The NFL is begging for the Bud Light Treatment.
They're already getting "backlash."
Two male Vikings cheerleaders don't seem to be taking any of the backlash that they've gotten from some football fans to heart since the team announced their inclusion in the 2025 squad in a post on social media.
Blaize Shiek and Louie Conn will be members of the Vikings cheer team, which sparked criticism and even some fans threatening to not be fans of the team anymore.
However, Shiek seemed to address the controversy by poking fun at all of the people discussing him.
"Wait...did someone say our name?" Shiek wrote in a post on Instagram that included a photo of himself and Conn in their cheer uniforms.
The Vikings also responded to the controversy in a statement last week, defending Shiek and Conn.
"While many fans may be seeing male cheerleaders for the first time at Vikings games, male cheerleaders have been part of previous Vikings teams and have long been associated with collegiate and professional cheerleading," the team said in a statement.
"In 2025, approximately one-third of NFL teams have male cheerleaders. Every member of the Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders program has an impressive dance background and went through the same rigorous audition process. Individuals were selected because of their talent, passion for dance and dedication to elevating the game day experience. We support all our cheerleaders and are proud of the role they play as ambassadors of the organization."
The Rams are said to have been the first NFL team to include men on their cheerleading squad back in 2018.
I know that college squads feature male cheerleaders. These "cheerleaders" don't dance like girls, though, and don't wear girlish costumes and bippy-shorts. They mostly do things like shouting for one team to kill the other team and throw tiny girls dangerously high into the air. You know, manly stuff.
I think it's like male dancers: Yeah, half of them are gay, but the other half are absolutely rekking mish.
That's not the kind of cheerleader the NFL is bringing in, of course. They are bringing in the dancingest, swishiest, gayest male cheerleader you can imagine.
Because every moment in your life must be devoted to Centering Queerness. Any moment not spent Centering Queerness is a wasted moment you'll never get back.
In an age where every individual curates their own media diet, the collapse of the monoculture has led to more than just fractured tastes; it has made broad cultural adoption nearly impossible. No longer are Americans collectively tuned into the same primetime sitcoms, watching the same cable news shows, or even encountering the same commercials. And this diffusion of attention means experiments in reshaping cultural norms often fail not because of a coordinated backlash, but because of the algorithmic echo chambers they inadvertently land in.
The recent attempt of an NFL team to introduce male cheerleaders is the latest example of a media-era experiment caught in the wrong feedback loop -- one where outrage, not support, dominated the reception. The Minnesota Vikings prominently featured male cheerleaders Louie and Blazie on their social media and official website, making the men a staple of their 2025-2026 session squad. Pompoms in hand, video emphasizes these dudes as "the next generation of cheer" while using their team's women as background characters.
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Twelve NFL teams are reportedly incorporating male cheerleaders this season -- the Minnesota Vikings, the Baltimore Ravens, the Los Angeles Rams, the New Orleans Saints, the Philadelphia Eagles, the San Francisco 49ers, the New England Patriots, the Tennessee Titans, the Indianapolis Colts, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Carolina Panthers. More than 30 percent of the league will feature cheer teams in which men take a spot away from women, The Spun reported Tuesday. This fact suggests this isn't a one-off or a publicity stunt. It's coordinated. And it forces a more serious question: is this really the cultural front the left wants to fight on -- especially after losing male voters by double digits?
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The confusion isn't about "tolerance." Most people aren't up in arms because they can't stand the sight of a man doing high kicks. It's more basic than that. Given that cheerleading squads were introduced to capture and hold the attention of the mostly male fan base, it's the creeping feeling that the male attraction to female beauty is being impugned, that the rules are being rewritten in real time, and no one asked if we were okay with it.
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Ultimately, this moment isn't about cheerleaders. It's about holding on to the last vestiges of collective entertainment. Americans must trust that something as simple as watching football on a Sunday won�t come with a lecture or a re-education campaign dressed up in glitter. Because if it does, they will vote with their remote and turn off the TV. You can only bend the culture so far before it stops cheering with you -- and starts booing.