A Labor of Unrequited Love
The Gotham City Cheerleaders Perform Outside MetLife Stadium as the Unofficial Squad of the Giants
By Benjamin Norman
New York Times
The Gotham City Cheerleaders have one mission: to become the official cheerleading team of the Giants.
The team, started in 2011 by a former Washington Redskins cheerleader, Ana De Villegas, operates like any official N.F.L. cheerleading squad: It practices a few times a week, performs at events, has its own uniforms and even produces a swimsuit calendar.
But you will not see these cheerleaders on the sidelines at Giants home games. Instead, they hit the pavement outside MetLife Stadium, performing at tailgate parties in the parking lot with the hope that word of mouth and a growing fan base will persuade the franchise to bring them inside.
The Giants are one of six teams in the N.F.L. without an official cheerleading squad. John Mara, one of the Giants’ owners, has said, “It’s just not part of our philosophy.”
Shortly after forming the cheerleading team, De Villegas reached out to the Giants, but she never got a response. So she decided to build her brand from the ground up.
As the team makes its way around the parking lot, the reactions are mostly favorable. Fans cheer for the women and often join their dance circles. Teenage boys and young female cheerleaders line up for selfies and autographed calendars. The squad frequently, politely, declines invitations for beer and burgers from tailgaters.
However, the women also often hear grumbling about “tradition,” and how the Giants need a new offensive line more than cheerleaders.
They also regularly hear, “Wait, the Giants have cheerleaders?”
To De Villegas, her squad and their fans, the Giants do — just not inside the stadium.
