The Super Bowl is known for the eclectic celebrity crowd it attracts. Among those coming to Tampa: Shawn Johnson.
In case you’ve forgotten, the 16-year-old gymnast is a gold medalist from last summer’s Olympic Games in China.
And what will she do? She’ll be “participating” in the 13th Annual Super Bowl Cheerleading Spirit Clinic at the NFL Experience tomorrow (Saturday, Jan. 24).
I know, I know. Cheerleaders are increasingly athletic — indeed, gymnastic — but they’re still “cheer providers” doing what some winsome young women do. I don’t disapprove.
But Shawn Johnson is an elite athlete, a classy young woman who won a gold medal for the United States in Beijing. She’s better than this. She’s earned her cheers the old fashioned way — in the ultimate arena.