Cheerleaders are young men and women at the high school or collegiate level, who perform synchronized, athletic moves during sporting events, primarily football and basketball. Most cheerleaders have tumbling and/or gymnastic skills. Their duty is to entertain the spectators and motivate the home team towards victory. The first American cheerleader was a student at the University of Minnesota named Johnny Campbell, and as of November 2, 2008, cheerleading was 110 years old.
Besides game cheering, organized cheering competitions have risen in popularity and are governed by the United States All Star Federation (USASF). In the 1960s and ‘70s professional sports teams (mainly the NFL) began to organize cheer squads. In 1976, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders gained national attention during the airing of Super Bowl X with their professional dance moves and provocative uniforms.
Although the symbolism of cheerleading is that of the fresh-faced, all American good girl (or boy), the typical connotation of cheerleader in the high school realm has typically been that of the elite of teen social hierarchy. Depictions in television and movies are often of vapid or scheming young women who engage in petty rivalries and join a cheer squad for the vanity factor instead of community good-will.
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