Because the NFL has decided not to include cheerleaders into the Sunday Super Bowl program for the first time in it’s 45-year history. What’s the reason for this, you may wonder? The reason is simple. Neither the Green Bay Packers nor the Pittsburgh Steelers currently has a cheerleading squad. The Dallas Cowboys’ cheerleaders offered their services to do their rah rah rah thing, but since they are not affiliated with either of the teams actually playing in the Super Bowl, they weren’t allowed to cheer. The head cheerleader said, “The NFL just won’t let us. They’ve covered up every star, every Dallas Cowboys logo, so we’ll be performing outside before the game.”
But there was a time when the Steelers and the Packers had cheerleaders. The Green Bay Packers had a squad called the the Packerettes, Golden Girls, or the Sideliners, depending on who you talked to, who disbanded back in 1988. In the recent past they have brought in college-level cheerleaders to entertain at the home games and at past Super Bowl appearances, but not this time.
Long ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers had their own squad called the “Steelerettes.” They formed back in 1961 but were sacked just eight years later in 1969 by the Rooney family, who owns the team. The family, as well as some of the players, feel that the “eye candy” takes away from watching the game itself. Pittsburgh wide receiver Antwaan Randle El recently said about cheerleaders, “They are a distraction. You want to focus on the game. If you happen to look, it’s ‘Oh, my Lord!’ Especially in Dallas — they not only have cheerleaders, they have go-go dancers hanging from poles.”
