I just left my team for the first time in two years to study abroad in England. And let me tell you it was one of the hardest things I've had to do. We work out together, we dance together, we fall together, we tumble together, we laugh together, we smile together, we cry together. We love each other and we work hard together to be the best our team can be. That's why when someone says something belittling about our team, we take it a little personally because that's our family.
1. “Cheerleading isn’t a sport.”
Good one. You try to complete a two and half minute routine without dropping anyone, forgetting what comes after your tumbling pass and remembering what comes after that last high V in the dance.
2. “Do you guys even work out?”
Yes, we work out just as much, if not more than other sports teams. We have to. How else are we going to throw ourselves and others without seriously injuring anyone?
3. “Your bow makes you look like Minnie Mouse.”
Yes, I know. And it looks pretty darn cute if I may say so myself.
3.“It’s all the same thing anyways.”
No. It’s not. Tumbling is very different from a cheer. A cheer is different from a dance. And a dance is very different from stunting, however, we do all of these simultaneously to make a much bigger picture. It looks awesome.
4. “It’s all about cute skirts and smiles.”
Yes, our skirts are cute and yes, we smile a lot. That’s part of it. Cheerleading is a visual sport. We look good and smile so that a crowd is more engaged.
5. “So, what’s your team GPA? 2.0?”
No, we are student athletes. Student first, athlete second. And our teams are made up of biology, English, nursing, Spanish, international studies, political science, communications and pre-med majors.
6. “I can do that too!”
7. “Every time I see the cheerleaders practicing, they are just standing around not doing anything.”
Yes, we take breaks, just like every other sport during practice.
8. “Your cheers are so easy.”
Yup. That is so the crowd can pick them up and do them with us. Thanks.
9. “Do you guys do anything else besides like cheer for games?”
Yeah, we do. We go to competitions. We volunteer in the community. But we cheer for both girls and boys games and if that’s not enough time for you (it’s like five hours by the way), then I don’t know what to tell you.
10. “Do you eat?”
Yeah, we eat a ton. But we also work out.
11. “Are you guys like super catty? Lots of drama right?”
What makes you think we have drama? There are other teams that are all girls. Just because we wear skirts and bows doesn’t mean we are catty. My team is my favorite group of people. We love each other and it’s like a family. That being said, we do have tifts, but never ones long enough to affect anything. We love each other. It’s half the reason we do what we do.
