Cheerleading; sport that originates back to the 1890s that can be used to create excitement and spirit for a particular sport, such as football.

Cheerleading started out as an all male activity. Johnny Campbell, a student at University of Minnesota, became the first cheerleader on November 2, 1898 when he organized a cheer during a football game. Being that was the first time cheerleading was done, November 2, 1898 is called the birthdate of cheerleading, and the University of Minnesota was the first university to have a cheerleader.

The first cheerleading fraternity, Gamma Sigma, was founded in 1903, five years after its start. Women did not begin cheerleading until the early 1920s. The women though were overlooked until the 1940s, when men started getting drafted for WWII. This gave women the opportunity to make their way into the sport. During the 1950s, cheerleading started to become more popular, and during the 1960s, it became more feminine. By the 1970s, it was primarily a girl’s sport. In 2005, statistics showed that about 97% of cheerleaders were female, making only 3% of them male.

In 1943, Lawrence Herkimer, the inventor of the “Herkie” jump and the spirit stick, formed the National Cheerleaders Association to hold clinics for cheerleading.  The pom-pom was invented in 1965, by Fred Gastoff. In 1978, competitive cheerleading was introduced during the first broadcast of Collegiate Cheerleading Championships. Professional cheerleading began in 1950, and the first recorded cheer squad in NFL history was for the Baltimore Colts. Women were mainly selected for visual appeal, since men were the targeted group. Some of the top college cheer teams include the University of Southern California, Washington State University, the University of Minnesota, Indiana University, and Louisiana State University.

Cheerleading has a long history and, in my opinion, it’s very important in sports. Without it, we may not have as much spirit and pep during our school football games. In addition, Cheerleading allows us to see amazing stunts, which are pretty exciting to see. It’s also great to have during homecoming week, and I hope people will soon have a better opinion of the sport itself.