Gameday glam and grit: the world of NFL cheerleading

The life of a professional NFL cheerleader is not all glitz and glamor. The select group of women that can demonstrate they have the dancing skills, bubbly personality, bombshell looks and the “it” factor required to make a squad put hours each week into preparing for game days. NFL teams love to use these women as extensions of their brand, marketing their sex appeal to a football audience that is traditionally, and sometimes aggressively, masculine. Sure, they get to perform on the biggest stages in American sports, but at what cost? Between the unrelenting nitpicking of their physical appearance and settling for a semi-livable wage, professional cheerleading is largely a thankless job. Their value, however, is becoming more and more undeniable. Plus, on this week’s Fun Friday, Claire and Jenna draw from a hat to choose the NBA team they will be rooting for this upcoming season. Transition track credits:Downtown Walk by | e s c p | https://escp-music.bandcamp.comMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/