The audience in this is the people who do not think that cheer is a sport. A specific gender would be mostly boys. I often find myself into specific arguments all the time whether or not cheer is a sport. A specific age group is normally between the age of 10-20. The average reader is anyone who does not think that cheer is a sport, or that it is fairly easy. For example, in this common situation here at snow the football players always complain how hard their practice is. They expect us to sit down and feel sorry for them. If we say anything about how hard ours is, they get all offended and argue that cheer is not a sport. The writer is the person doing the sport. All of the cheerleaders could be writing this and explaining their view points. The credentials this person has is their skills and their own viewpoints of how cheerleading should be. I think that the main argument of this topic is that whether or not people concider cheerleading to be a sport. It also argues whether or not other people think that cheer is a sport. This is trying to persuade its audience that cheer practice is just as hard as football practice, and that the football players should come to see what cheerleading is like before they complain whether or not it is a sport. I think that the open ed is persuasive because coming from a viewpoint of a cheerleader and if they can really prove that it requires hard skills it makes the football players want to study what cheer is like. There are many
The physical activity must have five elements, some include overcoming the resistance of a mass, competition against an opponent, and the rules must define time, space, the purpose of the activity, and the conditions under which a winner is declared. In addition to, acknowledgement that the competition is an evaluation of the skills of the participants and the key purpose of the activity is for competition. Competitive cheerleading fits into all five of these categories through stunts, tumbling, competitions, score sheets, time limits, and mat size. Cheerleading also fits into these categories through the Entertainment and Sports Programming Networks (ESPN) comparing cheerleading routines and a competitive cheerleader’s sole purpose is to compete. Most people in the world do not think cheerleading is a sport for several reasons. Some they think cheerleading does not have a strategy, while others think cheerleaders do not have enough physical ability. However, cheerleading fits into all of the categories of what must take place in order to deem it as a sport (Cheer
Cheerleading started as a male endeavor in 1898, when a University of Minnesota football fan led the crowd in verse in support of their team. It was not until World War II, when men shipped out to war, that women took over. Then cheerleaders came to represent the American ideal of femininity: wholesome apple pie with washboard stomachs, perfect teeth, and flawless complexions. Stereotypes cast them as blond, petite, and impossibly perky. “From its humble beginning cheerleading has blossomed into a competitive athletic activity with a serious image problem” (Forman 52). But today’s post-feminist youth have put a new, diverse face on cheerleading. Cheerleading in America is no longer a matter of waving pom-poms, a cute smile and being overly
Adams, Natalie G., and Pamela J. Bettis. Cheerleader an American Icon. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. 2 April 2014
Throughout the article various tone changes occur. During the introduction, there is a negative attitude that is apparent. The author is reflecting on Erykah Ward’s, a former gymnast, initial reactions to becoming a cheerleader. Ward’s responses were derogatory and stereotypical; she even stated at the end of the introduction, “I’ll want to kill them all” at the idea of becoming a cheerleader. She uses common stereotypes against cheerleaders such as “jumping around” and “uneducated.” All of the sudden, the article’s tone changes to a positive voice. The author is now praising cheerleading and cheerleaders for what they must endure. A couple sentences of ago the author was attacking cheerleading, but now he is saying, “competitive cheerleading is no joke.” This new admiring tone remains throughout the rest of the article and seems to get more passionate the further in detail he goes. Overall, the article has an informal voice. Campo- Flores is using
About four paragraphs down he also says “ I don’t hate cheerleading just because it’s about as safe as porcupine juggling. I also hate it because it’s dumb.” This is not something that I would have expected to see in an article that was written by somebody. He is telling us his own opinion. It has nothing to do with his central claim that he is making. The fact that he said, “it’s dumb”, just sounds silly in his article and probably throws off the audience from the claim that he is really trying to make. I also think it’s interesting that he asks the audience “Exactly what does a girl get out of cheerleading, anyway, besides a circle skirt and a tight sweater? Why do we encourage girls to cheer the boys, to idolize the boys? This question that he asks really can be targeted in a couple different ways. First of all, cheerleading is a very tough sport with all the flexibility that you need to have. A cheerleader must be able to do flips, and all other kinds of stunts. Secondly, he says, “why do we encourage girls to cheer the boys?” this statement is very stereotypical because there are male cheerleaders out there too. Especially today it seems to be more and more common and I don’t think we really see it as a big deal to notice a male cheerleader. If you go to a lot of colleges and universities, you will notice that one of the core parts of a cheerleading squad is the male cheerleader. It is not uncommon what so ever. So, for Reilly to make
Cheerleaders are competitive athletes who compete up to 20 times a year, and we must have a particular skill set and athleticism to be able to perform the routines. Who gets to decide what activity falls under the sports category or not? This debate has been ongoing for decades, and an ending is not foreseeable in the near future. Cheerleaders do not get the recognition we deserve. I practice over fifteen hours a week, go to weightlifting twice a week, and give up eight months out of the year, for somebody to tell me I do not fit the cookie cutter mold of an
When it comes to cheerleading, most of us will readily agree that it is not a real sport. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of why not. Whereas some are convinced that cheerleading doesn’t meet necessary qualifications to officially be a sport, others maintain that it does have qualities deeming it to be a sport. This is because the competition level in high school and college exceeds the expectation of those other sports that put in the time, hard work and effort to win a championship or tournament. Many don’t consider the cheerleaders that get tossed in the air, have extensive acrobatic skills, and the strength to carry their teammates on their shoulders or even in their hands in the competitions. They don’t get the credit they deserve or are recognized appropriately enough for the sport they compete in, earning them the respect of being the athletes they are in the sport they’re apart of, therefore I’m in favor of cheerleading being considered a sport.
Many have seen her. Many know her. But who is the American cheerleader? Is she a blond haired, blue eyed sex symbol? Is she a drug-addicted girl with no brains and even fewer moral values? Maybe she is just your average, pretty, girl-next-door with a loud voice and lots of spirit. What is clearly true is that cheerleading and cheerleaders have evolved greatly over a century-long history. What started as one bold college student has turned into an activity with over 3 million participants (Brady 1); one that is backed by a $150 million industry (Williams 2). Modern cheerleading has come a long way from its historic roots, but large differences still exist between the iconic cheerleader, the stereotypical cheerleader, and the truth.
When most people think of cheerleading, they think of the spirit squads that attempt to pump up the local crowd at high school basketball and football games. People are not aware of what these athletes are doing when they are not in front of these crowds. Strangers to cheerleaders who do not follow the sport extensively do not know the exact involvement of the athletes in this sport, at all ages. Cheerleading requires athleticism like all other sports as you must be in shape and at a great fitness level to be involved in most circumstances. Cheerleaders have to know what they’re doing at all times; while knowing what everyone else on the team is doing as well, which involves a high level of mental preparation. Cheerleading, high school or
“The argument of whether or not cheerleading should be granted sport status is one that has escalated into a fierce debate over the past year,” Wayne Drehs, a staff writer for ESPN, confirms. While giving a purpose to many young athletes as many other known sports do, cheerleading has lost any sport recognition somewhere along the way. The sport has grown miraculously into something that is nothing short of amazing. However while cheerleading’s difficulty has grown, many people’s support for the acceptation of being a sport has not. Many cheerleaders would agree in a heartbeat that Cheerleading is in fact a sport, and should be known as one. Every person needs to understand what cheerleading really is, everything the athletes do daily, and
“The argument of whether or not cheerleading should be granted sport status is one that has escalated into a fierce debate over the past year,” Wayne Drehs, a staff writer for ESPN, confirms. While giving a purpose to many young athletes as many other known sports do, cheerleading has lost any sport recognition somewhere along the way. The sport has grown miraculously into something that is nothing short of amazing. However while cheerleading’s difficulty has grown, many people’s support for the acceptation of being a sport has not. Many cheerleaders would agree in a heartbeat that Cheerleading is in fact a sport, and should be known as one. Every person needs to understand what cheerleading really is, everything the athletes do daily, and
According to Joe Hatton, the author of the article, “Sports Beat - The sport of cheerleading: It’s more than just pompoms and smiles,” cheerleading is a sport because it requires strength, balance, and coordination. The major claim of the article is “cheerleading is a sport - plain and simple - and cheerleaders are true athletes” (Hatton C-04). The article offers the following arguments in support of the claim. Hatton claims because cheerleaders are athletes, cheerleading is a sport. Hatton also says cheerleading is a sport because of the competitive aspects. We believe cheerleading is not a sport, because not all cheerleaders compete. Most cheerleaders rarely, if ever, show athleticism. Cheerleading
“Our members can train up to six hours during rehearsals where we take on cardio, conditioning, stunting, and gymnastics- and if i call extra rehearsals they never say no, they're all so dedicated (“Three Cheers For the Knights!” 1).” Some say Cheerleading is a hobby, not a sport. One may say this because cheerleaders cheer on the “true” sport, cheerleading is a element of looks, and no other “sports” take place on the sideline of other sports.
When I was about five years old I started to do sideline cheerleading for the local superlights football team. I enjoyed it then, but as soon as I began to learn about allstar cheerleading, which is also known as competitive cheerleading, my viewpoint on sideline cheer completely changed. At seven years old my friend Molly and I decided that we wanted to tryout for competitive cheerleading. We ended up making the same team, Junior level 2. At the time we were in both sideline cheer and competitive cheer, but as soon as the first season was coming to an end we realized that we have fallen in love with competitive cheerleading and every aspect that comes with it. It was then that we decided to no longer do sideline cheer and to continue on with allstar cheer. The main difference between the two was the amount of tricks we were able to perform. In sideline cheer, it is more chanting for the team and to hype up the crowd. In allstar cheer, you do a two minute and thirty second routine full of tumbling, stunts, jumps, and a dance section. These two types often are confused and it is very frustrating to those who compete in cheer competitively and are constantly told that it is easy and that anyone could “cheer”. These are the people who do not know of competitive cheerleading and everything it stands for. Unfortunately, cheerleaders for professional sports do not help this stereotype. Professional cheerleaders for most teams are there to just look pretty and lead the team to
''Go, Fight, Win'' you might here that during cheerleading. Do you think cheerleading is a sport? Cheerleaders are actually very important and we do a lot more then you think. I am a cheerleader and I do believe it is a sport. When we are just standing on the sidelines and yelling you might not consider that a sport, but when we are tumbling or stunting it definitly is. Cheerleaders put a lot of hardwork and dedicaton into it. I think if all the boys quit football to cheer they would call it a sport then. I do think that it's true because they are always praising over boys. We do alot of tumbling as you know, the oympics decarled it a sport, it shows life values, and it might possibly be in the games in a few years.