The Spartan Cheerleaders

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The Spartan Cheerleaders, often referred to as simply "The Spartans", were recurring characters on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live during the 1990s. They consisted of students Arianna (Cheri Oteri) and Craig (Will Ferrell), a pair of awkward, self-conscious pariahs who led unusual cheerleading routines at school functions to which they had not been invited.

In the first "Spartans" sketch, it's made clear that Craig and Arianna tried out unsuccessfully for the East Lake High Spartan Spirit cheerleading squad, but after being cut, made off with the uniforms and began cheering on their own. They begin at a football game, but after being told to leave by a real Spartan (Quentin Tarantino), they move to more unusual school functions where cheerleaders are usually not present, such as chess tournaments and swim meets. Eventually they were shown entirely out of school context, at places like Halloween parties and Hickory Farms.

In between cheers, Arianna spars with her off-camera arch-nemesis Alexis. Alexis does not make an appearance until the "Candy Striper Spartans" episode (played by Jennifer Love Hewitt), in which the Spartan Cheerleaders find her in labor in the hospital at which they volunteer.

An example of the Spartans' most common cheer format is: (Craig:) "Who's that Spartan in my tee-pee?" (Arianna): "It's me, it's me" (Craig:) "Who's that Spartan in my tee-pee?" (Arianna): "It's me, it's me." (Together): "Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh!" "Native Americans!" Most skits ended with what they called "The Perfect Cheer", which would be an elaborate routine to a popular song they would play from a boombox music player.

The fictional East Lake High School Spartans were loosely based on the Bainbridge Island High School Spartans where Chris Kattan (who created the Spartans for SNL) attended school.

List of SNL episodes featuring the Spartans

• "Spartans Football Game" November 11, 1995 host: Quentin Tarantino
• "Spartans Basketball Game" December 16, 1995 host: Madeline Kahn
• "Spartans Chess Tournament" January 20, 1996 host: Alec Baldwin
• "Spartans Swim Meet" February 24, 1996 host: Elle MacPherson
• "Spartans Math Competition" April 20, 1996 host: Teri Hatcher
• "Spartans Wrestling Tournament" May 18, 1996 host: Jim Carrey
• "Spartans Ping-Pong Tournament" September 28, 1996 host: Tom Hanks
• "Spartans Bowling Tournament" November 16, 1996 host: Robert Downey, Jr.
• "Hickory Farms Spartans" December 14, 1996 host: Rosie O'Donnell
• "Sidney & The Spartans" February 8, 1997 host: Neve Campbell
• "Baywatch Spartans" April 19, 1997 host: Pamela Lee
• "Spartans Practice" October 4, 1997 host: Matthew Perry
• "Spartans Dream" December 6, 1997 host: Nathan Lane
• "The Spartans at the Movies" March 7, 1998 host: Scott Wolf
• "Spartans Summer Camp" May 9, 1998 host: David Duchovny
• "Candy Striper Spartans" November 21, 1998 host: Jennifer Love Hewitt
• "Spartans Holiday Parade" December 4, 1999 host: Christina Ricci

See also

• Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches