"I said, 'BRR! It's cold in here.'

There must be some clovers in the at-mos-phere.

I said, 'Oh e oh e oh... ice ice ice.'"

Let me guess what you're thinking, "UGH. Please not another cheerleading article."

I won't sit here and try to convince you that cheerleading is a sport, because quite frankly I don't care if you think it is or not. I know that my fellow cheerleaders and I can all agree that this activity (I'll try not to offend all of youathletes) is one of the most difficult and dangerous "hobbies" that we have.

I'm sure most, if not all, athletes have had their fair share of bumps and bruises, and definitely a few broken body parts at times. But I bet most of you can't relate to the thrill that a flyer gets when she's tossed into the air, back flips (with that HUGE cheerleader grin on, yes you know which one I'm talking about - the one you probably hate) and on top of all of that pressure (the backflip, the heel stretch, the kick double) don't you ever wonder if she's afraid that someone isn't going to be below her to catch her? Or maybe she'll slip through her bases arms... yes, that happens. I know that I, myself, have hit the ground one too many times.

Or what about the bases and backspot beneath her? Don't you ever think that they get nervous that they won't catch her? Or that she'll come down harder than expected, causing them to lose their breath, but still having to put her before that pain they're feeling because they have to make sure she doesn't hit the ground.

Well, maybe that's what differentiates cheerleading from any other sport (sorry); the trust that we have, an amazing sense of trust in each other. Okay, okay I know that every other sport runs on trust, also... I mean how couldn't it?

But I'm talking about real trust... coming from an experienced flyer, I have to trust 3 girls (sometimes less) with my life. Could you imagine?

But that's what makes us all so close. And just like any other sport, a cheer team is a family. We are always there for each other.

We'll promise to catch you, but sometimes we just can't. We'll promise not to elbow you in the face when we double-down, but we will probably do it anyway. We really can't help it.

And did I promise I wouldn't pull your belly button ring out when I came down a little too hard? Well, I told you that you shouldn't get it pierced while we were in season.

But seriously, a little pain here and there won't ruin our friendship. We'll be there for each other through the ups and the downs.

And we'll definitely be there to tell you to run another lap or 5 because that cheeseburger really did not do you any good.

And just like any family, we have our fair share of b*tches. Well, maybe more than our fair share.

Okay fine, the whole team is full of them.

Maybe that's why we get along so well.

Hey, at least we're honest.

Maybe a little too honest.

Scratch that. We're just full of confidence. All of the best cheerleaders are!

Even at a young age, a cheerleader develops an attitude. I couldn't tell you why. It just seems to be the way things work.

But should we even be as cocky as we are? I mean come on...

It's true! I can't even try to defend us there. Yes, we can stunt, and we can tumble. But dancing... it's really just not our thing. Our go-to move is spirit fingers... really? Spirit fingers? What even is a spirit finger?

Oh right... those. Okay, I can't even pretend that I don't love spirit fingers. I do. And we love to have our fingers show off extra spirit for competition day. Because this is the day where we aren't doing the cheering, but we're being cheered for. (And we have to give them something to cheer for!) It sounds kind of silly, right?

But everyone loves to be cheered for, supported and loved. Even cheerleaders themselves. Maybe that's why we are cheerleaders. Maybe we aren't so bitchy at all. Maybe we know how much joy being cheered for brings you, and maybe we just want to be able to bring that joy to other sports. We actually like supporting your team while you throw a ball around *yawn*. Believe me? Well, like I said before about your opinion of it being a sport... quite frankly, I don't care if you do. It's not going to stop us from cheering you on, even if we don't think you deserve it anymore.

So next time you have something nasty to say about a cheerleader, stop and think. Maybe they aren't so bad after all.

Alright, yeah. We are that bad.