“If cheerleading were any easier, it would be called football”

“If cheerleading were any easier, it would be called football” is a saying that has been printed on many gift items, such a T-shirts and posters. “If cheerleading were any easier, it would be called football” has been cited in print since at least February 1994, when it was a T-shirt slogan.
 
Sayings with a similar theme include “If gymnastics were easy, it would be called football” and “If figure skating was easy, it would be called hockey.”
   
 
17 February 1994, St. Petersburg (FL) Times, “Pirates cheering for national title‎” by Joanne Korth, Citrus Times, pg. 4:
The T-shirt read: “If cheerleading were any easier, it would be called football.”
 
24 November 1994, The Gazette (Cedar Rapids-Iowa City, IA), pg. 8:
“If cheerleading were any easier, it’d be called football.” “If football were any harder, it would be called cheerleading.”
 
Google Books
November 2001, Cincinnati Magazine (Cincinnati, OH), pg. 64, col. 2:
“If cheerleading got any easier it would be called football,” says one pile of shirts.
 
The Strong and the Weak
FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010
If cheerleading were easy, itd be called football.
So i think i know what i need to do to feel better, i need to CHEERLEAD !
 
Google Books
Making ‘em Cheer:
We Lead! We Succeed
By Michael Bachmann
Portland, OR: Inkwater Press
2012
Pg. 26:
A Princeton University graduate, Kewku Nduom, who was a college cheerleader and sprint football player, considers cheerleading more difficult than football. From his point of view, “If cheerleading were any easier, it would be called football.
 
Google Books
Any Given Monday:
Sports Injuries and How to Prevent Them for Athletes, Parents and Coaches—Based on My Life in Sports Medicine
By Dr. James R. Andrews
New York, NY: Scribner (Simon & Schuster)
2013
Pg. 72:
I’ve seen cheerleaders proudly wearing shirts emblazed with the slogan “If cheerleading was any easier, they would call it football.”