So, the UC Cheer and Dance teams fared well at the National Championships in Orlando, Florida this past weekend. Great. I hope they do even better next year, but instead of helping them feel even more spirited and cheery than they do, I have to open up a can of worms in the form of the question that haunts every cheerleader or dancer that believes what they do is actually a sport.
Well...is it or isn't it?
This question has sat in and burned a hole in the pocket of American society far too long. Time to address the problem.
This topic was discussed two weeks ago in a course I am taking. The one concept the class, which consists of women and men came to is, to be a sport, the "sport" at hand must be physical, competitive and organized. Sure some are thinking to themselves that cheerleading fits the bill...think again.
First and foremost we are talking about the cheer and dance teams main purpose for which they were constructed, and that is to cheer for another team like basketball or football.
Any team that is created to cheer for another team people actually pay to watch doesn't deserve to be called sport. These groups are at the games to merely rile up the crowd and help create a home court advantage for the real sports.
Second, if it is a sport, what exactly are the participants playing? Are they at the games to show the fans how special it must be to do a flip 15 feet in the air and land in three other cheerleaders' arms instead of on their heads? That's what it looks like to me.
I couldn't tell you the last time I saw Tony Bobbitt and Jason Maxiell interrupt Bob Huggins halftime speech, run onto the court and take their places Indian style on the baseline to cheer on the performance given by the Dance team. And I sure couldn't tell you the last time Robert Whaley or Kareem Johnson dunked one home, stopped under the basket, slapped their hands together and screamed "Lets go 'Cats."
There sure isn't a score at the end of the halftime show stating the cheerleaders in the black tops are beating the others in the red tops.
So again I ask, what do they play? They don't...period.
Sure they go to places like Orlando and compete with other cheerleaders once a year, but the main purpose is, well, to cheer on sports, try and be one with a once-a-year contest.
I'm not downing the teams at all. I think what they have worked for and accomplished as a unit is very productive and exciting for them and others who appreciate what they do.
I am actually one of those people that will praise them for the time and strength they put into their performances. I believe they all stay in incredible shape to be able to do what they do, but if we start accepting all the wannabe sports as sports, it will only defeat the purpose of having sport all in itself.
Before you know it video games, although fun, time-consuming and very competitive, will be a sport. Before you know it, we will call anything a sport if people feel strongly about it.
Same goes for fishing, billiards and putt-putt. These hobbies and games are also on the borderline as a sport to some, but to me they just fill up the empty space in the wee hours of the morning on ESPN or they are simply put on at the same time as a real sport to please promoters of the wannabes. This is a way to air the wannabe sports when no one else is watching.
Sport or not, the question posed will live forever. I just hope they don't forget to cheer at halftime shows, because overall it is fun to watch.
Questions, comments or have an opinion about sports? E-mail Jason at Jwill636@yahoo.com
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Now think about basketball, or track maybe: Hard work. A SPORT. Jumping? Yes.
Now think about any sport. Comeptitions? Yes. TEAMwork? Yes.
Now think about cheerleading. Some of you may think "Ohhh! Bid deal! Girls in skirts waving pom poms in the air." Yes. But:
Throwing: Not balls, but PEOPLE. Think about what wheighs more. Think about who could die if you make a single mistake in a stunt. The Flyer. Me.
Moving your muscles: Yes. Of course. It hurts. And we have to smile while doing it. The whole time.
Aching? Yes. Duh! Then we have to do it all over, and keep chanting and smiling.
Hard work? Read anything else I've said, and ACTUALLY read it. Don't skim it.
TEAMwork? Yes. And a team is a group of people, usually on a SPORT right? Yes, but we call it a SQUAD. You, and all of your teammates, have to know what you are doing. You need teamwork.
Competitions? YES! So many, and we have to work hard for it. Just think about what I said, and if you need any more info? Look up "sport" in the dictionary.
its competive and we dont just say chants...
let see you being thrown 20 feet in the air and doing a back tuck or a double twist in the air then landing right to be catched...
or let see you catch a girl coming at you from 20 feer in the air let see you try to throw a girl 20 feet in the air...
people who think cheer is not sport cause there jelous we loook good while doing it!
So I am voting yes to cheerleading being a sport, just as I am voting yes to exotic dancing as a sport.
According to the Women's Sports Foundation the following criteria has to be met to be considered a sport:
•A physical activity which involves propelling a mass through space or overcoming the resistance of a mass.
-we lift people for stunts and pyramids and throw them in basket tosses. Our preferred 'object' is a person rather than a ball.
•A contest or competition against or with an opponent.
-There are hundreds of competitions each year. Not only are some of them nationally (nationals) but internationally (worlds) as well.
•Is governed by rules which explicitly define the time, space and purpose of the contest and the conditions under which a winner is declared.
-Cheerleading competitions have a set of rules by the Unitied States All Star Federation. This is set up by different levels (1-6) restricting the amount of people on your team, the age group, and different difficulty and skills depending on your level. They also have a scoring system based off the difficulty allowed in your level... the more difficulty... the more points. Some competitions much like nationals and worlds you need to go to a 'qualifier', a competition set up that competitors participate in and need to recieve a certain score to go on to a bigger competition.
•The acknowledged primary purpose of the competition is a comparison of the relative skills of the participants
-UCA Nationals and Worlds competition... to be the best you have to compete against the best.
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