FIU Cheerleaders Play Suits vs. Skins
Golden Panthers squad fights budget cuts with bathing suits
By JANIE CAMPBELL
Updated 6:21 AM EDT, Tue, Jun 30, 2009
The suits responsible for athletic department budget cuts at Florida International University should have thought twice before eliminating the 46-member cheerleading program -- it's impossible to suppress that much pep.
With a national championship under where their belts should be, a current no. 4 ranking, and more success than the football and basketball programs combined, the Golden Panthers cheerleaders could be excused for sitting on their spanky pants and sulking.
But the girls and boys aren't taking their demise lying down; they're taking it to the streets of Miami instead and showing a little skin.
That's right, if the drive-through car wash didn't do enough jigglin' for you, the FIU cheerleaders most certainly will. In a scene right out of the cinema classic "Bring It On," they held their first car wash fundraiser since being trimmed from the budget this past weekend, and plan many more in addition to raising funds through the sales of a swimsuit calendar and baked goods (no, they do not refer to any buns inadvertently toasted while soaping cars in the sun).
Knowing cheerleaders' indomitable spirits like we do, we have to wonder if FIU knew they wouldn't just go away quietly and seeing nubile young co-eds in bikinis wasn't the plan all along. But the coach, former Dolphins cheerleader Maria George, has offered to work for free, and FIU says if the team wants to continue they must raise additional funds toward future years.
The girls reported from the scene of the car wash that they need $40,000 more to stay alive; at a suggested poster price of $5, they need to wash just 8,000 more cars to secure another year of competition.
Judging by what we've seen in this video and in the swimsuit calendar, they just might accomplish that in the next 40 minutes.
Gentlemen, dirty your engines.
Copyright NBC Local Media
First Published: Jun 29, 2009 12:40 PM EDT on NBC Miami
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