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"  As people rushed around to finish their last-minute holiday shopping, the lucky ones sat at home on their couches, watching the gift of Week 16 unwrap before their very eyes. The Jags started the day with their first touchdown on an opening drive since last October, while quarterback Andrew Luck went on to eclipse Cam Newton&amp;#039;s rookie record for passing yards, and leave a little something extra in fans&amp;#039; stockings: a playoff berth. From Vikings kicker Blair Walsh&amp;#039;s ninth 50-plus yard field goal, to &amp;#039;Fins running back Reggie Bush repaying fantasy owners for sticking with him all season with three scores, Sunday was as giving to fans as the Jets offensive line was for pass rushers. And just as we thought the surprises were over, the Niners came tumbling, 42-13, to coach Pete Carroll&amp;#039;s Seahawks, with the help of four touchdowns and a strong Rookie of the Year argument from Russell Wilson. But even the excitement at the rain-soaked CenturyLink Field couldn&amp;#039;t top the shock Cowboys fans felt as they lost by a field goal in overtime, ironically, in the exact same fashion they defeated the Steelers the week prior. In a league where nothing is predictable, the one thing Cowboys cheerleader Courtney is certain of is that with America&amp;#039;s Team, you&amp;#039;ll always get a great show. LINDSAY MCCORMICK: The only thing more evident than the lack of defense on the field today was that you guys were in everyone&amp;#039;s favorite Christmas uniforms. COURTNEY: We actually got to wear them for the second half today, and last time we didn&amp;#039;t get to do that, so it was a lot of fun. We had stars on our belts, and Christmas is always my favorite time of the year, especially because of the costumes. They are my favorite, other than our legendary ones. LM: Do a lot of families attend the games during the holidays, or are there more empty seats? COURTNEY: The stadium was packed today, but unfortunately there were just as many Saints fans. I was proud of our fans, though. They got loud on third downs and even in the first quarter. LM: A lot of the male fans may have been there to see you guys, though. You&amp;#039;re just as well known, if not more, because of the reality show. COURTNEY: I once saw a card that said the Cowboys&amp;#039;s cheerleaders are the most famous ones, and I took it as a compliment. But I love the Cowboys and football, so I would say the team is just as famous. LM: The Cowboys are a fun team for fans to watch. You really can&amp;#039;t count them out until the clock expires. COURTNEY: It&amp;#039;s always a close game. Our entire season at home has been this way. Just the energy in the stadium and the crowd in the fourth quarter is crazy. It comes down to little things, like a fingertip being out of bounds, or a fumble. LM: Quarterback Tony Romo said this week that if they were down by a touchdown or two at the end of this game, they would find a way to win. Romo did take the team into overtime with that amazing pass to wide receiver Miles Austin, but Saints quarterback Drew Brees was just too much to handle. COURTNEY: Honestly, the whole game was so close. Brees and tight end Jimmy Graham kept hooking up and putting a strain on our defense. We were already down, with so many hurt players, but Romo was just on point. He had four touchdowns and over four hundred yards. And wide receiver Dez Bryant really was outstanding, too. Our offense can be just as good as theirs; we were just struggling with injuries defensively. Hopefully, they&amp;#039;ll carry the same level of play that they had at the end of the fourth quarter into next week&amp;#039;s game. LM: How does Bryant go from contemplating surgery on a fractured index finger to embarrassing the Saints defense by catching nine balls for 224 yards and two touchdowns? COURTNEY: I know! Especially as a receiver and hurting your hand, the one thing you need to use to catch the ball. It&amp;#039;s like a dancer hurting their foot and still having to use it. You can just see the heart Dez plays with. His talent is undeniable. He&amp;#039;s been on fire, especially lately. LM: In the last seven games, he&amp;#039;s had 10 touchdowns. You said if you weren&amp;#039;t a cheerleader, you would want to be an athlete. Is it hard being so close to the game not being able to jump in there and help out? COURTNEY: I get a little frustrated when they fumble the ball. But the best part of my job is being able to dance, cheer, and perform, and then turn around and watch the game I love. So yeah, it&amp;#039;s hard not being able to jump in there. But just like every Cowboys fan knows, it&amp;#039;s an up-and-down ride. But exciting. LM: Owner Jerry Jones said Sunday that he has no plans of making a coaching change next season. Do you think Jason Garrett has earned another season? COURTNEY: Garrett is obviously a very smart coach, and I feel like he knows what he&amp;#039;s doing with our team. The issues have just as much to do with the players as they do with the coach. The coach can only tell the players to do so much. So, as long as they both keep giving it their all, it&amp;#039;ll work out. LM: Hopefully, they&amp;#039;ll rebound from this loss by next week when they face their division rival, the Redskins, who are coming off their sixth straight win. How does the team prepare for this one? COURTNEY: We&amp;#039;ve already played the Redskins once and lost that game. RG3 played in that game, and now they have Kirk Cousins in addition to him, who has played well. But that offense as a whole is great. As long as they keep their confidence up, they can do it. It&amp;#039;s those third-down conversions that are killing us. We really lost too many of those. Our offense needs to work on that, and then just getting our defense healthy. LM: If the team works on that \u2014 what is your prediction for next week? COURTNEY: The first three quarters will be questionable, and then there will be a game-changing fourth quarter. Another shootout, obviously. Romo and Bryant have been on fire, and tight end Jason Witten set a record today for receptions in a single season at his position, so I&amp;#039;m thinking a last-minute win for the Cowboys. LM: And for the Super Bowl? COURTNEY: I&amp;#039;m going to go with the Cowboys. And then for AFC, the Patriots are great, but I could definitely see the Broncos getting there. Broncos vs. Cowboys. That would be a great Super Bowl. And quarterback Peyton Manning is so much fun to watch. But maybe that&amp;#039;s far-fetched. LM: We&amp;#039;ll find out next weekend. What can fans look forward to seeing from America&amp;#039;s favorite cheerleaders? COURTNEY: We have our USO tour that a few of the girls are getting ready to leave for. They&amp;#039;ll go overseas to visit the troops. And for the rest of us, we&amp;#039;ll just wait and see if we get to cheer at another game in Cowboys Stadium. We left today with a positive attitude that we would be back, but for now, all we can do is cheer from our couches and hope they beat the Redskins.    -- Lindsay McCormick (pictured at left) has covered the NFL for ESPN The Magazine and CBS. She is the former host of &amp;quot;The Fan&amp;quot; on Comcast SportsNet, where she was the sideline reporter for the Portland Trail Blazers. And she&amp;#039;ll be back right here on The Culture Blog every week with Monday Morning Cheerleader. Plus, stay tuned for Tom Chiarella on Monday Night Football. Also: beer. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/sports/interviews/a17645/dallas-cowboys-cheerleader-courtney-14895392/>