Spartan Cheerleaders Celebrate 30 Years of Unhinged SNL Laughs

Thirty years ago, Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri burst onto the Saturday Night Live stage as the Spartan Cheerleaders, and their iconic sketch has endured as one of the show's most beloved and unhinged moments. Ferrell, now 58, and Oteri, 63, were just five weeks into their SNL careers when they first donned the Spartan uniforms and brought to life the characters of Craig and Arianna - outsiders who didn't make the official high school squad but still proudly cheered on at chess matches, bake sales, and even a screening of Titanic.

The nearly 20 Spartan Cheerleaders sketches, written and performed by Oteri and Ferrell (with writer Paula Pell later joining), ran through 1999 and left an indelible mark on pop culture. Fans still dress up as the characters for Halloween and can't get enough of their iconic chants like "Who's that Spartan in my teepee?" The trio behind the sketch - Oteri, Ferrell, and Pell - have reflected on the joy and laughter they shared creating the beloved characters, with Pell admitting they would sometimes stretch out the writing process just to avoid moving on to more stressful sketches.

While the Spartan Cheerleaders didn't make an appearance at SNL's 50th anniversary special earlier this year, their legacy lives on as one of the show's most unforgettable and hilarious moments. Oteri, who left SNL in 2000, says she wishes she could have had a proper farewell, but the characters she and Ferrell brought to life continue to delight fans three decades later.