It's Football, Jim, But Not As We Know It

Tuesday, 30 September 08, 05:14 PM · Comments(0)

Blackburn Rovers' Male Cheerleader

by Stuart Gillespie

This might not go down well with my fellow students of the game, but the football that has excited me most over the last couple of days has been of the variety where they don't actually use their feet very much.

I found out yesterday that I've got a ticket for next month's NFL match at Wembley between New Orleans Saints and San Diego Chargers. I'm not one of those Brits who blindly rails against the sport purely because it's American and happens to have the same name as our beloved game, but nor am I a huge fan. In fact I only know a handful of players and, to be honest, I'm pretty sketchy on the rules.

So why am I so excited?

Because on Sunday 26 October I'll be able to indulge in some of the things that, in the austere world of British soccer, are considered superfluous, distracting and, for many people, cringeworthy. I'm talking about the carnival that accompanies every game of American football, from the Superbowl to the most meaningless high school fixture. All the fun of the fair with some men in helmets running around to give the whole spectacle some flimsy validation.

On the morning of the game, for instance, I will be attending the official 'tailgate' party, a tradition for gridiron fans. For the unfamiliar, it's a barbecue/piss-up in a car park.

But unlike the pre-match pie and pint that we know and love, this will feature cheerleaders. Not the Primark sales assistant types you see at the JJB or the Reebok, doing primary school talent show routines (though sometimes, as seen above, it's even worse than that). But proper hot cheerleaders doing flips and pyramids.

On reflection, that's really the only reason I'm excited. We have a superior game that stands up by itself without ludicrous gimmickry, such as Janet Jackson getting her waps out at half-time. Important matches in our version of football don't need to be prefixed by Super-mega-uber-enormo. We could even have a barbie in the car park at the KC Stadium if we felt like it.

But their cheerleaders really are fit...

New Orleans Saints Cheerleading Squad