What do you think of cheerleaders?

[Lilacs4Me]

I quoted the below because I just wanted to point out a few things just to clarify my answers. My daughter was in competitive gymnastics (on the junior Olympic team) and softball at nationals.

In my olden days (way back when), I would not have considered cheerleading a sport. All the schools had the cheerleaders with pom poms on the sidelines doing cheers and during breaks would do a cheer routine with maybe cartwheels and splits. The schools also had songleaders (or whatever their school called them) who stood on the field and would do dances to the band songs. That was my experience and perhaps some others in my age group.

I realize along the way, cheerleading has changed. However, I was long out of school by then and honestly, unless my kids got into it, I didn't pay much attention and honestly no desire to search it on the internet. This may be the fact with others on here commenting as the original poster asked for their opinion.

To answer the original poster, the competitive teams I see on tv should be considered a sport. What we had in high school, no.

Back in my day, cheerleading was popular driven and along with that came snobbiness, same with the quarterback etc. Can't sit at the cheerleader/popular girl table. I never met a person in my age group who's high school didn't work this way. (disclaimer-I'm sure there are some but I didn't personally meet them at the time...don't really discuss high school anymore).

I'm positive that since it's become more athletic, the times have changed. I'm just not involved it in since I'm not in high school nor are my kids. Do anyway, I don't think it's not stepping out of a bubble, but not it's not in their life right now. I have to say, some of these girls on tv on the cheerleading teams can do more than my daughter did when she was in gymnastics!

I get all that....but *after* I clarified there was a difference between competitive and sideline cheer, the PP in question *still* came back even more full of contempt and inferred there was no possible way she would ever be able to tell the difference because due the area she lives in, that is all she has seen:

"Like I said, I might feel differently if I lived somewhere where that was the reality. But at both the local public and my daughter's private high school, cheerleaders are basically football accessories with pom poms and short skirts. There is no competitive cheer, just a group of girls that gets the crowd going at football and occasionally basketball games. So that's all I have to go by, and no, it isn't an activity I've encouraged my daughters to pursue."

My point was, even if the bubble hasn't been burst up until that point, NOW that is has been pointed out, surely anyone with an internet connection and a basic understanding of search engines would be able to pull a youtube video and see the difference. I mean, I've only experienced Badminton in the backyard with a bunch of family at family reunions where we were just thrilled to hit the whiffle thing over a few times in a row, but I am not ignorantly saying the people who play in HS and college are just backyard accessories whacking a tennis racket around, just because I have never personally seen then compete at it.

No reason to continue to claim ignorance and scorn an entire group of athletes because one has a preconceived, outdated view of a very strenuous sport/activity, or whatever one wants to call it, just because they've not witnessed true competitive cheer at their local Catholic high school. Snotty just to be snotty was more of the vibe here. At least IMO.

But whatever. I'm sure you are right and there are thousands of people out there who just talk to talk without much knowledge behind what they are saying. It's not something I'm going to change by going to bat for it on a DIS board! lol

 

[VandVsmama]

At the end of the day, WHO CARES? I mean, who cares what other people think of you if you are a cheerleader? If you enjoy it, go right ahead and cheer lead your heart out. Seriously. To be honest, once you're out of high school, nobody really gives a rip about cheerleaders, how they act, etc. If cheerleading is what makes your heart soar, well, then, you should go ahead and soar.

WHATEVER the kid's chosen activity is, there will ALWAYS be parents & kids alike involved in that extracurricular activity who are super over the top. It's not just cheerleading. It happens in activities that people traditionally associate with sports. It even happens with chess. It happens with girls who are really involved in dance (i.e., jazz, tap, ballet). Parents can be pretty dumb about it sometimes. For example:

• "MY kid is so much more special than everybody else here. He/she is going to get a scholarship to University X."
• "Well, *I CARE* about MY child, so WE are making sure that Special Snowflake gets extra private coaching sessions every day. After all, he/she is going to be a super star in the world of ___." (insert whatever the activity is in the blank)
• New family shows up to swim practice. Turbo Parent makes a bee line for head coach and introduces his/her kid with "Hi, Coach So-and-So. This is Special Snowflake. He/she is going to the Olympics." Special Snowflake is 11.
• "My kid carries this team. I mean, nobody else gets more RBIs, scores more points, sacks more quarterbacks than MY kid."
• "I'm going to Julliard. My mom says that I'm good enough to go pro, so she pulled me out of school so I can start dance practice at 1:00 every afternoon. I even got a solo." And the kid is 12.
• "OMG, Becky, like, can you even BELIEVE that girl over there? Who does she think she is...does she think she's actually GOOD at dance/cheerleading/basketball/volleyball/softball/soccer/etc. Like, give me a break."
• "My son is going to be a chess grand master. How many tournaments has YOUR kid won? We won the county tournament." Um, big deal.

If you live your life worried all of the time about what other people think of you, that's a sure way to end up pretty miserable. Don't listen to all of us clucking here about whether or not cheerleading is a sport. Who gives a rip? Do what makes YOU happy.

 

[DLgal]

I was a gymnast as a kid. I also played baseball, softball, soccer, and did swim in HS. Gymnastics was the hardest sport of all of those.

Obviously tumbling takes talent, but cheerleading is not a sport (the legitimate standing in the sidelines type of cheer, I mean). I'm not sure what this new hybrid type of Cheerleading is...the ones where there are cheer squads that have no connection to a sports team and that just compete in tournaments with routines. I don't understand that, but it seems more like dance than cheerleading. I wonder why it isn't its own separate sport.

I would have a higher opinion of Cheerleading if it wasn't all about looking hot in flimsy uniforms. But, at the end of the day, that's what it is. I find it super degrading, personally.

 

[jrmasm]

At the end of the day, WHO CARES? I mean, who cares what other people think of you if you are a cheerleader? If you enjoy it, go right ahead and cheer lead your heart out. Seriously. To be honest, once you're out of high school, nobody really gives a rip about cheerleaders, how they act, etc. If cheerleading is what makes your heart soar, well, then, you should go ahead and soar.

WHATEVER the kid's chosen activity is, there will ALWAYS be parents & kids alike involved in that extracurricular activity who are super over the top. It's not just cheerleading. It happens in activities that people traditionally associate with sports. It even happens with chess. It happens with girls who are really involved in dance (i.e., jazz, tap, ballet). Parents can be pretty dumb about it sometimes. For example:

• "MY kid is so much more special than everybody else here. He/she is going to get a scholarship to University X."
• "Well, *I CARE* about MY child, so WE are making sure that Special Snowflake gets extra private coaching sessions every day. After all, he/she is going to be a super star in the world of ___." (insert whatever the activity is in the blank)
• New family shows up to swim practice. Turbo Parent makes a bee line for head coach and introduces his/her kid with "Hi, Coach So-and-So. This is Special Snowflake. He/she is going to the Olympics." Special Snowflake is 11.
• "My kid carries this team. I mean, nobody else gets more RBIs, scores more points, sacks more quarterbacks than MY kid."
• "I'm going to Julliard. My mom says that I'm good enough to go pro, so she pulled me out of school so I can start dance practice at 1:00 every afternoon. I even got a solo." And the kid is 12.
• "OMG, Becky, like, can you even BELIEVE that girl over there? Who does she think she is...does she think she's actually GOOD at dance/cheerleading/basketball/volleyball/softball/soccer/etc. Like, give me a break."
• "My son is going to be a chess grand master. How many tournaments has YOUR kid won? We won the county tournament." Um, big deal.

If you live your life worried all of the time about what other people think of you, that's a sure way to end up pretty miserable. Don't listen to all of us clucking here about whether or not cheerleading is a sport. Who gives a rip? Do what makes YOU happy.

No me, not even a little bit.

 

[Disneychick75]

Our daughter was a competition cheerleader. I would consider it a sport. The team was very athletic and their gymnastics skills were amazing. None of the guys or girls on the team were snobby or mean- the coach would not have put up with it.

She was also a varsity cheerleader and I think there may have been some snobbery on that squad. Have to say I was shocked when parents of the cheerleaders had our beginning of the school year meeting and the principal called the girls the "creme de la creme" of the school. They were no doubt talented but I would say that there were other girls in the school who were worthy or even worthier of that phrase. Any snobbishness may have come from the administration's attitude in that the cheerleaders were treated like the jocks, in other words, they were privileged. This was 7 years ago so the administration's position may have changed. I'm not sure that the staff is still the same.

 

[CPT Trips]

I was a gymnast as a kid. I also played baseball, softball, soccer, and did swim in HS. Gymnastics was the hardest sport of all of those.

Obviously tumbling takes talent, but cheerleading is not a sport (the legitimate standing in the sidelines type of cheer, I mean). I'm not sure what this new hybrid type of Cheerleading is...the ones where there are cheer squads that have no connection to a sports team and that just compete in tournaments with routines. I don't understand that, but it seems more like dance than cheerleading. I wonder why it isn't its own separate sport.

I would have a higher opinion of Cheerleading if it wasn't all about looking hot in flimsy uniforms. But, at the end of the day, that's what it is. I find it super degrading, personally.

i

Interesting to think about the traditional, on the sidelines, type of cheer. It's pretty obvious what is going on - they're cheering for the school's team.
But this competitive variant is confusing. They're going through all kinds of gyrations and yelling stuff. Why? Who are they cheering for? It's only them out there.

 

[Disneychick75]

I was a gymnast as a kid. I also played baseball, softball, soccer, and did swim in HS. Gymnastics was the hardest sport of all of those.

Obviously tumbling takes talent, but cheerleading is not a sport (the legitimate standing in the sidelines type of cheer, I mean). I'm not sure what this new hybrid type of Cheerleading is...the ones where there are cheer squads that have no connection to a sports team and that just compete in tournaments with routines. I don't understand that, but it seems more like dance than cheerleading. I wonder why it isn't its own separate sport.

I would have a higher opinion of Cheerleading if it wasn't all about looking hot in flimsy uniforms. But, at the end of the day, that's what it is. I find it super degrading, personally.

Do you find gymnastic super degrading? Not all cheer teams wear flimsy uniforms and not all cheerleaders care about looking hot. Generalize much?

i

Interesting to think about the traditional, on the sidelines, type of cheer. It's pretty obvious what is going on - they're cheering for the school's team.
But this competitive variant is confusing. They're going through all kinds of gyrations and yelling stuff. Why? Who are they cheering for? It's only them out there.

They cheer for the other levels of their team. It's more than gyrations. If you haven't been to a cheerleading competition, you have no idea of the types of gymnastic stunts these young men and woman can perform. Some of them, especially on the high school and college levels, are jaw dropping. College scouts attend the competitions and partial and or full ride scholarships are offered to the best of them.

 

[AshlynCheerleader]

 

[kinntj]

I don't really think of cheerleaders at all. They are not really important at our school. Girls basketball and volleyball come first and then cheerleading (competitive). If those in it think they should be considered a sport, then who am I to argue that?

 

[maxiesmom]

I would have a higher opinion of Cheerleading if it wasn't all about looking hot in flimsy uniforms. But, at the end of the day, that's what it is. I find it super degrading, personally.

Wow really? Do a search. It won't be hard to prove yourself not only wrong, but pretty disrespectful and demeaning to boot. Just go ahead and look at the video on post #108. Way more to it than "looking hot".

 

[cinnaminny]

I think its a sport.

 

[LSUmiss]

They are definitely athletes!

 

[lifesavacation]

I thought of this thread last night at my daughter’s volleyball game. I love that they have cheerleaders. They are about as low impact as I’ve ever seen, though. Half the time they look like they are doing a tai chi routine.

 

[LittleMissMagic]

I don't know if cheerleading is a "sport" - but I do think that cheerleading requires great athletic ability at the competition level (JV/Varsity - ehh, not so much, probably depends on the school).

For some reason the short skirts and the exclusivity of being on the cheerleading team just seems to cause cattiness, especially with teenage girls. Are all cheerleaders "stuck up" or "bratty" - definitely not. But girls, teenage girls, and even young women can just be mean. This isn't exclusive to cheerleading, but any sort of cliquey female organization (also thinking sororities here). And, honestly, the same goes with boys - a group of guys can come off as "jerks".

With the teams at Disney, those groups of girls tend to be obnoxious, cheering aloud in line (yay, you have team pride, but save that for when you're sitting in Wide World of Sports, not waiting in line for Space Mountain). When groups of adolescents have freedom from their parents and are with their friends, they seem to just run wild, think they're really cool, and that everyone cares about what they're saying and doing and wants to cheer along with them. The truth is that most of the other people at WDW are not there for cheerleading, but their own family vacations, and do not want to be surrounded by continuous rah-rah-rahs.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Th

With the teams at Disney, those groups of girls tend to be obnoxious, cheering aloud in line (yay, you have team pride, but save that for when you're sitting in Wide World of Sports, not waiting in line for Space Mountain). When groups of adolescents have freedom from their parents and are with their friends, they seem to just run wild, think they're really cool, and that everyone cares about what they're saying and doing and wants to cheer along with them. The truth is that most of the other people at WDW are not there for cheerleading, but their own family vacations, and do not want to be surrounded by continuous rah-rah-rahs.

My feelings exactly. It is horrible going from ride to ride hearing constant loud cheering only to find out you have a group of them on your bus just as loud if not louder. I am not impressed. I think the chaperones need to step up and control it a bit. Save the cheers for practice and competition.

As far as a sport? I really don't know.

 

[DLgal]

Wow really? Do a search. It won't be hard to prove yourself not only wrong, but pretty disrespectful and demeaning to boot. Just go ahead and look at the video on post #108. Way more to it than "looking hot".

The title of this post is what do YOU THINK about cheerleaders. I stand by my OPINION.

 

[aristocatz]

Should cheerleading be considered a sport? Do you think they are mean and snobby? Are they spoiled? Have you ever visited Disney World during a cheerleading competition?

Based on the definition of a "sport" I think cheerleading fits that bill.

I don't think cheerleaders are all mean and snobby. Growing up, the "mean kids" in my school were not necessarily the cheerleaders.

I stayed at CBR during a cheerleading competition. We were lucky that we could not hear them practice, but the girls and their parents were super annoying on the bus rides.

 

[sa cheermom]

nm

 

[Jaya]

Are cheerleaders snobby? Some are, some aren't.
Are chess players snobby? Some are, some aren't.
Are science club members snobby? Some are, some aren't.
Are yearbook staffers snobby? Some are, some aren't.

See where I'm going here? Good.