male cheerleader
Broncos’ NFL cheerleading judges welcomed an unlikely candidate in the first round of tryouts on Sunday: A Male. YouTube Screenshot

Broncos' NFL cheerleading judges welcomed an unlikely candidate in the first round of tryouts on Sunday: A male.

Sacha Heppell, an enthusiastic young man from Colorado, auditioned against 200 women at the 2012 Denver Broncos Cheerleader tryouts in pursuit of becoming the first male to make it through the auditions. It's huge. I'm excited. I'm totally thrilled, he told local radio station KSDK. No male has ever made it through auditions.

Heppell was driven to audition through his love and passion for dance. When I dance, I lose myself, he told KSDK. I used to have a sign job where I would hold a sign on the street corner, and I would do so many dance routines for people.

The women competing against him in the audience were very encouraging of his decision to try out. You never see men at these tryouts; it's great, one cheerleader said.

Heppell gave the auditions his best shot, but unfortunately he didn't make it through to the second round. I'm a little disappointed. I gave it all I got, he told KSDK. But added that he would try out again next year.

According to KSDK radio, Heppell wasn't the only male cheerleader to try out for the NFL cheerleading squad over the weekend. Dixon Hernandez joined over 1,000 women in an auditon to become a cheerleader for the Houston Texans squad. Hernandez didn't make it to the second round either, but he said he had fun trying out.