All-Star Bad Sportsmanship

[Iamshannon]

First off, let me start by congratulating our 2011 WORLD CHAMPIONS!

Small Senior
Cheer Athletics Panthers

Small Senior Limited Coed
Brandon Senior Black

Large Senior

Maryland Twisters F5

Large Senior Limited Coed

Twist & Shout Senior Obsession

Senior Semi-Limited Coed
ACE Warriors

Senior Unlimited Coed
California All Stars

International Open All-Girl
Gymtyme Pink
*Highest score of the competition! Way to go ladies!

International Open Coed
Top Gun All Stars

International Open All-Girl 6
Flyerz All Stars (Canada)

International Open Coed 6
Bangkok University & Gymtyme Infinity (TIE)

With that being said... in order for a team to win, that means other teams must "lose". Now, for some, going to worlds is a huge accomplishment. For others, placing top 3 is a big deal. And for a lucky few, winning those globes is what its all about.
I applaud those who are able to come in second, third, fourth, and so on with pride and grace. Those are the cheerleaders i look up to. But as of recently, my twitter has been filled with spite and bad sportsmanship. It breaks my heart. Has anyone else experienced this? While i was not able to make it to orlando this year,

 

[Iamshannon]

I personally have a had times where i was very mad or upset, so i turned to facebook and twitter to vent. after i cooled off, i realized that what i said what not good. at all. as much as i tried to delete it, people had already seen and distorted my words. The internet is a very unforgiving place.

I am not naming names, some of you may know what im talking about, others may not....

I understand that not winning is very hard to deal with. And it is even harder to deal with it with grace and humility. But what i have seen is quite ridiculous, and i have seen a lot. trust me.

 

[thatgirlisfierce]

i know exactly what you're talking about! my twitter has been the same way. some teams are just sore losers, i guess. and thats pretty dissapointing.

don't hate the player, hate the game (;

 

[yougottabelieve]

I personally have a had times where i was very mad or upset, so i turned to facebook and twitter to vent. after i cooled off, i realized that what i said what not good. at all. as much as i tried to delete it, people had already seen and distorted my words. The internet is a very unforgiving place.

I am not naming names, some of you may know what im talking about, others may not....

I understand that not winning is very hard to deal with. And it is even harder to deal with it with grace and humility. But what i have seen is quite ridiculous, and i have seen a lot. trust me.

i know how you feel...
but on my facebook, its all of the fan pages that can't accept their favorite team didnt win. All they do is post the rudest of things about senior all girl large division. Saying things like "i've found out... that im in now in love with team *abc*....NOT" They're not even part of the team in anyway, dont see why they need to vent like that.

 

[AllHeartxo3]

i've seen post about other teams from fans that have been really rude. you don't have to like the team, but posting stuff about them falling or not hitting one day is inappropriate. these girls have feelings, they aren't robots. if they didn't hit you shouldn't be making fun of it because we all know how bad of a feeling that is already. no need to be shoving it in their faces.

 

[cheer_coach_d]

Agreed- we all signed up for a SUBJECTIVE sport. It's not a matter of who hit the winning run or made the winning touchdown. There is an element of opinion to cheer that will always be! We sign up for it and we, as coaches, cheerleaders and fans alike, need to accept the results with grace and class. Those negative feelings are hard to ignore sometimes, especially at the level of Worlds, but keep them to yourself and OFF the Internet!

 

[cheermom123]

I have been involved with cheer for over 10 years and have been disappointed to see the display of poor sportmanship this weekend by the "fans". There is yet another new thread on this board about them losing and the whining, moaning, and hand wringing just seems to go on and on and on. It is always great to cheer on your friends and favorite team and to be disappointed when they don't win. But, my experience has been that the judges at an event like Worlds know what they are doing and are impartial in their judging, or they wouldn't have been selected to be a judge at an event of this magnitude. Worlds 2011 was a great event and so many new milestones were reached, especially with the magnificent team from Thailand winning IOC6. All of the teams that won earned their medals and should be congratulated and honored for all of their hard work that got them there. However, it is time to move on and start preparing for next year. New teams will be formed, they will get better and better as the season progresses, and the teams who perform the best routines next year at Worlds will win -- whether it is your child's team, your friend's teams, a team from your gym, or maybe even a team from somewhere else.

The evolution of this event from a handful of teams at the first Worlds in 2004 to the hundreds of teams it attracts today and the thousands and thousands of fans is truly amazing for being in existence for only 7 years. The people who work so hard 365 days a year to legitimize this sport, make it safe for the athletes, and try to make it inclusive and fulfilling for athletes at all skill levels truly deserve the POSITIVE support of the coaches, parents, and athletes.

It is time to "pay it forward" --- congratulate the winners of each competition, go home and work harder so that you can win the next one. If you hear a parent, coach, or athlete being mean or negative, ask them to keep those opinions to themselves or maybe even try to set a better example for those around them. And the children competing, of any age, are just as responsible for their negative actions and words as the adults! Parents need to teach their children better!!!

Let's continue to elevate this sport so that we can be proud to be a part of it for many, many years to come.

 

[xtremeteal4life]

I have been involved with cheer for over 10 years and have been disappointed to see the display of poor sportmanship this weekend by the "fans". There is yet another new thread on this board about them losing and the whining, moaning, and hand wringing just seems to go on and on and on. It is always great to cheer on your friends and favorite team and to be disappointed when they don't win. But, my experience has been that the judges at an event like Worlds know what they are doing and are impartial in their judging, or they wouldn't have been selected to be a judge at an event of this magnitude. Worlds 2011 was a great event and so many new milestones were reached, especially with the magnificent team from Thailand winning IOC6. All of the teams that won earned their medals and should be congratulated and honored for all of their hard work that got them there. However, it is time to move on and start preparing for next year. New teams will be formed, they will get better and better as the season progresses, and the teams who perform the best routines next year at Worlds will win -- whether it is your child's team, your friend's teams, a team from your gym, or maybe even a team from somewhere else.

The evolution of this event from a handful of teams at the first Worlds in 2004 to the hundreds of teams it attracts today and the thousands and thousands of fans is truly amazing for being in existence for only 7 years. The people who work so hard 365 days a year to legitimize this sport, make it safe for the athletes, and try to make it inclusive and fulfilling for athletes at all skill levels truly deserve the POSITIVE support of the coaches, parents, and athletes.

It is time to "pay it forward" --- congratulate the winners of each competition, go home and work harder so that you can win the next one. If you hear a parent, coach, or athlete being mean or negative, ask them to keep those opinions to themselves or maybe even try to set a better example for those around them. And the children competing, of any age, are just as responsible for their negative actions and words as the adults! Parents need to teach their children better!!!

Let's continue to elevate this sport so that we can be proud to be a part of it for many, many years to come.

There will always be people like that unfortunately, but I will say it again as I did in another thread, the display of sportsmanship to and from the athletes AND fans of the top 3 teams at the actual event was a very different story. You cannot control the actions of others and unfortunately in the past, this year, and every year after we will continue to experience the same thing.

I think it sucks and is unfair to those of us (parents, fans and athletes) who do show good sportsmanship to be kinda lumped into a certain category (not addressing this to you directly necessarily). Wish there was more recognition for those who do show good sportsmanship.

We also have to remember that many of these people exhibiting this conduct are young, immature kids, and while it's still not excusable, I don't exactly expect them to always be mature and generally just brush them aside. Hopefully one day they will be able to look back and view their behavior in a different light or have grown as a person enough to show remorse and not continue w/that kind of behavior.

 

[AndyT_T]

TWO international teams to gold?! :O
PROPS!

 

[Mamarazzi]

We also have to remember that many of these people exhibiting this conduct are young, immature kids, and while it's still not excusable, I don't exactly expect them to always be mature and generally just brush them aside. Hopefully one day they will be able to look back and view their behavior in a different light or have grown as a person enough to show remorse and not continue w/that kind of behavior.

I agree and I think coaches, parents or any other responsible, mature person in an athlete or fan's life has the responsibilty to prepare them for potential loss (sorta like PA did.). And we can, kindley, point out that their remarks may have been a mistake. Smart people learn from mistakes. Others never will.

Sometimes we say, or type, emotional things without thinking. But let's face it...a sincere apology for saying something we didn't mean to cause harm with can go a LONG way.

 

[HeatUniqueJ]

That's exactly what i already pointed out in another Thread...
In life there will always be times you'll have to deal with losing, may it be a discussion, a job, a friend, a game, etc etc
Every Allstar Cheerleader is competitive, otherwise he or she would not do this sport, i am very competitive myself and i want my team to succeed but i use tell the girls that there is ALWAYS a chance to lose, to end in last place. We never look for excuses , we just focus on what we could have done better. And i think that is really important. Don't blame others for winning , they worked just as hard as you, if not even harder (you never know what issues they had to deal with in practise,their gym etc etc)
What i can NOT understand is people acting like they are happy for the winning team but on the other hand bashing their win with stupid remarks... I know most of them are Teenagers but also Teenagers do have a brain and should know better then that

 

[cheerstorm]

This is exactly what I tried to say in an early thread but it was taken down as might this one also. If your team finishes 3rd as it deserved to do weather you are happy or not you congratulate the teams that do finish 1st and 2nd you dont just walk off. You are at worlds and on a worlds stage people are watching you and that is not what you want them to remember about your team.
Later when you are alone you can vent throw your medal away or whatever you want. There were lots if other teams that would have love to podium at worlds 1st 2nd and yes even 3rd. Like the above person said go back to your gym and work harder for next year.

 

[CheerMomNTx]

PLEASE REFRAIN FROM CALLING OUT GYMS!! Thank you!!

 

[Weezy]

I actually saw more good sportsmanship this weekend than bad.

 

[we_stand_alone]

I actually saw more good sportsmanship this weekend than bad.

i was just going to say this, everyone i met was sooo nice. cheer athletics had some of the best parents!