Cheerleading is big business today but did you know it all started in New Jersey, and many people you see on TV today are former cheerleaders?Paula Abdul, Terri Hatcher and Stacy Keibler are former pro-sports cheerleaders. Locals Kelly Ripa and Cheri Oteri cheered in high school, as did North Jersey's Meryl Streep.But presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and yes, George W. Bush, were also cheerleaders, along with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg!Cheerleading started in the 1880s at Princeton, where men cheered on the Tigers. It soon became an organized activity at the University of Minnesota.But it was all men leading the cheers. However, as more women went to college starting in the 1920s, they discovered colleges had no athletic activities for women.So women turned to cheerleading, took it away from the guys and made it the half-billion-dollar business it is today!To see nearly 50 people you know who started in cheerleading, click the slideshow above and to the right!
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