Give me a N-O! Cheerleaders will be absent from first ever Super Bowl in 45-year history

This year's Super Bowl game will be the first in its 45-year history not to feature cheerleaders.The Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers both do not have cheerleading squads after axeing them more than 20 years ago. Cheerleaders have been a staple of the Super Bowl experience every year, along with half-time entertainment and companies spending a fortune on adverts during breaks in play.

The San Francisco 49ers cheerleaders perform at the game against the Denver Broncos at Wembley, London, in October

Only six NFL teams do not have cheerleading squads. They are the Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns and the New York Giants

But both teams have confirmed they will not bring in substitutes for the NFL decider in Dallas, and the league has also confirmed it would not be providing cheerleaders. Jamie Beckman, a former state-level cheerleader, told Fox News: 'They aren't necessary to a sporting event per se, but cheerleaders have always been a tradition in sports, and some of the teams have become icons in their own right, such as the Laker Girls and the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.

'They put in long and hard hours working to develop complicated, tumbling and stunt-filled routines that no average athlete could master without serious training.' She added: 'I have to say, as I grew older and left my cheer career behind, I realised that during NFL games, when the cameraman shoots a blond cheerleader right before the station goes to commercial, it ain't because he's trying to capture her athleticism.'

Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers, left, winces as he is hit during the NFC Championship game. The team has chosen not to take substitute cheerleaders

Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger prepares to throw the football. The team got rid of its cheerleaders in 1970 after an 'organisational decision'

Green Bay cut its cheerleading squad in 1988 and the Steelers got rid of its cheerleaders in 1970 after fan apathy. Larry Tobin, a sports expert based in Los Angeles, told the site: 'I have always felt as though cheerleaders were entertainment for people who weren't really there for the game.'I honestly couldn't have told you that there were cheerleaders at any of the Super Bowl games I've been to.' Last year, 106.5million people watched the Super Bowl between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts - the most-watched TV progamme in the U.S. in history.The Pittsburgh Steelers have won the most Super Bowls, with six.