Is There Room for Cheerleaders and Podium Girls in Sport?

As I watched the Warriors shock the Roosters on Sunday night, one thing stood out which made me think - and it wasn't about how the Warriors could go from a team thrashed 62-6 in one game to one that has won its last 4 games in a row.

It was about the cheerleaders that welcomed both Warriors and Roosters players onto the field and who kept parading themselves as they were meant to during the game, apparently satisfying the men in the crowd.

They may be hot, but do we really need to see this at the footie?

Ok, I'll admit when I was a bit younger that I might have quite enjoyed the sight of cheerleaders dancing in quite tight and revealing outfits, waving their long hair around like cousin-it, as it would for most heterosexual young men.

But now it seems that cheerleaders are a bit of an anomaly in today's age especially when nowadays, more women are going to universities and colleges, appointed CEOs and leaders of government than ever before. Indeed, the idea of cheerleaders seems to contradict the trend of today, i.e. women can do the same things men can do and can often do it better and where old preconceptions of women are now considered sexist.

In fact, let's go back a few months ago in 2013 to the podium ceremony at the Tour de Flanders. As part of a practical joke, cyclist Peter Sagan pretends to pinch the bum of the podium girl kissing Fabian Cancellara. His act is caught on camera, and Sagan is instantly criticized and rebuked for being highly unprofessional and sexist.

No, no, Peter, bad boy! 

The Slovak rising star did quickly apologize to defuse attention from his naughty act but this act only shed more light on what is still quite a male-dominated sport; even though there are plenty of women cyclists of high calibre like Marianne Vos, Laura Trott, etc, there is no sign of a Grand Tour for the women, and women still cannot compete in the Tour de France and two big races of the year.

Female athletes like Laura Trott are trying to shed the sex symbol image associated with their gender 

Cycling is not the only sport that seems to be designed just for men - Formula 1 hasn't had a female racing driver in 20 years and American football and rugby league are considered too brutal and requiring too much testosterone for women to take part. So, the only way they can take part is to be cheerleaders and since all the men are watching, why don't we just dress them up in tight outfits and get them to dance so that the male crowd get all excited?

I think it's time we binned cheerleaders as they've had their time, and start to acknowledge that there are actually women who do follow the same sports men love and show the respect that they deserve - or allow men to be involved in cheerleading squads which American colleges now encourage (hence the show, Glee).

Many high profile sports and teams have scrapped cheerleaders. The Premier League did use cheerleaders in its first season but they have been long forgotten - most fans care about the game rather than the girls. The Green Bay Packers do not have a cheerleading squad as they consider themselves to be a family based franchise and feel that cheerleaders are not appropriate for the younger fans.

After all, do we go to the footie to watch a couple of guys chase a ball or a couple of girls jump up and down with their pom-poms?