Thursday, May 11, 2006
Ever Wonder...
Why don't the Lions have cheerleaders?
By Chris Lau
Free Press Sports Writer
May 7, 2006
Seven teams in the NFL lack professional cheerleading squads.
The Lions are one of them.
Six teams have a good excuse: The Steelers, Bears, Browns, Giants, Jets and Packers all play outdoors in cold-weather cities.
But the Lions play indoors at temperate Ford Field.
The Lions sometimes have had high school cheerleaders on the sidelines, but they've never had professional cheerleaders. Why?
The Lions declined the Free Press' interview requests but issued this statement: "We believe the game-day experience at Ford Field is one of the best in the NFL. Consequently, not unlike several other teams in the NFL ... we choose not to feature professional cheerleaders at this time."
The defunct Detroit Fury, an Arena Football League team that played at the Palace, had cheerleaders. And NFL cheerleaders have evolved from professional models in the 1960s to accomplished, choreographed dancers and athletes who have become high-profile community members.
"They are ambassadors in the community and representatives of the organization," said Heather Shrake, the Arizona Cardinals' director of cheerleaders. "A lot of players are at practices and can't go out into the community during the season, and the cheerleaders make up for that. They are a great asset for an organization."
Each team's association with its cheerleaders is different -- some run the cheerleading squads, others contract an external organization. Likewise, the pay is different in each city, but cheerleaders rarely pull down big salaries. The Dallas Cowboys' Web site lists cheerleader pay in 2003 as $50 a game.
Nancie Hudson, an author and freelance journalist from Kalamazoo, has watched the Lions with her husband for years and doesn't understand why there are no cheerleaders.
"There's all this booing at Ford Field," said Hudson, who writes humor columns for sportsfanmagazine.com. "It's because they don't have cheerleaders leading the crowd in positive cheering."
She thinks the Lions are missing an opportunity.
"Get 'em some cheerleaders!" she wrote on her Web site. "Then at least someone would be cheering for the home team, and the cheerleaders' high-pitched voices would drown out the boos from the crowd."
Free Press Sports Writer
May 7, 2006
Seven teams in the NFL lack professional cheerleading squads.
The Lions are one of them.
Six teams have a good excuse: The Steelers, Bears, Browns, Giants, Jets and Packers all play outdoors in cold-weather cities.
But the Lions play indoors at temperate Ford Field.
The Lions sometimes have had high school cheerleaders on the sidelines, but they've never had professional cheerleaders. Why?
The Lions declined the Free Press' interview requests but issued this statement: "We believe the game-day experience at Ford Field is one of the best in the NFL. Consequently, not unlike several other teams in the NFL ... we choose not to feature professional cheerleaders at this time."
The defunct Detroit Fury, an Arena Football League team that played at the Palace, had cheerleaders. And NFL cheerleaders have evolved from professional models in the 1960s to accomplished, choreographed dancers and athletes who have become high-profile community members.
"They are ambassadors in the community and representatives of the organization," said Heather Shrake, the Arizona Cardinals' director of cheerleaders. "A lot of players are at practices and can't go out into the community during the season, and the cheerleaders make up for that. They are a great asset for an organization."
Each team's association with its cheerleaders is different -- some run the cheerleading squads, others contract an external organization. Likewise, the pay is different in each city, but cheerleaders rarely pull down big salaries. The Dallas Cowboys' Web site lists cheerleader pay in 2003 as $50 a game.
Nancie Hudson, an author and freelance journalist from Kalamazoo, has watched the Lions with her husband for years and doesn't understand why there are no cheerleaders.
"There's all this booing at Ford Field," said Hudson, who writes humor columns for sportsfanmagazine.com. "It's because they don't have cheerleaders leading the crowd in positive cheering."
She thinks the Lions are missing an opportunity.
"Get 'em some cheerleaders!" she wrote on her Web site. "Then at least someone would be cheering for the home team, and the cheerleaders' high-pitched voices would drown out the boos from the crowd."
