and a woman from Scranton will be leading the cheers for the home team.
For the last four seasons, Scranton native Stephanie May has been a Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleader. May now lives and works in Florida full-time but performing on the sidelines is her passion. Each year, she has to audition to be on the team, and this year she was shocked to hear she would be one of this year's captains.
"First off, I'm cheering for the NFL. That's craziness, and then now I'm a line captain. It means a lot because I truly put in like my heart and soul, and cheerleading and dancing is something that I've always loved since I was a little girl," May said.
Two weeks ago, the Buccaneers won the NFC Championship game to play in the Super Bowl in Tampa. May says this team this season has been just what Tampa Bay fans needed.
"We knew that the Super Bowl was already going to be here in Tampa. It kind of just made everybody want it even more, and now we have Tom Brady. And he came into such an amazing team already, so it was like, hey, we're doing this, we're going all the way. We're speaking it into existence. It's happening. And now we're here."
May says she's looking forward to cheering her team on and hopes to take all of it in, knowing her wildest dreams have come true.
"It's great when you put your hard work into it, and then you can actually achieve your dreams. And now you're dancing on the biggest stage there is for football."
May says she's so thankful for the support of her family and friends back home and is proud to represent Scranton.