Many Tyrone High School students know that math teacher Erica Martin was the captain of her high school majorette squad. But something that most students don’t know about her is that for two seasons she was actually a cheerleader for the Dallas Cowboys professional football team.

“I don’t like to talk about it much, but it’s true.  After I graduated from Juniata, some of my friends convinced me to travel down to Texas for a cheer tryout. I was always a pretty good cheerleader and athlete, but I never thought that I would actually make the team,” Martin explained.

But dreams really do come true. Martin made the team, and began cheering for the Cowboys that season.

“I want people to know my story because of some recent stereotypes that have evolved about cheerleaders. Cheerleaders are often stereotyped as dumb or aloof. But I know my math, and I was a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader,” Martin added.

Martin did a two year stint with the cheer squad until her contract ended, when she began her teaching career.

“Those were some very interesting years of my life. There is nothing like performing in front of thousands of people every week. However, I was anxious to return home and build my career. That being said, it was definitely a lot of fun while it lasted,” Martin said.

The math teacher got the chance to meet several NFL superstars in her short time at Dallas. Some of these included Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin, and you guessed it — Troy Aikman, one of the best quarterbacks the NFL has ever seen.

Buckle your seatbelts: it’s about to get even weirder. I’ll just let her do the talking on this one:

“Yes, it’s true, I admit it. I did, at one time or another, date Troy Aikman. It wasn’t THAT big of a deal, but we did go out a few times. In his game against the Eagles he actually brought me the ball after he threw a touchdown. But Troy wasn’t exactly my type, so we kind of fell out of touch,” Martin said.

“It is honestly amazing that Mrs. Martin was actually an NFL cheerleader,” said senior cheerleader Sam McClucas, “I had no idea! It almost makes me want to try out [for a professional squad] sometime in the next couple years.”

Martin even had a chance to hone her math skills while she was in Texas.

“One thing that always struck me as funny was that when I went out with the girls to eat, it was always my job to figure out the tip,” Martin mused.

As you can see, Tyrone’s teachers continue to prove themselves as models of success in and out of the classroom.