Why Should the Green Bay Packers Have Professional Cheerleaders?

The Green Bay Packers are arguably one of America’s favorite teams. They are the only team in the NFL owned by the people and are a non-profit organization that just happens to reside in “Titletown.” They want to invoke a pure and wholesome image as a team and a community to go along with their numerous Super Bowl and division titles. Along with their numerous titles is another distinct category to which they fall under; they are one of six teams in the NFL without a professional cheerleading squad. By the looks of it that is something that won’t be changing anytime soon, and has recently been a debatable topic in the media most recently with the attention that was given to some bikini clad Packer fans that braved freezing temperatures to show their Packer pride in a risqué way. The attention they received sparked lots of attention towards our lack of a professional squad. Why shouldn’t we have a professional NFL cheerleading squad?

It definitely wouldn’t be a first for the green and gold, in fact the Packer’s have always had some type of cheerleaders on their sidelines since the 1930’s. It wasn’t until 1959 when the Packer’s new head coach Vince Lombardi approached the head majorette of the Green Bay Packer’s marching band to put together a tasteful group of women that would represent the organization (Temple). He along with his wife even assisted in outfitting the squad known as the Golden Girls; they were credited with starting the famous “Go Pack Go” chant that still rocks

Lambeau Field today. In the mid 70’s they changed their name to the Packerettes, then to an NFL approved dance team called the Sideliners. This lasted until 1988 when then Packers vice president Bob Harlan decided to discontinue the squad due to fan indifference (Temple).

There are many reasons cited for why a professional squad has not been reinstated with the Green Bay Packers. Packer’s president Mark Murphy recently has expressed his feelings toward professional squads in the wake of a recent scandal involving the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders website. Murphy stated, “You look at what some of the other teams do with their cheerleaders and I just don’t think we’d feel comfortable doing some of those things” (Wilson). Murphy also went on to say, “I have heard complaints about our cheerleaders: What do they bring? Why don’t we get modern cheerleaders? Look at all the other teams and how they use them. But more fans say this really fits in our image in Green Bay and what we want to portray” (Wilson). This was in regards to the current squad of cheerleaders from the University of Wisconsin Green Bay and St. Norbert College who currently grace our sidelines in noticeably youthful attire.

Simply wanting to keep up a wholesome image is not reason enough to keep up with the modernization of the NFL. Having cheerleaders at sporting events is synonymous with sports in general and having an appropriate level cheerleading squad go with the rank of a league is just an essential part of the game. Collegiate cheerleaders should be in college level sports and a professional team in the NFL should have a professional cheer squad. Many of the pro squads of the NFL welcome youth teams to come and help them cheer on the sidelines to accommodate the family environment; the Packer’s could keep their youthful and wholesome cheerleaders, but add

a pro squad that would bring lots more revenue and open up a whole new level of excitement to the game.

There are thirty two teams in the NFL and only twenty six of them have official cheerleaders. The New York Giants, the Green Bay Packers, the Detroit Lions, the Chicago Bears, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns are the six teams in the NFL who do not have official cheerleaders. All of the NFL squads have some type of junior squad offering a chance for the youth squads to cheer alongside them in NFL halftime shows. They also offer many scholarship programs and summer camps for their youth programs. Having professional cheerleaders also bring in a chance for the teams to be more involved in the community by simply having cheerleaders make appearances on behalf of the teams. Cheerleaders also bring in more revenue with calendars, additional appearances, fitness programs and other memorabilia, which may contribute to the team and community.

Some may also argue the fact that all the teams that do not have an official squad, are because they are in cold weather states. However this is hardly arguable due to the fact that in the NFL there are ten teams in cold weather states that play outdoors. At Lambeau, we have the college cheerleaders who brave the cold at almost every single home game despite the weather being at almost freezing temperatures and at times we may even have snow. The NFL cheerleader uniforms may be skimpier then the college attire but in the cold weather states; the cheerleaders have been seen covered up accommodating the squad to keep them as warm as can be. Weather is obviously not a contributing factor for the Green Bay Packers in their decision to not have a professional squad.

Cheerleading is synonymous to sports and more specifically to football. When you think of football you also think of the atmosphere, and cheerleaders are a part of that. The sport actually originated at a Princeton University football game as a group of male students founded a “pep club” to lead unified chants and cheers to pump up the crowds (Cheerunion.org). From then on it has transformed in to the sport it is today. This should also include professional sports, although some may argue that cheerleaders in professional sports do not have the same value as they do in collegiate or school sports; they are simply viewed as “eye candy” for entertainment purposes.

So why should the Green Bay Packers have cheerleaders despite the fact that their own president has spoken out against it. The fact that there is still so much fan indifference in regards to the topic; and the fact that they want to keep a wholesome image to up keep there “for the people” image. There is always room for improvement and there is always a need for modernization in such a competitive sport. The Green Bay Packers would benefit more from professional cheerleaders and they can only move forward in making a decision in favor of having a professional squad.

Works Cited

History of Cheerleading. Cheerunion.org, 2009. Web. 28 Nov. 2013