10 Comments»

1. Tracee Sioux

   17. August 2007 | 03:29 h

   Hi Char,

   Yes, I think Cheerleading is a sport. Perhaps you’ve seen on So Sioux Me that I have some personal issues with cheerleading. But, I definately can respect it as a competitive sport. I do think it has some image problems as a sport though.

   It’s an issue for me that cheerleaders seemed to cheer only for boys teams - never have seen a pack of boys in tight shorts bouncing around at a girls basketball game.

   I can definately trace my own issues back to my own high school days when I was not the type of girl who would have been a cheerleader. (Nor did I have those athetic skills.)

   My daughter might be that type of girl though. She lives in East Texas and so is drawn to it. So I’m struggling to be more open-minded to cheerleading as an acceptable sport. I’m trying to let go of the compartmentalizing I have that combines “mean girls” and popularity contests with cheerleading as a sport. I still prefer soccer, as I wrote over at So Sioux Me today http://traceesioux.blogspot.com/2007/08/happy-feet-beats-bratz.html.

   And, I did let my daughter do a brief cheerleading camp, as I wrote in this article about this issue http://traceesioux.blogspot.com/2007/07/give-me-a.html

   I hestate to go let her participate more since I think, especially in Texas, it can become an exhaustively expensive sport with monthly fees and costumes and competitions, where soccer costs about $35 a season. A much more democratic sport.

   Tracee Sioux
   So Sioux Me
   Empower Your Self
   Empower Your Daughter
   http://www.sosiouxme.com

   Blog Fabulous
   http://www.blogfabulous.com

2. Char

   17. August 2007 | 13:28 h

   Tracee - thanks for stopping in! Cheerleading in TX is crazy. If your daughter is interested in cheerleading, how about getting her involved in gymnastics or tumbling instead. Unfortunately, gymnastics, ice skating, cheerleading and dance often appeal to little girls because the costumes are so cool.

3. Cindy

   18. August 2007 | 00:48 h

   I think Cheerleading is a sport. I was never the cheerleading type. I played basketball and volleyball and at least half of our cheerleaders also partipated in sports. They worked hard and they actually cheered for both guys and girl teams in my school. We lived in Central Texas. Sports teams/individuals have lots of image problems as well, but that doesn’t keep people from saying they are in a sport.

4. Char

   18. August 2007 | 12:36 h

   Cindy - thanks for stopping in! Cheerleaders do work hard and most of them do or have done other sports.

5. Mike

   19. August 2007 | 15:57 h

   My opinion is that cheerleading in its intended form is not a sport. Instead it is an integral part of the fan support of the actual sport being played. In basketball, they refer to this fan support as the all important 6th man. There are 5 players on the court at any one time, and the metaphorical 6th player is the home court advantage that comes from the crowd support, which sometimes can make a huge difference in the outcome of the game. And good cheerleaders that know the game, and know the right times to get the crowd to yell, and the best ways to get the crowd to yell, help to optimize that 6th man experience and are a valuable part of the game. But having said that, I do believe that cheerleading has moved out of its original intent, and is now more about gymnastics and stunts and dance and a sideline show that takes advantage of a crowd that gathers to watch whatever sport is being played. When the cheerleaders go to their cheerleading competitions, and they compete against a set of predefined rules and criteria, then of course it’s a sport. However, it would be interesting to see if their is a way to combine these two seemingly different objectives. Maybe there could be some type of referee that judges what the cheerleaders do at each of their games to get their crowd involved, and have some type of objective score card for the 6th man effect. My hunch is that many of the cheerleaders would lose interest in this because the fact is that there are a lot of these cheerleaders that are just in it for the attention and the more old fashioned “mean girl” side of the sport, but it would be interesting.

6. Anonymous

   19. August 2007 | 17:10 h

   Cheerleading - is it a sport?…

   Is cheerleading a sport or are they just glorified fans, mean girls, or none of the above….

7. kimberly

   19. August 2007 | 20:25 h

   I think it would be very cool. I am in to modeling and
   cheerleading!Cheerleading is more of mean girl side of
   the sport,it would be very ineresting.what is it like
   to be a cheerleader? I want to know.Cheerleading is a sport realy.

8. Majihela

   3. December 2007 | 20:59 h

   cheerleading is one of the most dangerouse “sports” in the world. cheerleaders deserve respect for what they do and all the hard work they put into it. i have been a cheerleader for about 5 yeard now and i love it. Yes, i do agree that some cheerleaders are bitches but not all of us are like that. we practice for weeks and go and compete just like backetball, baseball, hocky, volleyball, you name it and we most liekly have more of it.

9. CHEERLEADER

   2. February 2008 | 18:47 h

   I am a cheerleader and after cheering at basketball and football I have noticed the difference. For teams that come to our school with only a student section and no cheerleaders from my experience are not as loud or as into the game and the players do respond to the crowd, players hear the cheers and it reminds them that they have a whole gym or stadium full of support.

10. Squishy

    23. October 2008 | 14:24 h

    Cheerleading is a sport i feel. Im also a cheerleader and it takes hard work to do the stunts and flips cheers do. Would a football player be able to pull these things off i think not