take Us back

You HAD to Be There

- By Kat Pettibone

THE MOMENT:

Saturday Night Live Turned Into a Pep Rally 30 Years Ago When the Spartan Cheerleaders Made the Scene

Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri were five weeks into their Saturday Night Live careers when they burst onto the Nov. 11, 1995, episode as the relentlessly upbeat Spartan Cheerleaders. Outsiders who didn't make the real squad, Craig and Arianna still wore the uniform as they cheered proudly at chess matches, bake sales, even at a theater showing Titanic — wherever spirit was in short supply. Written and performed by Oteri and Ferrell (with writer Paula Pell joining later), the nearly 20 sketches ran through 1999 and gave Us timeless chants like “Who’s that Spartan in my tepee?” (“It’s me! It’s me!”).

WHO WAS INVOLVED