ATLANTA — Dancing was an activity Bailey Risch did for fun in college.

It turned out to be something she didn't want to give up.

The daughter of Saxony House Furniture owner Randy Risch, Bailey — a Grove City High School graduate — graduated from Kent State University in 2020 with a degree in fashion design merchandising.

She was also on the Golden Flashes' dance team in college.

“When she got out of school, her job market wasn't quite there, so she went to work for us as a sales person,” her father said.

Saxony House Furniture has stores in Sarver, Worthington and Grove City.

“Bailey roved from store to store, wherever we needed her,” Risch said. “Next thing I knew, we were getting her settled in Atlanta.”

That's because she's now roving the sidelines for the Atlanta Falcons.

Bailey recently tried out for and made the 40-member cheerleading squad for the NFL team.

“A lot of the girls on the dance team at Kent State were trying out for NFL teams, so I decided to try it,” Bailey said. “I figured, this is the time in my life to do it.

“NFL cheerleading teams are more about dance than anything else. It was a way to stay involved and keep doing something I love to do.”

But making a team isn't so easy.

Risch tried out for the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans cheerleading squads, reaching the semifinal round before being removed from consideration both times. Approximately 400 women tried out for each team.

“It all starts out virtually,” Bailey said of the process. “You send in a video and they start the cutdown process from there.

“The semifinal round concludes with an interview. I got stopped there, but I knew I was close. I was gonna keep trying.”

She sent in a one-minute video to the Falcons. From there, she was sent music that the Falcon cheerleaders dance to and was asked to choreograph her own dance routine to that music.

“They want to see how creative you can be,” Bailey said.

From 400 girls in the original tryout, Bailey became one of 72 invited to Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta for the finals.

She said the final tryout is even more difficult “because a lot of girls on the team from the previous year come back.

“They have to try out again, but usually get a pass into the finals. So the competition is more stiff,” Bailey said.

The Falcons' final cheerleading roster of 40 included 29 veterans and 11 rookies, Bailey being one of the latter.

“I was absolutely thrilled,” she said.

The Falcons' first preseason home game was Friday against Tennessee. Due to COVID concerns, only 15 cheerleaders were permitted on the sidelines. Bailey wasn't one of them.

But she was still at the stadium, still involved.

“We were working with younger cheerleaders from schools,” Bailey said. “It was fun. The Falcon organization wants to be involved in the community, attending different functions, and the cheerleaders are a part of that.”

Cheerleading for the Falcons is a part-time job. Bailey is sharing an apartment in Atlanta with three other Falcon cheerleaders, pursuing full-time employment.

One of the requirements of being on the cheerleading roster is either attending school or working fulltime.

“They emphasize that only 10 percent of your life is being an NFL cheerleader,” Bailey said. “They want to make sure you're taking care of the other 90 percent.

“We practice Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6 to 9. We don't do road games and every girl on the team will have a chance to do at least a couple of home games. I'm looking forward to that.”

Having only relocated to Atlanta a couple of weeks ago, Bailey is still sorting out what she wants to do in terms of employment.

She knows what she wants to do part-time.

“Some of these girls have been on this (cheerleading) team for six or seven years,” Bailey said. “I can see myself doing that.

“This is something I hope to do for a number of years.”