I always wondered why there were so few male cheerleaders in the pros, when they’re in every other level. In high school, many of the football players were also cheerleaders. They did crazy acrobatic stuff, helped support the big pyramids, catch the girls, throw them around, etc… As I understood it, that stuff continued into college with competitions, etc… It was a whole sport. Then professional cheerleading mostly seems to just be girls shaking their boobies very modestly for 15 seconds before the Bud Light commercial.
Because the pros are and always have been a watered down money grab of a sport compared to the pagentry and history of gridiron football’s true roots at the college and amatuer level.
Cheerleading of the type you’re talking about where they do big tricks is unsurprisingly quite dangerous. Often more dangerous than the sport that they’re cheering for.
I suspect that there is an aspect of financial liability involved in the decision.
The women on the NFL cheerleader squads usually do a few choreographed dance routines that don’t often get shown on TV (it’s usually during a commercial break) but I haven’t seen them do much of the more acrobatic feats you typically see at the college games. If this were something new I’d assume it was for liability reasons because it’s not worth budgeting as much for potential injuries the way they do for the football players, but it seems like it’s always been that way at the NFL and I doubt that was much of a concern in the ’50s or ’60s. Most teams also don’t have marching bands or even spirit bands either, so maybe it really is mostly cost-cutting.
I think the Packers usually have male cheerleaders, but that is likely because they don’t have any professional cheerleaders and instead invite cheer squads from local colleges to cheer at home games.
Madlad on the left.
Thanks almost missed that
1986 in my senior year I was the only male on a drill/flag team with about 25 girls. I was the American flag bearer. They even made me a white tux with blue sequin accents. To the best of my knowledge, I’m the only guy to ever be on that squad.
People thought I was “weird”.
Au contraire! I’m a hetero guy that hung out with my GF + 20 other chicks. I’d say it was a brilliant move for an 18 y/o.
Au contraire! I’m a hetero guy that hung out with my GF + 20 other chicks. I’d say it was a brilliant move for an 18 y/o.
200 IQ move
I had a lot of fun.
A guy I knew in highschool did that with the cheerleading squad specifically to meet girls. I thought it was quite the big brain move. What susses me out now is that same dude now runs a cheerleading camp. I should hope his motivation has changed over time.
Hopefully he realized he couldn’t: “fake it, until you make it”, on the HS squad and he gained appreciation for the athleticism required.
An 18yo comfortably breaking gender norms, your single life never had a chance.
Color guard GF was the best back in high school!
Honestly, I guess it’s true. I always had a GF. If I remember, at times, 3 at a time in H.S. 😉
If you see someone hating on the Vikings for their male cheerleader, send 'em this pic. Also, Bush, Eisenhower and FDR were cheerleaders. Huh.
Fun fact! Four former US presidents were also cheerleaders - Franklin Rooveselt, Eisenhower, Reagan and George W. Bush.
Just what did they do that caused Magneto to attack them?
B. Dylan Hollis is a time traveler, confirmed!
These very same mofos probably stormed Normandy.
The landing craft ramp drops and this comes flying out.
Well, I’m not fighting that!
