The University of Tennessee Volunteers were facing off against the Kentucky Wildcats, but it wasn’t the big game that made headlines. All the action was happening on the sidelines when what appeared to be a security guard interfered with the cheerleaders’ routine. How dare he?! Except that wasn’t what was happening at all.
The security guard in question is Michael Galyean. The 40-year-old was approached by his longtime friend, Kelley Tafazzoli, who also happens to be the UT dance coach. Galyean told TODAY, “She reached out to me about 10 days before. I remember it was a Wednesday, and she texted me, ‘Hey, the marketing team has this idea we want to do this little bit during the football game. We’re still working out details, but would you be interested in doing some improv, some acting, and then dancing with the dance team on the field?’” His response? “I’m already in uniform. Where do I sign up? Let’s go.” The plan was simple...
He dressed as a security guard and stood outside for the entire third quarter of the football game. Then, when the cheer team began their routine, he was standing right in the way! One of the cheerleaders appeared to be frustrated with him, and he was fighting back. Until… he joined in on the dance, and the crowd went wild! Now, he has become a viral sensation with his video on his Instagram account, @mykol227, receiving over 9,000 likes and the video being viewed more than 16 million times on the dance team’s TikTok account, @vol_danceteam. Not only is Galyean an internet sensation now, but he also fulfilled a childhood dream. In a heartfelt caption on his Instagram post, Galyean shared how he specifically chose to attend the University of Tennessee because he wanted to be cheering on the sidelines. He was a cheerleader in high school and wanted to try out in college. But “the insecure and frail freshman me never tried out for the team,” confessed Galyean.
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Seventeen years later, he achieved his dream by dancing alongside the 7-time national champion UT dance team. What a heartwarming reminder that it is never too late to chase your dreams!
