television show
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...
that debuted in 2006 on the
NFL Network
NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NF ...
. The official channel of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
premiered each episode on Saturdays at 3 p.m. Eastern Time (ET).
The competition was produced by
IMG img or IMG is an abbreviation for image.
img or IMG may also refer to:
* IMG (company), global sports and media business headquartered in New York City but with its main offices in Cleveland, originally known as the "International Management Group ...
's television production division.
Matt Gallant
Matthew James Gallant (born June 25, 1964) is an American television host. He was the host of ''The Planet's Funniest Animals'' on Animal Planet, as well as shows on MTV, ESPN2, G4, NFL Network, Fine Living, ABC and DirecTV. Gallant hosted Simon ...
was the host, and
Ian Eagle
Ian Eagle ( ; born February 9, 1969) is an American sports announcer. He calls NBA, NFL, and college basketball games on CBS, TNT, and TBS, as well as Brooklyn Nets games on the YES Network and French Open tennis for Tennis Channel. Other ...
, Chad Johnson, and Carrie Milbank are reporters.
The playoffs were taped between July 17 and July 21, 2006 at
Six Flags New England
Six Flags New England, formerly known as Gallup's Grove (1870–1886), Riverside Grove (1887–1911), Riverside Park (1912–1995) and Riverside: The Great Escape (1996–2000), is an amusement park located in Agawam, Massachusetts, a western s ...
in
Agawam, Massachusetts
Agawam is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 28,692 at the 2020 census. Agawam sits on the western side of the Connecticut River, directly across from Springfield, Massachusetts. It is considered part of t ...
. Two-person teams of
cheerleaders
Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...
from 25 of the NFL's 32 teams participated in a four-event series of competitions.
The first two events test the cheerleaders' athletic abilities in events like the
100-yard dash
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length&nb ...
cycling
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...
, and the
obstacle course
An obstacle course is a series of challenging physical obstacles an individual, team or animal must navigate, usually while being timed. Obstacle courses can include running, climbing, jumping, crawling, swimming, and balancing elements with th ...
. The third event is a
trivia
Trivia is information and data that are considered to be of little value. It can be contrasted with general knowledge and common sense.
Latin Etymology
The ancient Romans used the word ''triviae'' to describe where one road split or forke ...
challenge called "Know Your NFL". The final competition is a one-minute dance routine, similar to what they normally perform on NFL sidelines.
There were six first-round episodes, five with four teams and one with five. The top two teams from each show (based on the point system below) advanced to the second round. Three winners moved to the third round, with the top two teams going head-to-head in the final. Each member of the winning team of cheerleaders received $5,000 cash and a Nautilus exercise machine, made by
Bowflex
Bowflex is the brand name for a series of fitness training equipment, marketed and sold by Nautilus, Inc. Based in Vancouver, Washington, it sells its products through direct, retail and international channels. The first Bowflex product, Bowflex ...
.
Point system
The total combined points will determine the standings.
''* Episode 6 was the only show to have five competing teams.''
Episodes
The following are the final standings for each episode.
First round
In this round, the top two teams (both in bold) advanced to the second round.
*''Episode 1 (aired September 14, 2006)''
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
,
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
,
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...
,
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994.
The arr ...
,
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...
,
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
,
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
*''Episode 4 (aired October 5, 2006)''
Buffalo Bills,
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
,
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
, Houston Texans
''NOTES: The Bills won all four individual competitions with a perfect score of 300 points. The Vikings and the Eagles tied for second; the Vikings advanced based on a higher individual judges' score in the dance competition.''
*''Episode 5 (aired October 12, 2006)''
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...
''NOTE: A Panthers cheerleader, identified only as Shannon, suffered a leg injury during the obstacle course and had to withdraw from competition, along with her teammate, Misty.''
*''Episode 6 (aired October 21, 2006)''
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
,
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The ...
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...
Second Round
In this round, the top team (in bold) advanced to the semi-finals.
*''Episode 7 (aired October 28, 2006)''
St. Louis Rams, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Kansas City Chiefs
*''Episode 8 (aired November 4, 2006)''
San Diego Chargers, Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints
*''Episode 9 (aired November 11, 2006)''
Atlanta Falcons, Washington Redskins, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
''NOTE: A Buccaneers cheerleader, identified only as Catherine, suffered a knee injury during the roller skating race and had to withdraw from competition, along with her teammate, Monica, prior to the dance event.''
Semi-finals Round
In this round, the top two teams (in bold) advanced to the finals.
*''Episode 10 (aired November 18, 2006)''
San Diego Chargers, Atlanta Falcons, St. Louis Rams
''NOTE: Originally only two teams were to advance to the finals. The Falcons and the Rams both tied for second with 195 points. Both teams had identical judges' scores in the dance competition which was the tiebreaker, so all three teams advanced.''
Final Round
*''Episode 11 (aired November 23, 2006)''
In a rematch of episode 10, the San Diego Chargers team (Casie and Shantel) defeated the Atlanta Falcons and St. Louis Rams squads to win the overall championship. This time, all the teams finished in a three-way tie, with 210 points. The Chargers were declared the winners based on winning the dance competition.
This show aired at 6 p.m. ET, one hour before the start of pregame coverage of NFL Network's first
Thursday Night Football
''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 20 ...
game.
Did not participate
The following six NFL teams in 2006 did not have cheerleaders: Chicago Bears,
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
Detroit Lions Cheerleaders
The Detroit Lions Cheerleaders are the National Football League cheerleading squad representing the Detroit Lions.
History
Since moving to Detroit from Portsmouth, Ohio in 1934, the Detroit Lions have only had one official cheerleading squad be ...
were not founded until 2016.
Schedule change
The premiere of episode 6, scheduled for October 19, was postponed as NFL Network added a fifth '' NFL Replay'' of the previous weekend, the Bears' victory over the Cardinals. It aired the following Saturday. It was assumed that the regular schedule would resume the next week; however, NFLN soon announced that the move to Saturday would be permanent. NFLN aired a fifth run of ''NFL Replay'' on Thursday nights, either a fifth game or a rebroadcast of one of the previous four telecasts from Tuesday or Wednesday, until November 23, when live games took over the time slot.
Current status
The playoffs were not repeated in 2007, as NFL Network chose not to renew the contract with IMG. The series also repeated on July 14, 2008 on the NFL Network.
Other notes
*This program resembled other IMG multi-event shows like '' Superstars'' and ''Battle of the Gridiron Stars''. One significant difference is that the cheerleaders sometimes make comments in a confession room, similar to the one found on many reality TV shows.
*The judges for the dance competition were Johnson, choreographerCris Judd, and former NFL cheerleader and current
actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
/
model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure.
Models c ...
Bonnie-Jill Laflin. (On episodes 5 and 7, Milbank replaced Johnson as a judge because the Bengals, for which Johnson plays as a wide receiver, were competing.)
*Most of the songs used for the dance routines were provided by Astralwerks, a major
electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...
and Sony BMG.
*In the second round, the "Know Your NFL" round resembled the ''
Pyramid
A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
'' series of
game shows
A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, s ...
. The dances in the same round followed a 20-20-20 format; one member of the team danced alone for 20 seconds, then the other member danced alone for the next 20 seconds, then both danced together for the final segment.
*In the final round, "Know Your NFL" was based on another classic game show, ''
Concentration
In chemistry, concentration is the abundance of a constituent divided by the total volume of a mixture. Several types of mathematical description can be distinguished: '' mass concentration'', ''molar concentration'', '' number concentration'', ...
''. The final dance to which all the teams competed was to the tune of "
19-2000
"19-2000", sometimes written "19/2000", is a song from the British virtual band Gorillaz' self-titled debut album ''Gorillaz''. It was the second single from the album, released on 25 June 2001 in the United Kingdom. "19-2000" reached number ...
" by Gorillaz. That song was also the
theme song
Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...