The Minnesota Vikings are showing support for the team’s two male cheerleaders, Blaize Shiek and Louie Conn, who have faced homophobic and hateful backlash since being announced as members of the 2025 squad.

In the NFL, offense is king; it sells tickets, and it is what most fans come in to the stadium or turn the TV on to watch perform on the field. Of course, defense has its place too, but in recent years, the NFL has become an arms race of sorts for teams as they look to have deeper arsenals of weapons to perform each other out.