It's that time of year again, football season. Fall is in the air, school is starting again, students are returning to campus, and sports games have officially kicked off. And what's a sports game without the cheerleaders? You know, those pretty girls with the cute uniforms. They're waving pom poms in the air and showing off their flexibility with cool stunts and tricks. But wait, there's a male who is throwing those small girls in the air. They're the ones with the booming voices and the giant megaphones. They can do cool flips and tricks too.

I just so happen to be dating one of those guys. I prefer to call him a stunt man because that's his job. He starts the cheers because he's a co-captain this year and doesn't that sound pretty cool? He's got a loud voice and a really pretty smile. He can do long tumbling passes that include a front or a back flip, a handspring, and then into more flippy things that I can't pronounce. He's working to break the stereotype of a male cheerleader.

It's always interesting as the season starts up. New students crowd the stands, excited to watch their teams in action. Everyone is up in arms against the refs and we stomp our feet and yell till there's only a hoarse "YES" coming from our throats. Although I love watching our teams compete, I also I love watching him cheer. He's animated, excited, loud, energetic, and really, a great cheerleader. What's not always fun is when I hear those whispers, the comments that are made about him. Some of them are nice like when I hear them say "Oh, that one on the left? He's super cute." I get to proudly turn around and tell them, "yeah, he's mine." I may or may not be also claiming my territory. It's also fun hearing them figure out that he's a twin. It's like a secret, but not. It's just coming to the realization that there are two of them instead of one who just happens to switch sides a lot. Then, it's always the conversation of, "Which one is which? Do you think one is cuter than the other?" Normally people can't really make the distinction until later because, well, identical twins aren't called identical for no reason.

What's always hard to hear is the comments along the lines of "oh, wow, look, they have male cheerleaders! I wonder if they're gay," or, "I bet they're really girly, huh?" It's kind of fun, not going to lie, to turn around to them and say, "oh, you're talking about my boyfriend? Hi, I'm the girlfriend."

There are those that will judge, and I won't lie, I was a little caught off guard at first. That's the issue with stereotypes, isn't it? They say, "don't judge a book by its cover," yet, we do it all the time.

The issue with cheer is that it is widely considered a women's sport, a girly sport, that is well, not even really considered an actual "sport." Instead, most of the time, it is referred to as an activity or a hobby. As a previous cheerleader, I can tell you, it is not just a hobby. Cheer requires strength, balance, concentration, and dedication. Sure, everyone can learn to raise their arms in the air, make a nice little cinnamon roll with their hands, and yell loudly with a smile on their face. Now, add in some coordination, some movements: touchdown, high V, low V, heel stretch, turn, clap clap, repeat. Try having to memorize all the correct words and the correct motions for twenty different cheers and be ready to perform any of them at any given time perfectly.

Stunting is where the men really shine and is an area where I believe they are highly underrated. Partner stunting is freaking hard. My high school cheer team consisted of all girls and we desperately craved a male on our team. With females, we need three bases to do a stunt, but with a male, it only takes one. He can toss a 110-130 pound human person up into the air and catch her, balance her, and then lower her back down to safety. They're really strong. My boyfriend is considered small for a stuntman, yet, he can do what men twice his size can do too. He's got amazing balance and he's more flexible than I will ever be. Most people can't pull of a standing backflip, nevertheless, doing five backflips in a row. What he can do is what most gymnasts and power tumblers do, not ordinary people, let alone a strong football player or a tall basketball player in what is considered a more "manly" sport to participate in.

Male cheerleaders are proud of what they do. They're just as excited when they hit a new stunt just like a basketball player who achieved the perfect dunk. They're just as passionate about their sport as a conference-winning football team. They're dedicated, strong, and not afraid to shy away from what they do. The next time you watch a sports game, take a moment to check out the cheerleaders. They work hard to energize the crowd, so don't just ignore them. You may be surprised at what all they can do.