Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to entertain the audience, or for competition. Cheerleading routines typically range anywhere from one to three minutes, and contain components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting. Cheerleading originated in the United States, where it has become a tradition. It is less prevalent in the rest of the world, except via its association with American sports or organized cheerleading contests.
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as part of a conference realignment. The club entered the NFL as an expansion team in 1976 in the NFC. From 1977 to 2001, Seattle was assigned to the American Football Conference (AFC) West. They have played their home games at Lumen Field in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood since 2002, having previously played home games in the Kingdome (1976–1999) and Husky Stadium.
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are the National Football League cheerleading squad representing the Dallas Cowboys team.
The Pittsburgh Steelerettes were the first cheerleading squad in the National Football League, serving as the cheerleaders for the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 1960s. The squad eventually disbanded, and the Steelers to this day are among the few NFL teams that do not have cheerleaders.
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team is an American reality television series that aired on CMT from September 29, 2006, to November 27, 2021. The series follows the auditioning process and the forming of the Dallas Cowboys' annual Cheerleading squad. The series features director Kelli McGonagill Finglass and choreographer Judy Trammell.
The Buffalo Jills were the cheerleading squad for the Buffalo Bills professional American football team.
National Football League Cheerleading or simply NFL Cheerleading, is a group of professional cheerleading organizations in the United States. 24 of the 32 NFL teams include a cheerleading squad in their franchise. In 1954, the Baltimore Colts became the first NFL team to have cheerleaders. They were part of Baltimore's Marching Colts.
The Tulane University Marching Band (TUMB) is the marching band of Tulane University. It performs at every Tulane Green Wave football home game in Yulman Stadium, bowl games, and some away games. It is also marches in New Orleans Mardi Gras parades each year, having appeared in Le Krewe d'Etat, the Krewe of Thoth, the Krewe of Bacchus, and the Krewe of Rex, among others.
The Jets Flight Crew were a professional cheerleading squad for the New York Jets of the National Football League. The group was established in 2006 as the Jets Flag Crew, composed of six female flag carriers. In 2007, the group expanded and was appropriately renamed the Jets Flight Crew. The squad regularly performs choreographed routines during the team's home contests.
The Jacksonville Roar is the professional cheerleading squad of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. The group was established in 1995, the team's inaugural year, and regularly performs choreographed routines during the team's home contests.
The Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders is the professional cheerleading squad of the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. The squad performs a variety of dance moves at the Hard Rock Stadium, the home stadium of the Dolphins. The Dolphins Cheerleaders released an annual swimsuit calendar every year. The squad hosts auditions every May. Like most other squads in the league, the MDC also has a youth cheer squad and help mentor young girls in the Miami area. The squad also makes USO trips. Every year, the MDC sends a cheerleader to the Pro Bowl. The MDC also sends a number of alumni to the Indian Premier League every year.
The Chicago Honey Bears were a cheerleading squad for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The group performed at Bears games at Soldier Field. After Super Bowl XX, the squad was disbanded, and currently, the Bears are one of the eight NFL teams that do not have cheerleaders, along with the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, New York Jets, Los Angeles Chargers, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The New England Patriots Cheerleaders (NEPC) are the official cheerleading squad of the NFL's New England Patriots first formed in 1971. The cheerleaders also make appearances off the field and overseas with Patriots mascot Pat Patriot, and also has a Junior Patriots Cheerleaders, with girls of ages 7–17 being allowed to join. The New England Patriots Cheerleader also mentor the young girls by enriching their interests.
The Baltimore Ravens Cheerleaders are a cheerleading and dance squad for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. Along with the Seattle Seahawks Dancers, the Tennessee Titans Cheerleaders and the Washington Commanders' Command Force, the Ravens squad is a co-ed squad, with the female cheerleaders doing various dance moves, and the males working on stunts, as in traditional cheerleading. The group was founded in 1998, and currently consists of 48 members. The squad performs at the Ravens home stadium M&T Bank Stadium. The squad's director is Tina Galdieri, who cheered at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, as well as the World League of American Football's Barcelona Dragons, and also led the University of Maryland's cheerleading squad to a national championship in 1999. The squad also has a "Lil Ravens" summer program, and unlike the other squads, boys also are permitted to join. The group makes various appearances at parties and corporate functions throughout the year. The female members of the squad also has a swimsuit calendar, with their 2012 calendar taking place in the Bahamas. The squad currently has 31 female members.
The Houston Texans Cheerleaders are the official cheerleading squad of the Houston Texans of the National Football League. Although they are marketed as cheerleaders, they are actually a dance team. The group has been with the team since the team's inception in 2002. The squad's tryouts were held at the Methodist Training Center from 2002 to 2019. Since 2021, the squad hold auditions at the local gym called Texans Fit. The group currently has 35 members. Yearly, the squad releases a swimsuit calendar, having done so since 2008-2016. Currently they release as "sideline calendar" which features pictures of the cheerleaders on their game day activities.
The Tennessee Titans Cheerleaders are the cheerleading squad of the Tennessee Titans of the NFL. The squad performs a variety of dance moves during home games at Nissan Stadium, and performs with Titans mascot T-Rac, as well as their junior squad.
The Denver Broncos Cheerleaders are the official cheerleading squad of the Denver Broncos. In addition to performing on game days, the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders annually commit close to 1,000 hours to various charities and events in Denver and the state of Colorado.
The Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders are the official cheer squad for the Minnesota Vikings. The squad performs at every home game at the U.S. Bank Stadium, the home stadium of Minnesota. Before the squad's introduction in 1984, The Vi-Queens (1961–63) and the St. Louis Park High School Parkettes performed Edina High School Hornettes and Minneapolis Roosevelt High School Rockettes in 1966. In 1984, the MVC were started. The group currently has 35 members. The squad, like other groups in the league, releases a swimsuit calendar annually since 2001. The squad also makes off-field appearances at parades, schools, and charity events. Like other NFL cheerleading squads, the MVC also has a "Junior Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders" program, which has various divisions: Junior Angel Division is for girls aged 3–5, and Junior Cheerleader Division is for girls aged 6–14. The MVC also helps mentor the Junior Cheerleaders by enriching their interests. In April, the MVC hosts tryouts at Winter Park. From when the division was founded in 2002 to 2016, when the Detroit Lions Cheerleaders were re established, the Vikings were the only team in the NFC North with a cheerleading squad.
Laura Lynette Vikmanis is an American dietitian, personal trainer, and dancer who was a professional cheerleader for the Cincinnati Ben–Gals, the cheerleading squad of the Cincinnati Bengals. She was the oldest cheerleader in National Football League history, at 40 years of age when she joined in 2009. She is also a co-author of the book It's Not About the Pom-Poms.
Yvette Van Voorhees is a former American actress, dancer, cheerleader and beauty queen, best known for her role as a Muse in the 1980 film Xanadu. She also appeared in the Broadway production of Evita during its original run. Before her career in entertainment, Yvette was a successful cheerleader, being part of the inaugural Sea Gals cheerleading squad for the Seattle Seahawks in 1976, and later a Los Angeles Rams cheerleader. As a beauty pageant participant, she held the Miss Washington World title in 1973.
