Cheerleading is a sport

I went to see two of my neices in a national cheerleading competition this weekend. Seriously. And - wow. Who knew? Do you know what I learned about cheerleading? It's a sport. That sounds derogatory, but what I mean is that, for this competition, the majority of the squads there don't have a team that they cheer for. They just cheer competitively.

OK, I am being derogatory, because I don't know of any other "sport" that involves walking around in pajamas, full makeup, and with your hair in curlers. I found it much more like a beauty pageant in curly ponytails and matching uniforms with some impressive tumbling thrown in.

Having never competed in any sport in my life, I was admittedly taken aback by the drive and enthusiasm of these girls (and some boys, but mostly girls at this event) - some as young as 6 years old. They were practicing at midnight, spending over an hour to have their hair curled and sleeping on the rollers. Their parents had spent thousands of dollars to get them there. They were stressed out, underfed, overworked. There was a lot of crying. They went to the convention center early to route for their fellow team mates and, in the end, to perform for a total of about 3 minutes.

While the hair and makeup was offputting, the team work, commitment, and talent was commendable. Regardless, I did spend the entire time hoping (a lot of hope) that my daughter, who joined me, doesn't get into this sport. More likely (particularly because we live in Texas) I should start learning how to make those tight ponytails and ringlet curls now.

Posted at 10:26AM Feb 24, 2006 by sarad in General  |  Comments[2]