This morning (Sunday night in the USA), the 53rd Super Bowl took place in Atlanta. What was expected to be yet another extravagant sports event with the popular halftime show, star athletes and many other celebrities arguably didn't make as much buzz as the first-time inclusions of male cheerleaders ever in the game.
Napoleon Jinnies and Quinton Person made history, standing next to the LA Rams in the nation's most-watched television event of the year.
There has never actually been a ban on male cheerleaders in the NFL, and in many college and high school football matches in the US, it is common to see both male and female cheerleaders performing together. However, until this year, male NFL cheerleaders were called stuntmen and performed distinct moves from their female counterpart.This year's game is the first time we are seeing male and female cheerleaders performing in-sync.
Jinnies and Person are classically trained dancers who took the chance of auditioning to be part of the LA Rams cheerleaders team last year. Clearly, they impressed.