NFL
Do NFL cheerleaders go to away games?
With the Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins meeting on Oct, 17 in London, it is possible that we see cheerleaders traveling with one of those two teams
There are currently 25 of 32 NFL teams that include a cheerleading squad in their franchise. NFL cheerleaders give a team more coverage/airtime, provide local support, cheer at home games, but very rarely travel with their teams for regular games, with the home team enjoying the sole support of their own cheerleading team. Unlike cheerleading in collegiate football, there is no need for a cheer team to represent their team at all away games during a regular football season.
There is no official documentation on whether NFL cheerleading teams travel to away games, but we have seen some instances where they have traveled overseas with their NFL teams.
Cheerleaders at NFL London Games
Some of the London games that were held in the past few NFL seasons have seen a good amount of cheerleaders arriving with their teams and interacting with the foreign crowd.
Examples of away games we’ve seen including cheerleaders were the Baltimore Ravens at Wembley Stadium, in Sept, 2017 where the cheerleaders joined fans at Trafalgar Square before the Ravens vs Jaguars game. A month later, we also saw the Los Angeles Rams and the Arizona Cardinals’ cheerleaders join fans in the center of the capital prior to seeing them on the pitch at their NFL football game.
In 2009, the Patriots cheerleaders traveled to London in their game vs the Buccaneers, and the latest cheerleaders we’ve seen away from home in 2021 were the Atlanta Falcons cheerleaders in Week 5 vs the New York jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, on October 10.
With the Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins meeting on October 17 in London, it is a possibility that we see cheerleaders traveling with at least one of those two teams - the home team is the Jaguars, so it’s more likely we see the Jacksonville Roar in the British capital.
See Also:
NFL Cheerleaders’ memory lane to the the Superbowl
NFL cheerleaders were first introduced in 1954 by the Baltimore Colts, now the Indianapolis Colts. A few other NFL teams decided to have their own cheerleading teams afterwards, but it wasn’t until the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders that NFL Cheerleaders made it to the Superbowl (1976), after Dallas gained the spotlight with their extravagant outfits, choreographed dance moves and athletic demeanor. By 1981, 17 NFL teams had formed their own cheerleading teams.
The NFL teams that choose to not have cheerleaders, for different reasons, are the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, LA Chargers, New York Giants, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
2017-present: NFL Cheerleading teams at the Superbowl
There is no specific criteria as to how Cheerleading teams are chosen to perform in the Super Bowl, but there is a different team every year. We’ve put together the cheerleading teams that have performed from 2017-2020, keeping in mind that the Super Bowl in 2021 did not feature any due to the pandemic.
Super Bowl LI New England Patriots cheerleaders (2017)
Super Bowl LII Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders (2018)
Super Bowl LII Los Angeles Rams cheerleaders (2019) with the first male cheerleader appearance.
Super Bowl LIV San Francisco 49ers cheerleaders and Kansas City Chiefs cheerleaders (2020)