You have to have brains to be a Cowboys cheerleader!

I read an article by Rick Reilly, an ESPN columnist, about the Dallas Cowboys cheerleading squad must take a written test in order to make the team. The purpose, according to the Cowboys head cheerleader is because:

We want our cheerleaders to be knowledgeable and well-spoken in interviews. If they're not, it's a deal breaker.

Yes, I have teased for years that cheerleading is not a sport, due to the typical stereotype of no brains, all beauty, no talent, and very shallow, clique-y friendships and politics. But true cheer squads are usually made of gymnasts. The stuff cheer squads do are downright dangerous. I watched a cheerleading competition on ESPN one time, and was glued, believe it or not. The dance routines and the synchronization in the gymanstics (think synchronized swimming/diving) are complex and excellent. Serious kudos to those kinds of cheer squads.

Now add brains along with beautiful and athletic? Talk about breaking the stereotype for your average cheerleader. Hooray!! I love it.

The article continues and asks why the Dallas Cowboys football players don't have to take this test? Admittingly, this is a pretty lame answer from the head cheerleader: "Well, their job description is winning football games." Fail.

But no matter. The article asked 12 current players to take the cheerleader test. Examples of the questions and the answers the players gave are included in this article. A sample to whet your pallet:

Q: Name the Six Flags of Texas.
A very tough question. Only backup QB Jon Kitna nailed it. "Oh, my kids have been schooling me on this. Mexico, Spain, France, United States, Republic of Texas and the Confederacy. Thanks to my kids, I just learned that!" Nearly all 11 others thought it was an amusement park question. Need to get some kids.

I encourage you to read the article and see what the results were. There are some tough questions on that test!