Cheers for the Black & Gold: New Orleans' Saints Cheer Krewe
The citizens of Louisiana love many things, but nothing may be more beloved than the New Orleans Saints. Whether the NFL football team wins or loses, their diehard fans are there, backing them even when it hurts. Sometimes with a brown paper bag covering their heads.
While the city and surrounding areas love supporting their favorite team, the Saints get the most support from their amazing cheer team, the Saints Cheer Krewe. Previously known as the Saintsations, the team revamped their crew and their name in 2021. The goal was to become more inclusive, incorporating all genders while also merging all of the athletic aspects of a cheer team-from tumbling, to stunts, to dance.
In April 2023, as they do every year, the Cheer team opened for auditions for the new football season. Entering their third year as the Saints Cheer Krewe, the crew has amplified the game experience, becoming the ultimate entertainment team. Representing a diversity of members, the candidates were challenged with new stunts, new cheers, and new demands. While there are many new things about this cheer crew, having a dance or cheer team perform along the sidelines during Saints games is nothing new.
Where It All Began
As long as there has been the Saints, there have been Saints dancers and cheerleaders. That's right, the first auditions were held in 1967 where hundreds of women competed for a spot amongst the 60 dance team members being picked at the time. Once those ladies were selected, they went on to begin rehearsing in the summer of 1967 and were an active part of the Saints first year as an NFL football team. At that time, the dance team was named the Lousiannes, but then they became the Mademoiselles one year later. During those early years there were two separate groups of performers: the Saints cheerleaders and the dancers.
While the recent name change took many by surprise, it is actually a common event throughout the cheer teams' history. Over the years, the team went through a number of name changes and changes in general. First they simplified their name to the Mam'selles, mostly due to the ease of the spelling. Then they became the Bonnes Amies, meaning "good friends" in French. For a brief period, the dance team was called the Angels. And during other times, they were simply referred to as the Saints Dancers or Danceteam.
Things came to a halt during the late 70s. But what happened some years later changed the pace of what would become one of the most recognizable NFL sideline performance teams of all times.
Two Became One
In 1987, the standing General Manager of the Saints, Jim Finks, proposed bringing back a dance team to the Superdome sidelines. Under his suggestion, this team would merge the cheerleaders and dancers creating a world of dance, acrobatics, and cheer performances. The Saints then hired Sandra Labourdette, a prominent dance studio owner, to work as the official choreographer.
With 25 plus dancers chosen, the group was initially called the Saints Dancers. The name was later changed to the Saintsations after fans voted on the best name for the team that would be performing and cheering on the Saints for years to come. While the new team started out small, it grew over the years not only in size, but also in popularity. Many fans who attended the football games equally enjoyed watching the Saintsations perform and interact with the crowd.
Major Name Change
While the cheer crew has changed their name over the years, the name change in 2021 came to fans as a major surprise—it was hard for many to fathom calling the team anything other than the Saintsations.
In December of 2021, the New Orleans Saints shocked many fans with the following post, "We asked Saints nation to tell us what we should call our new entertainment team, which includes the region's best dancers, cheerleaders, and stunters. With help from our fans, this team will now be known as the Saints Cheer Krewe."
With a new name came new members, incorporating more male cheerleaders, more stunts, more equality, and more diversity. Though changes have been made to the team, it remains a team of some of the best cheer athletes in the city.
Saints Cheer Krewe: More Than A Cheer Team
The Saints Cheer Krewe is best known for their support on the field, but don't be mistaken, this team has always been involved in a plethora of activities outside of the Superdome.
Not only are the Cheer members often hired to attend other private and public events, but being a part of the cheer squad has opened up many future opportunities for the members of the crew. Many Saints Cheerleaders move on into amazing careers and in some instances receive a bit of fame.
The cheer crew is also known for its philanthropic works throughout the years. It is common to see the Saints Cheer Krewe at charity events, inside schools, supporting the Jr. Saints Krewe and much more. They've been involved in causes from the Muscular Dystrophy Association to becoming international ambassadors of Goodwill.
Today's Saints Cheer Krewe is an amazing group of talented dancers, stunters, and performers, coming from all walks of life. With the new inclusivity, this team is certainly destined to become the best NFL performance team of all time.
