E. Yellin Resources

Yellin, E. (1999, July 7). School Spirit, Inc.: Millions of Cheerleaders Create a Growth Industry. New York Times (Business Section), pp. C1, C14.

In forty-some years, cheerleading has grown from being a small appendage of male football and basketball teams to a sport in its own right, to a multi-million dollar industry, and to what this article does not note, a real subculture of teenagers, pre-teens, and a few twenty-somethings finishing college.

The sport is primarily (about 97%) female. But in answer to a trivia question: "What do senators Trent Lott and Thad Cochran (from Mississippi), Steve Martin, Ronald Reagan, and Dwight D. Eisenhower all have in common?"—the answer is that they were all once male cheerleaders.

Cheerleading has expanded; pompon girls are something different and exciting—and there are special dance teams. So-called "all-stars" don’t even cheer for other teams; they are for special competition only.

All in all, we are not just talking about thousands of young people, but millions. The research firm, American Sports Data, estimates 3.3 million young people, ages 6 through 20s (and even older) are involved in a sport that is becoming increasingly athletic (even dangerous), competitive, and expensive.

According to American Sports Data, cheerleading is "strongest in the South and Midwest."

The concentration of ages is as follows:

Just as with other sports (some more than others) there is a significant cost to having your children participating in cheeleading or pompons. There are the warm-up and regular uniforms, gymnastic and special lessons, camps, matching camp clothes, and travel costs. A three or four-day camp may charge participants $150-$200. The cost of being a cheerleader these days is about $5,000.

Leslie Smith, 42, has two girls in cheerleading, Christie (middle school), and Casey (high school) in Cordova, Tennessee.

We spend most of the year fund-raising. We do car washes, baby-sitting, sell poinsettias, anything to offset the cost. Each girl’s parents put in at least $200. per month (double that for the Smiths with two girls cheering). It’s like a car note.

Behind the sport, there is the industry. Lawrence Herkimer is credited for founding what is called "the spirit industry" by insiders. Known as "Herkie," he established the first cheerleading camps in the 1940s. He thought up the idea of pompons in the 1950s and patented the idea. His pompon business was the beginning of the uniform industry for cheerleaders. National Spirit, as Herkimer’s business was called, led the way. In 1974, Herkimer hired Jeffrey Webb, a former University of Oklahoma cheerleader. Within two years, Webb left to start his own company, Varsity Spirit.

By 1997, Varsity Spirit (of Memphis, Tennessee) was bringing in $90 million revenue and National Spirit, (of Dallas) $80 million. Both companies have now been bought: Varsity Spirit by Riddell Sports (maker of football helmets) and National Spirit by an investment group in Dallas.

Webb (now 49) credits the success of the industry to cross-marketing. They get the kids to camp, where they catch the spirit and hear from sales reps (uniforms and products are not sold at camp itself). Camps also promote special events. From his business perspective, Webb sees cheerleading more like soccer than any other sport. Both of these sports have grown up and operate primarily outside of the school. This means that they are free to develop creatively without restrictions from school regulations. "So there is a big fashion element to soccer (to cheerleading and pompons). Fabric and trim and design are really important...in soccer everyone wants to have a real hot look."

Full promotion needs the medium of magazines—these also give cohesion to a subculture (as do surfing and skateboarding magazines). One New York firm, Lifestyle Ventures, has been publishing six related magazines for five years. One of them, "American Cheerleader," has a circulation of 200,000 and readership of 1.2 million.

Cheerleaders and dance teams produce a ripple effect of fashion influence among their peers. Of course, cheerleading and its magazine publishers are also influenced by other trends in the popular and youth cultures.

Michael Weiskopf, publisher of "American Cheerleader" sees positive and negative aspects to the corporate culture of "the spirit industry."

‘You get the sense the employees, who are mostly former cheerleaders, would do anything for their company. They are very loyal. There is an organic enthusiasm. It is fun. It could be the model for an I.B.M. The downside to that is they have that cheerleading mentality of let’s go out and kill the competition, so there is no cohesion or coming together for the good of the industry.’

As with so much of athletics and life, there is nostalgia for early days without so much commercialism. On the other hand, millions of young women are finding challenge, team spirit, discipline, affirmation, and fun in this sport.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. What pleases or disturbs you about this sport, industry, and article?
2. Have you thought about the benefits and possible extremes or dangers of cheerleading and pompons? How might this be debated?
3. Why isn’t the inclusion of girls in many more sports diminishing the popularity of cheerleading, pompons, and athletic dancing?
4. To what extent would you encourage a younger sister or daughter to participate in cheerleading?
5. Do cheerleaders have a responsibility to girls who aren’t able to make a cheerleading team? How should athletics subcultures relate to non-athletic groups and individuals in a high school?
6. To what extent should cheerleaders moderate macho extremes of male athletes? How might they do this?

IMPLICATIONS

1. Clearly we must accept a change from the era of sandlot sports initiated by kids themselves to highly organized and even commercialized athletics. This doesn’t mean that individuals, families, and communities can’t reject extremes and even moderate the local sports scene and perhaps even the industry.
2. Recognizing the good that comes from sports and cheerleading, we also have a responsibility to critique social and commercial movements.
3. There are girls who have found themselves or gotten through difficult times of their lives through cheerleading. There are also some who have been hurt by its exclusiveness, competitiveness, and cost.