# Cheerleaders **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 26, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerleaders/515119 "2009-10-26T00:49:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerleaders/515119/1 "2009-10-26T00:49:18Z")
Watching a football game today, I wondered: When did cheerleaders switch from skirts to short shorts? What was the last team whose cheerleaders wore skirts? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerleaders/515119/2 "2009-10-26T00:57:29Z")
College and high school generally goes with short skirts on their cheerleaders (acrobatics - tumbling runs and throws), while dance teams generally wear pants in my experience (exceptions for groups like Kilgore Rangerettes, of course). NFL cheerleaders are dance teams being called cheerleaders - they’re just not the body types to do the traditional cheer thing of being flung 30 feet into the air. They wear shorts because it’s hotter, and they don’t have parents complaining about how short their daughter’s shorts are. Now when the NFL changed over? No idea. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerleaders/515119/3 "2009-10-26T01:10:18Z")
dallas had the first NFL cheerleaders & they wore hot pants from day 1 ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerleaders/515119/4 "2009-10-26T01:14:15Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > dallas had the first NFL cheerleaders & they wore hot pants from day 1 They may or may not have worn hot pants from day one, but the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders definitely weren’t the first in the NFL – both Baltimore and Green Bay had cheerleaders before Dallas was even in the league. It’s possible the Green Bay Golden Girls were the first to wear dancer outfits instead of cheerleaders skirts, but I can’t find any dated photos to back that up. ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Monk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/2acd7d/32.png) [@Electric\_Monk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Monk)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerleaders/515119/5 "2009-10-26T02:37:16Z")
Actually, the Pittsburgh Steelers were the first NFL to have cheerleaders. They wore very long skirts. [http://www.steelerettes.com/1961.htm](http://www.steelerettes.com/1961.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerleaders/515119/6 "2009-10-26T02:44:58Z")
[The history of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders](http://www.dallascowboyscheerleaders.com/history.cfm) reveals they switched to dancers in 1972, and their familiar hot pants uniform was born. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerleaders/515119/7 "2009-10-26T04:26:38Z")
Some cheerleaders wear [pants](http://www.baltimoreravens.com/People/Cheer/~/media/7A34DF8DD34B4326A5922A2C53FFB329.ashx). ---
**Author:** ![Uncertain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Uncertain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncertain)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerleaders/515119/8 "2009-10-26T07:17:22Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Some cheerleaders wear [pants](http://www.baltimoreravens.com/People/Cheer/~/media/7A34DF8DD34B4326A5922A2C53FFB329.ashx). [Here’s](http://morningcupofcoffee.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/george-w-bush-cheerleader.jpg) another example. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerleaders/515119/9 "2009-10-26T07:18:23Z")
The Laker Girls seem to make about 4 costume changes a game, and some of the uniforms are skirts, if you can call one square foot of material a [skirt](http://www.nba.com/lakers/lakergirls/lakergirl_auditions.html). ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerleaders/515119/10 "2009-10-26T07:51:34Z")
Do these cheerleaders get paid or is it an honour thing? Can you imagine cheerleaders in scanty outfits at an English football match? No, neither can I ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerleaders/515119/11 "2009-10-26T11:40:29Z")
They get paid. Some universities offer full scholarships for their cheerleading squad (better conditions than the academic scholarships). The ones working for professional teams are as professional as the players. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerleaders/515119/12 "2009-10-26T12:39:10Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > They get paid. … The ones working for professional teams are as professional as the players. Barely. They often only make 50 or 100 bucks for each game. They are mostly there hoping to be discovered, or just having fun being public figures. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerleaders/515119/13 "2009-10-26T13:30:50Z")
If you have a look, when some of the football teams are wearing their ‘retro’ uniforms, sometimes the cheerleaders are wearing old-style as well. That means skirts. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerleaders/515119/14 "2009-10-26T13:31:53Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Barely. They often only make 50 or 100 bucks for each game. They are mostly there hoping to be discovered, or just having fun being public figures. They get paid more for making other event appearances, photo-shoots, etc. It’s a supplementary income, but a decent one. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerleaders/515119/15 "2009-10-26T16:25:56Z")
One of the ladies at my company is a Texans cheerleader. She hasn’t quit her day job. She is an engineer. **Darth Sensitive** said: > [@](#): > > They wear shorts because it’s hotter, and they don’t have parents complaining about how short their daughter’s shorts are. Shorts are hotter than barely-there skirts and panties? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerleaders/515119/16 "2009-10-26T16:38:56Z")
It’s really just a question of “Surface of the sun” hot vs. “Core of the Sun” hot. Once you get visual contact on the upper thigh it’s “hot enough.” ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerleaders/515119/17 "2009-10-26T16:47:10Z")
The Vikings rah-rahs wear skirts, sometimes - they have at least one costume change a game, during halftime, and some of their outfits are pants- or shorts-based. I’d say it’s maybe 60-40 skirts to whatever else. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerleaders/515119/18 "2009-10-26T17:43:00Z")
The [Charger Girls](http://www.chargers.com/charger-girls/index.html) wear skirts. Mild NSFW ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerleaders/515119/19 "2009-10-26T18:14:46Z")
> [@MadTheSwine](#): > > The [Charger Girls](http://www.chargers.com/charger-girls/index.html) wear skirts. Mild NSFW Having viewed that link I’ve changed my mind about my comments in post 10. I _can_ imagine them at an English football match, sadly it will never become a reality ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerleaders/515119/20 "2009-10-26T19:13:01Z")
And Yurpeans say Yanks are prudes. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheerleaders/515119.md?page=2)