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10 Surprising Facts About Cheerleading

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lily
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Grab your megaphones and pom poms, it's time to give a shout out to cheerleading.

Grab your megaphones and pom poms, it's time to give a shout out to cheerleading.

Here are 10 fun facts about it.

Number 10. It was originally a male-only activity. In the late 1800s and early 1900s when the activity started to gain popularity only men were allowed to join in. Women didn't enter the cheer scene until the 1920s.

Number 9. Cheerleading is presidential. Many of our nation's presidents led cheers long before they led the country. Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Ronald Regan all rallied their teams back in their younger days.

Number 8. It's not just an American thing. The Olympics and the Cricket World Cup both feature cheerleaders. They're also becoming more common at sporting events in several countries including Mexico and India.

Number 7. Team support only goes so far. A lawsuit was filed against the Buffalo Bills for subjecting its squad to inadequate compensation and a 'Jiggle Test'.

"Everything from standing in front of us with a clipboard and having us do a 'jiggle test' to see what parts of our body were jiggling." [HLN]

Number 6. There's a Guinness record for it.The title for 'largest cheerleading cheer' was awarded to Science Cheerleaders and Pop Warner who amassed nearly 13 hundred people at a 2011 cheer competition in Trenton, New Jersey.

Number 5. The oldest NFL cheerleader is 45. Her team is the Cincinnati Bengals and her inspiration for joining came 5 years ago, after her husband left her for a younger woman.

Number 4. Cheerleading can be dangerous. At both the high school and college levels it, more than any other sport, poses the highest risk of serious injury to female athletes -- and by a lot.

Number 3. It's invention is credited to Johnny Campbell. In 1898, as a student at the University of Minnesota he got the crowd together to cheer on the Gophers. Not long after, an official group of 6 'yell-leaders' was formed.

Number 2. Pom-poms didn't become a thing until the 1930s. The early versions were made of crepe paper and their colors ran when it rained. By the 1960s a more all weather appropriate plastic version became available.

Number 1. Many cheerleaders have gone onto fame. Katie Couric, Kirstie Allie, and Snookie all shook a pom pom or two on their way to the spotlight.
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