Yes, cheerleaders have had such a detrimental effect on crowds in South Africa, France and NZ.... Meanwhile, the crowds are flocking to the SFS to see Tah Man strut his stuff...
It's not an either or thing -you have both to appeal to different sections of your audience.
It's having that audience to play for that counts which is why teams should be doing everything they can to make the off-field side enjoyable, in case the on-field aspect disappoints.
The Brisbane Broncos have 2 mascot Broncos, a real horse, sponsor mascots and a set of cheerleaders and have outdrawn the Reds in crowd numbers in every year since their inception in 1988.
Sports administrators are really selling a show. If they want people to watch that show, they need to make it entertaining.