Here's what I got out of this Wall Street Journal article titled, "What's the Point of Cheerleading?": Nobody knows how many cheerleaders there are in part because the NCAA doesn't track participation (because it doesn't consider it a sport). I think that answers the "what's the point?" question, although the cheerleading lobby might feel differently. But the crux of the piece wasn't to denigrate the after-school activity (although, frankly, I'm fine with calling it a sport even if there aren't winners or losers), it was to investigate whether "... cheerleading has wandered too far from its original purpose, firing up crowds at football games."
And the reason anybody cares about this is because cheerleading now accounts for "65 percent of all female catastrophic injuries in high school and college, according to the University of North Carolina's National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research."
Much like* the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop debates of the mid-'90s, this is cheerleading's old school vs. its new school. On one side, the new schoolers are all about stunts -- the more technical, and tougher to pull off, the better. The old-schoolers prefer getting the crowd going by more traditional means: pom-poms, megaphones, cheers.
"The emphasis on stunting had detracted from the major purpose," says John Saddlemire, Connecticut's vice president for student affairs told the WSJ. "The focus, he says, should be on 'fan interaction and truly on cheering and cheerleading.'"
Exactly.
* Nothing like it, really.
Comments (Page 1 of 24)
This story must of been written by a cheerleader reject. This is more than a sport, it saves many girls from becoming nobodies to somebodies.
Yeah, pfft. Those somebodies just be mean to "nobodies".
It should be considered a sport but it's starting to get very dangerous.
Um... there are LOTS of activities that keep kids off the streets that don't involve cheerleading. And being a cheerleader doesn't make you a "somebody". Having good character and being a compassionate person makes you a somebody. Being a cheerleader also doesn't save you from being a "nobody". You could be the best, prettiest cheerleader in the country, yet if you are cruel and ugly on the inside, you're still really a nobody. I'm not critisizing cheerleading as a hobby, I'm just saying that it doesn't define you. Who you ARE defines you. Remember that.
nobodies to somebodies? That sounds like a weird lesson to teach your kids.
But either way, they can be somebody in high school and be nobody the second they graduate. People should focus on teaching their children how to be "somebodies" the REAL way. You know, having a good personality, being well-rounded, smart, driven, etc. Not that being part of the in-crowd is going to make them somebody. Unless, of course, you live in one of those small towns wherein people hold on to their glory days of being the quarterback and the head cheerleader until the day they die (especially through the midlife crisis). But for those of us in the bigger world, your ranking in high school, and even college, makes no difference once you get into the real, adult world.
Oh, yeah. They sure are somebodies. HAHAHAHA How many of them become professional cheerleaders after college?
For my daughter's freshman year, she chose to leave our public school, where the smart kids were the "nobodies" and the jocks and cheerleaders were the "somebodies." She now attends a school where there are no cheerleaders - and not even a football team! Her high school focuses on education and the arts, and the students are the happiest high school kids I've ever seen.
Somebodies? Geez well I'm glad I wasn't a somebody at my high school. Those "somebodies" got pregnant fresh out of high school while I was filling out college applications. Those somebodies are collecting child support and welfare because the men who fathered their children decided they weren't ready, while I, a nobody, prepare for my career and marriage, carefully planning out when would be the right time to think about children. I think I'm quite happy being a nobody.
i agree that cheerleading is a sport, my daughter is a cheerleader. but it ignorant to say it turns some girls from nobody's to somebody's. you're making it seem like it's all about popularity.
cheerleaders are not somebodies anymore. they're bitchy and mean to everyone who isnt a cheerleader and the idea that it "makes u a somebody" COMPLETELY REDICULOUS!!!!!!! a sombody is someone who makes a difference in the world or who is recognized for doing something great!!! and last i checked shaking ur ass and turning on a bunch of fat old men and pimple faced teens is NOT doing something great. i agree with all of them who say that that's not rite. i have been to a lot of high schools and everywhere i've been it's the same old same old "i'm a cheerleader so that makes me better than everyone else cuz i can flip in the air and do stunts and i'm popular!!" well ya know... i'm just as flexible as and nimble as any cheerleader and i'll tell u now that doesn't make me a somebody. it doesn't matter how popular u are or if ur a nerd in the back of the class. everyone can b a somebody. but if ur popular and ur still a bitch then ur still a nobody.
Cheerleading turns nobodies into somebodies? Are you serious? What exactly makes a cheerleader somebody? I mean you must be a real loser if you think a cheerleader is a winner.
Why should not being a cheerleader make someone be a no body? That’s an ignorant and childish answer. I don’t care if girls want to be cheerleaders so long as its open to all and not who fits our size 2 mold. Like they said it’s not a sport. There is no competition it’s just a fun activity for girls and boys and keeps them out of trouble and lets them make friends. So body type should have nothing to do with it. To me its like girl scouts. It’s a group of people that want to stay fit, get together, have fun and maybe show some school spirit.
yea right, i was a cheerleader and they ledt nobodies become cheerleaders.
oh my God are you kidding me? i think you may have fallen off your pyramid one too many times! you sound like some high school hero life time zero? are you living for your "glory days"? because if the highlight of your life was being a cheerleader then you must have a pretty pathetic life! i think it's fun to watch them compete on tv in the DANCE competition part, but the minute they start with their "chanting" i just want to turn the channel. it's not a sport plain and simple. i have known MANY cheerleaders in my time and i swear to God EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM thought that their cheering was what actually made these teams win!! I SWEAR!! many of these girls are talented gymnists and if they aren't already and want to participate in a real sport then they should join their school's gymnastics team. most of these girls cheer for the attention because deep down they have no self esteem and need to be in a "pack" and be a follower. you know because if "you aren't a cheerleader then you are a nobody"!!! then the next generation of "somebodies" are just as arrogant and ignorant as their mothers were! i don't know what is worse those "loser" mothers or the ones who never were cheerleaders but SOOOO wanted to be and truly beleived they were nothings because they weren't and will do ANYTHING to make sure their daughters will be cheerleaders!! when all you "cheerleader" supporters respond to these "negative but unfortunately true" comments, please come up with something better than "you people are all just so jealous!" because seriously, SERIOUSLY we are not!!
I agree. My daughter has been a cheerleader for 10 years...they have to have the stamina of a football player, agility of a premier ballarina and dancing ability of the dancing with the stars - professionals...anyone that puts it down obviously cant cut it!
So were you the snotty little beotch that nobody really liked, but were afraid of what kind of crap you'd share with your other little skank 'teammates'. Funny, I remember a lot of really interesting rumors about the cheerleaders getting their popularity on their backs in the backseat.
Did you even read the article wimc1047? I will quote what the article was about, since you missed it:
"But the crux of the piece wasn't to denigrate the after-school activity... it was to investigate whether "... cheerleading has wandered too far from its original purpose, firing up crowds at football games."
That being said: Back when I cheered we focused on basic, fun crowd pleasing cheers at the games. At rallies we would take it up a notch and add some tumble routines done by the girls who could manage them. We trained for the stunts for competition only. We didn't preform any stunts except during practice and at the competitions to cut down on the injuries.
Cheerleading has become an extreme sport and there should be some more rules put in there to ensure the safety of the young ladies. I also think it should be considered a sport. It takes intense training and conditioning just like any of the other physical sports.
except for when they are rejected by the other cheerleaders for being a nobody. cheerleading is very biased. especially in schools with more competative squads.
first of all ALXSALEX you could not be anymore wrong, cheering may have kept your daughter busy, but YOU were the reason your daughter turned out so great. you should give YOURSELF the credit. and second CAROLYN i could not find a better example of a snotty ass, stuck up cheerleader if i tried. you are exactly what people are talking about!! yeah carolyn when was the last time you ever saw A FAT GIRL on the cheerleading squad? thank you carolyn!!
Oh, okay, so any one who isn't a cheerleader is a nobody? It's the people like you that cause inflammatory debates over whether cheerleading a sport or not. To me, it's dangerous, it's a derivation of gymnastics, it might as well be called synchronized dancing, and I agree with the writer, it's just starting to become pointless if it's not doing what it was made to do - fire up crowds for other sports.
Wimc1047, I fully agree with you and dont listen to these other idiots obviously they werent cheerleaders. And what you mean about becoming a somebody is that when you become a cheerleader you start to come out of your shell and develop self-esteem and confidence. Before I became a cheerleader I was not very confident and I had low self-esteem but now I am more confident in life and very successful. And for those who say that cheerleaders are mean and cruel thats only true for some people but not all of them! I was not mean or cruel to anyone!
Cheerleading should become a sport because we did lots of conditioning and we did do competitions. And about "all the injuries" every sport you play can cause injuries I played volleyball too and got more injuries playing that then in cheer!