Is Cheerleading A Thing of The Past?
I attended a local high school football game this past Friday and sat down a with a few neighbors to chat while we watched the game. (Ok I never really watched it - I don’t like football). About midway through the second quarter, my husband commented on how few cheerleaders we had. Granted, our school district is rather small, but there were only 5 girls on the squad. I looked across the field at the opposing team from a larger school (who were slaughtering us at the time) and they had about 16 girls lined up in front of the crowd.
Being relatively new to public school, I asked my neighbor (who works at the school) if it was normal for our team to only have 5 cheerleaders. She said they actually used to have a lot more members of the cheerleading squad back when girls sports were less popular. Now that sports have opened up girls teams for golf, volleyball, soccer and basketball, more girls are concentrating on sports than cheerleading. (This is the part where someone jumps in and says “cheerleading IS a sport!” - have fun with that.) She said it seems now that cheerleading is just an activity anyone can do if they want. They don’t even hold tryouts! Wow - that is so not the way things were when I was in high school. I knew girls who would kill for those coveted pom-poms. (Not me. I was too busy making the boys basketball team. 
)
So is anyone else noticing this trend? Are girls choosing to play the game rather than cheer for it?
October 7th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
wow every time i look around on this website i see nothing but judgmental, one-sided opinions of subjects that the people who are writing them clearly know nothing about. I was a varsity cheerleader all throughout high school. And if your squad doesn’t hold auditions, or (even if they did hold auditions) all you did was stand on the sidelines and say a few chants then the problem is not that cheerleading is not a sport. The problem is that ya’ll are just affiliated with a wack-ass cheerleading squad! On my squad if you didn’t know how to yell, be energetic, jump, do gymnastics, be flexible, and strong enough to do stunts…then you didnt make the squad!! Lol, and Ms.”I was too busy making the boys’ basketball team” if your basketball team even let a girl on the then they probably weren’t that good to begin with. The girls squad i cheered for was second in state and they still probably couldnt make the boys team. Not because the coaches were sexist or anything like that, but because once you get into the upper leagues of basketball males and females are just built too different to be competitive with each other unless the woman is in the WNBA or something and the male is not a professional.
October 7th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
“Lol, and Ms.”I was too busy making the boys™ basketball team” if your basketball team even let a girl on the then they probably weren™t that good to begin with.”
Okay, first of all, I’m pretty sure Gretchen was making a comment not to INSULT cheerleading, but to make the point that she has never BEEN a cheerleader, so she isn’t sure of the way things work. That was kind of the point of her WHOLE POST.
And for you to come on here and say “I see nothing but judgmental, one-sided opinions of subjects…” and then proceed to insult the author of a topic, appearing rather judgmental and quite harsh yourself, well…let me just say I’m pointing that out for a reason.
BTW, having an opinion means that you typically TAKE A SIDE or point of view.
October 7th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
Thanks, Kel.
And by the way, I made the boys team because there was no girls team in the 6th grade. We won the regional tournament that year (the highest you could go for that age group) so I don’t think they “weren’t that good” because they let a girl play - two girls to be exact. Your statement is highly insulting to all females. 
October 7th, 2007 at 11:21 pm
whether or not she was “trying,” to insult cheerleaders does not mean that she didn’t do just that (I put that part in quotations because she later goes on to say quite sarcastically, “Aw - dang it. I swear - every single one of my friends was a cheerleader at some point. Boy, can I pick ˜em.
“) Which says that she was implying that there was something wrong with the fact that she had friends who were cheerleaders.
And you’re right I was mistaken. Lol, but in the SIXTH GRADE how many sports are actually anything other than organized children’s playtimes? For whatever reason I thought you were referring to high school or some time when sports are actually taken seriously by anyone other than the parents. And no, in high school a male team who has a girl probably isn’t that good. Males and females are just too different physically to be able to fairly compete in that type of sport in high school or college. There is absolutely nothing sexist or insulting to females about pointing out the obvious physical differences between us and people of other genders. Sexist would be saying that girls couldn’t play at all, which is clearly not what I was saying and you know it.
But yes, when someone CONTINUOUSLY says things that are insulting and judgmental in my opinion especially towards people in my demographic, then I will tend to be judgmental and harsh towards them.
And Kel, “BTW, having an opinion means that you typically TAKE A SIDE or point of view.”
No sh*t Sherlock! When did anyone on this entire blog say that anyone else didn’t have an opinion, side, or point of view?? Point that out to me, because I don’t see it. I said that the people who are so much against certain things on this site don’t really know anything about them. Including Kel who admits that besides the fact that they held auditions, her cheerleading squad was barely one at all.
October 7th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Ok - I see. Personality clash. I get this a lot.
I am quite sarcastic, but as you can tell I have a lot of cheerleader friends. I may tease them and joke with them about being cheerleaders, but I do not insult them. It’s all in fun and they know it. You, being an outsider to my circle of cheerleader friends and being quite new to my blog may have taken offense to that. I apologize if you missed my inside humor.
I still disagree with your statements about sports. In the sixth grade, I don’t think that was “organized playtime”. Where I grew up, school sports were serious business. We trained hard, had set rules and faced consequences when we didn’t live up to them.
If you think I am mistaken, let me explain that I do know the difference between “organized playtime” and focused sports programs. I have two children in soccer leagues. My youngest is 8 and yes it is more of a fun time for her. They barely practice and aside from a few basic rules, it’s all about having fun. My 10 year old is in a different league. They are serious about practices and they have set schedules and warm ups. The coach is tougher and expects more out of them. They learn to be a team and the rules are very rigid. She is only in the 5th grade. I think by that age, it is a step or two beyond “playtime”. Of course they are not pros, but let’s give them some credit.
And I’m not sure what you mean about being “so much against certain things on this site…” So what if people have an opinion or see things differently? Isn’t that what makes life fun? I rather enjoy listening to other people’s insights whether I agree or not. Don’t you?
Discussion is fun and we all learn things in the process. At least I do.
October 8th, 2007 at 12:05 am
I accept your apology.
But even in sixth grade children are just beginning to physically develop through puberty, so whether they are training for school sports or the olympics the differences in boys and girls physically still does not make that big of a difference as it does in high school and college. Sixth graders can still realistically be able to compete with each other in that sport. Which, I still believe if you were in high school or college and had tried out for the boys team you would not have made it, unless the team was not that good. And IF for some strange reason you did, you would definitely be the anomaly and not the rule.
Maybe if you tried doing that you could learn even more in the discussion process.
And wow, this is the second time I am defending myself against something I didn’t say. But for the sake of discussion I will do it anyway. I’ll even type it in caps so maybe you all will understand, lol. But here goes…PEOPLE, I NEVER SAID THAT THERE WAS ANYONE ON HERE WHO DOESN’T HAVE AN OPINION OR POINT OR VIEW, OR THAT THERE WAS ANYTHING WRONG WITH HAVING ONE. I simply said that you shouldn’t be judgmental just because you don’t agree with something. Don™t you?
October 8th, 2007 at 12:18 am
I just don’t see that having an opinion makes me judgmental.
Have I put anyone down for being a cheerleader (aside from the sarcasm with my personal friends)? What judgment have I cast here?
Also, my original post was designed merely to spark discussion on whether cheerleading was being overshadowed by the influx of sports for girls. I was just curious if this was a nationwide trend or just the unfortunate state of high school cheerleading in my area. Seems we have strayed a bit far from that topic.
October 8th, 2007 at 12:47 am
“wow every time i look around on this website i see nothing but judgmental, one-sided opinions of subjects that the people who are writing them clearly know nothing about.”
THIS is what I was referring to when I said that typically, people take sides of an opinion, since you referred to them as “one-sided opinions.”
Clearly, you also have a one-sided opinion on this subject, and the fact that you have already called others on this site (whom you do not know) “judgmental” and members of “wack-ass” (gee, now that’s a classy term) cheerleading squads shows me that you didn’t learn a thing about positivity while on your cheerleading squad.
You’ve picked a fight where there is none, came here with hostility and I’m kind of baffled by it.
Yes, Gretchen’s comments regarding her friends as cheerleaders were completely tongue-in-cheek (I DO know her, so I knew how to interpret them–as they were meant). I understand if you did not know how to interpret them.
However, your statement contains this quote: “everytime I look around this website…”. Yet your anger at Gretchen’s comments leads me to wonder if you actually have looked around this website much at all. IF you had, you would have seen the banter that goes on quite often between Gretchen and I, and others.
You would have also seen the typically respectful types of conversations that take place here, despite a difference of opinions. Statements such as “wack-ass” and “no sh*t Sherlock” probably aren’t beneficial to anyone and only show that you are trying to belittle others rather than have an adult conversation.
October 10th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Ok, here is my opinion. People will defend their believes no matter what. Some people’s identity is based in the fact of what they are or what they where in High School or College. Is cheerleading a sport? I Believe that was the question? My opinion? Not if they have to wear a skirt, it is more like dancing and signing. Does it provide exercise? yes!! Do you need to be strong, yes. But I would rather see a girl put on a helmet and race a bike, then put on some skimmy outfit and jump around and yell while supporting a basketball team, football team, etc… So who cheers for and supports the cheerleaders in their sport?
October 12th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
the conversations on the two posts ive commented on on this site have not been respectful at all. They have been judgmental and one sided (which, since you act like you dont know, occurs when you make a whole post about a subject you clearly know nothing about. It causes you to be unable to ever see the other persons point of view. As a result, you cant even see or understand when you are being offensive, or ignoring or misrepresenting facts). Lol, and just because other people in the past have not been offended by certain things said does not mean that i shouldn’t be. It means that the person saying them shouldn’t in the future. But since you all cant understand that, i will continue to use as much “classy” language that I like, lol. But for some reason I think you know that Kel. I think you’re just mad cuz i said you were on a wack-ass squad, lol. But then again, any squad that even the people on it admit that all they did was stand on the sidelines probably was a wack-ass squad, lol. Doesn’t that make sense? No sh*t Sherlock, it does!
Thanks Lissa!
Now i know what the requirements are to being considered a sport, cool! It depends on how much coverage the uniforms offer. Thats amazing! So now I know that volleyball is not a sport either. Seeing as how they wear teeny-tiny little short, booty-hugging shorts (which, by the way are usually made of nylon with the same fit and material as the girls from hooters wear…minus the pantyhose that the hooters girls are required to wear of course). And if it’s not the shorts it’s even less coverage in a bikini on the beach.
I guess women who run track (often in tiny spandex shorts and sports bras) aren’t doing a sport either unless their midriffs and legs are covered? And what about roller derby, which is considered an extreme sport? The women who play that sport often skate in skirts and sports bras that are very similar to what many cheerleaders cheer in. But I guess they aren’t playing a sport either unless they have more clothes on.
….Interesting, lol.
Pages: « 1 [2] 3 4 » Show All
Leave a Reply
Join Us
Subscribe
The latest info delivered right to your inbox!
Categories
Latest Posts
You Say...
Girls Who Can
Latest Designs
Coupons
Earn Cash
Earn cash by promoting Girls Can't WHAT?™ Gear on your web site, blog or myspace. Click here for details.
© 2007 Girls Can’t WHAT? Created by Girls Can't WHAT? Design