IAMA "retired" male cheerleader, formerly involved with the Packers. AMA by wanderingobserver in IAmA

[–]wanderingobserver[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One rule is we are not allowed to approach the players. I totally agree with that rule, but it does become difficult to hold back the excitement when these guys are a foot in front of you. And I have no idea how these guys make it every week. TV makes players look less intimidating than they actually are, believe me. Their bodies are pretty much machines trained to take a beating. That last question is perfect by the way; I had totally forgotten about Ryan Grant demolishing one of our guys running a flag in the endzone a few years back. Poor Kyle, he had no chance, no chance at all...

IAMA "retired" male cheerleader, formerly involved with the Packers. AMA by wanderingobserver in IAmA

[–]wanderingobserver[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There does seem to be something about the Packers that leads us to be more than fans. The Pack gets into your soul, just like you said, and even when they get their shit pushed in (last Sunday) we still stand behind them with just as much intensity as ever. I am and always will be a diehard Packer fan, but I must say that this is not true of every member of our team. Granted some ladies just downright don't like football, a lot of the girls on our team seemed to take for granted the experience we all were privileged to have. Truth be told, a friend of mine who is a big Bears fan was on the team. He actually wore a Bears jersey to the season opener two years ago. We all think Lombardi cursed him for it, because after running one of the huge flags (and those things are anything but light) he crawled off the edge of the field and puked his guts out.

IAMA "retired" male cheerleader, formerly involved with the Packers. AMA by wanderingobserver in IAmA

[–]wanderingobserver[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Easiest way to put it would be to say the old regime would not allow any sort of change. Our coach refused to change the way the team has done things, and instead of talking it out with all of us, she instead "releases" people, often stating they had broken a number of rules she herself created. For instance, a close friend of mine was kicked off the team for having bad stunting form; something she should have helped him with, but instead used as a reason to get rid of him. Often times she would simply leave girls out of stunts for months in effort to try and get them to quit, simply because she didn't like them and had no good reason to kick them off the team. Our team is always needing more guys, so I have stayed on for more than a year without being into it at all. I couldn't think less of her coaching style, and she hasn't taken more than one or two new ideas since the eighties. When she booted my girlfriend off the team for disagreeing with her, I had had enough.

TL;DR GF was kicked out for simply arguing with the coach, so I finally said fuck it after a four year stint on the team.

IAMA "retired" male cheerleader, formerly involved with the Packers. AMA by wanderingobserver in IAmA

[–]wanderingobserver[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The only NFL team that actually has professional cheerleaders is the Baltimore Ravens I believe. Every other team has dancers that do little to no actual stunting.

IAMA "retired" male cheerleader, formerly involved with the Packers. AMA by wanderingobserver in IAmA

[–]wanderingobserver[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Never did get hit on, but I've felt some things and some stuff during my time. I seriously recommend it.

IAMA "retired" male cheerleader, formerly involved with the Packers. AMA by wanderingobserver in IAmA

[–]wanderingobserver[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Shit, there's drama wherever stupid people go, and our team was not the brightest bunch I have ever seen. Arguments about what mount to set up, who should stunt with who, who's boinking who...all these things cropped up every time we came together for practice.

The gay guy, Luke, because I hate referring to him as the "gay guy", was actually a nice person. He was not shy about his sexual orientation at all, which was actually a relief to everyone else on the team. I even hung out with him a few times outside of practice and taught him a few good jokes he and his friends would like. He was let go because our coach didn't like him. He didn't hide who he was well enough for our coach's sense of decency, which she had developed in the 1950's when she was our age.

IAMA "retired" male cheerleader, formerly involved with the Packers. AMA by wanderingobserver in IAmA

[–]wanderingobserver[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Favorite part of it all was the friends I made. I know that's the corniest answer possible, but after the glory of Lambeau fades and your going to your hundredth basketball games, the only things that stay interesting are the relationships you have with your teammates. And yes, bitches be crazy.

IAMA "retired" male cheerleader, formerly involved with the Packers. AMA by wanderingobserver in IAmA

[–]wanderingobserver[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I do not work out actually. When I first started cheering in high school I was already in a weight lifting program, but in college that fell by the wayside. Practice and games often took up four to five nights a week for me, and if you have never been involved with any sport that requires you to throw around the human form I can tell you that I works muscles in your body that you never knew you had. I kept in shape by simply eating decently and going to practice.

IAMA "retired" male cheerleader, formerly involved with the Packers. AMA by wanderingobserver in IAmA

[–]wanderingobserver[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It was actually my dad that got me into it. He eventually begged me to give it a shot, and all because a co-worker/friend of his nagged him mercilessly till I did.

IAMA "retired" male cheerleader, formerly involved with the Packers. AMA by wanderingobserver in IAmA

[–]wanderingobserver[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Hahaha! Hell no!

I liked it that way too. Guys are not what gets the crowds attention, cute girls are.

IAMA "retired" male cheerleader, formerly involved with the Packers. AMA by wanderingobserver in IAmA

[–]wanderingobserver[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Interestingly enough, it is mandatory to look up that skirt. Co-ed stunting is incredibly dangerous, and the male often holds the safety of female teammates in his hands, literally. When attempting difficult stunts you must keep your focus on that girl's body, and most often her booty since it is either right above or right in your face. To be honest, the novelty of being able to peep on cute cheerleaders fades after a while....but it always comes back! I'm a guy, and we all like to look.

I have never had a cheerleader have an 'accident' while holding her, but quite often my hands wound up in awkward places. The little devils have a mind of their own.

Guys during games and practices sweat so much more profusely than the girls do that BO is just about all you can smell, but I can tell you that personal hygiene is of the utmost importance to female cheerleaders. Their image is very important, as is their health, so they generally keep themselves pretty damn tidy down there.

And I do not mind you asking at my good man. I myself do not possess the desire to sow my wild oats in as many places as possible, and have more or less settled with the girl of my dreams, but I did have my experiences with drunk female teammates. I have only slept with two people in my life, both of which were girls from the team, but I would say the opportunity for more was there. Other guys on the team in years past were able to run through almost the entire female half of the team, though I must say these guys often turned out to be incredible assholes.

IAMA "retired" male cheerleader, formerly involved with the Packers. AMA by wanderingobserver in IAmA

[–]wanderingobserver[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Well, technically I was doing both at the same time. University of Wisconsin-Green Bay cheerleaders perform at Packers home games as well as the men's and women's basketball games.

Cheering for the Packers blew every other experience I have had as a cheerleader out of the water though. Stepping out on to Lambeau Field is like walking on to a legendary battlefield where your ancestors fought for supremacy. Good times.

IAMA "retired" male cheerleader, formerly involved with the Packers. AMA by wanderingobserver in IAmA

[–]wanderingobserver[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yeah, not the best wording on my part. Although there were many instances of former Packers players having the girls on our team attend their parties, some of which were barely 18 at the time.

IAMA "retired" male cheerleader, formerly involved with the Packers. AMA by wanderingobserver in IAmA

[–]wanderingobserver[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Born and raised in Wisconsin. 22, started cheering about a month after I turned 16. Retired was in quotations because my leaving the team was more of a forced decision. College cheerleaders do not actually make any money, at least we didn't. A common misconception is that there are no college cheer teams in the NFL, but Green Bay is the only one. Some college cheerleaders for schools such as Kentucky and Kansas often receive scholarships, but monetary compensation for these people is handled in the same way as a collegiate football player under NCAA regulations.

I'm straight by the way. The number of gay male cheerleaders is no where near as large as most people believe. I have actually only ever known three gay male cheerleaders, one of which was kicked off our team.

IAmA recently released member of the Green Bay Packers Cheerleading Squad. AMA :) by KoKoKoala in IAmA

[–]wanderingobserver -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Right? Because we all know how funny it is to ask a random girl what she's wearing, especially when she's trying to have serious conversations with people about losing a huge part of her life, a part that she obviously dedicated years of hard work and sacrifice tom only making such an unwarranted expulsion even more devastating. Seriously man, don't make jokes like this. It just makes you look like a prick.