All-Star Dangers Of Cheerlebrity

[krystynakrez]

Wow! Rugrats?! That show was awesome. I loved it. Sad day.

One of my favorites as well. When I was younger my family always used to drive into NYC to watch the thanksgiving day parade and the night before we would watch the balloons be blown up. I remember seeing the tommy pickles balloon and being so excited that rugrats were going to be in the parade that year.

 

[Jason]

One of my favorites as well. When I was younger my family always used to drive into NYC to watch the thanksgiving day parade and the night before we would watch the balloons be blown up. I remember seeing the tommy pickles balloon and being so excited that rugrats were going to be in the parade that year.

Haha. That's awesome.

 

[xtremeteal4life]

I am a small cohort in this really strange industry wide discussion of Cheerlebrity. There are not many of us out here who truly have a dog in this fight and I may be an army of one or two here on this board. But let me say, just as I think it is silly to pin a kid up against a wall in Myrtle Beach for a picture and an autograph even though it was harmless in the end and not a problem in retrospect, it is even more silly to see this response to the concept cheerlebrities in general by the rest of the community. Me thinks the cheer industry is constantly looking for a crusade to fight, a cause to hook itself to for whatever reason including legitimacy. Maybe move on to safety and conditioning to prevent all the injuries to these kids knees, backs, hips, necks and arms or something that has some value to everyone. Or how about scoring standardization, registration, promotion of cheer as a viable sport? The response is sillier than the phenomenon.

 

[xtremeteal4life]

I simply do not believe that the fans would be anywhere nearly as crazed if the magazines didnt portray these kids like "Tigerbeat" does pop stars, and with the social media to turn up the frenzy by allowing "fans" to feel like they know these kids and can just reach out and touch them....yes, the parents of these kids need to control them, BUT you cannot deny the atmosphere and the desire to be famous plays into the way this is today. I think that the stand outs would absolutely existed without this...first there would be many more of them as there are LOTS of stand out athletes who impress the crowd and no one knows there name...and "respect for talent" would be the atmosphere NOT the popstar atmosphere we have today.

How many times do I have to explain that this is not a new phenomenon?! It occurs in almost every single team sport, including high school (I believe I've already mentioned this in extensive detail somewhere in this thread) all the way to the pros. The public chooses their athletic "idols" and/or "role models" and just bc there are more talented players in the NFL, NBA, NCAA, etc., than the ones who happen to get the most attention, that's the way it's always been and will continue to be. Many college and pro athletes don't see anything wrong w/personal recognition and it's not a serious problem within the respective industries; it comes along with the territory sometimes. The same thing happens in other high school sports as well. It's really not the end of the world.

 

[CheerBank]

Remember when they kept saying Bart Simpson was a horrible influence? Idk, it has all seemed down hill from there...
I even have a sister in law who wouldn't let her daughter watch the Rugrats because she thought Angelica was too rude. Who knows? Maybe we should restart the anti-Simpson's campaign?

I will admit I stopped letting my older one watch Rugrats when she started sounding like Angelica on a daily basis....

 

[CheerBank]

To me, this is also part of the problem. It's the same as texting to me. I believe it makes you dumber w/regards to grammar, not better. Coming from someone who did really well in school spelling bees, I can tell you that writing a letter out and typing it out are so very different to me. I will admit to misspelling words when I type, but it just doesn't happen when I write. With autocorrect, the little red squiggly line in Firefox that tells you when you've misspelled a word, and spell check, we aren't having to use our brain as much.

I think reading is the key. I was a huge reader (still am) and my kids enjoy reading as well. That to me makes a bigger impact on the grammar than the spelling. Spelling - I do know what you mean with the connection between learning it via actually writing the word rather than just by typing.

 

[GreenStormLucy]

Remember when they kept saying Bart Simpson was a horrible influence? Idk, it has all seemed down hill from there...
I even have a sister in law who wouldn't let her daughter watch the Rugrats because she thought Angelica was too rude. Who knows? Maybe we should restart the anti-Simpson's campaign?

I won't blame the simpsons for anything, but my kids are 't allowed to watch it.
I'm a grown woman and i don't allow myself to watch it :-D

 

[xtremeteal4life]

I think reading is the key. I was a huge reader (still am) and my kids enjoy reading as well. That to me makes a bigger impact on the grammar than the spelling. Spelling - I do know what you mean with the connection between learning it via actually writing the word rather than just by typing.

Completely agree as well. Same here. I used to wait until everyone was asleep and read by the light of the streetlight in my bedroom (yeah not good I know). I always "got in trouble" for reading my own novels during class, but my teachers would always give me back the book at the end of class bc they were so happy to actually see a kid reading, lol!! I've been reading to my daughter since she was in my belly! She started reading very young and is in the first grade reading on a third grade level and has YET to not know a single spelling word for her weekly tests (as in prior to studying for it). I get her words at the beginning of the week and do a "pretest" to see how many she already knows. So far, every single one of them .

 

[crazeecheermom]

Completely agree as well. Same here. I used to wait until everyone was asleep and read by the light of the streetlight in my bedroom (yeah not good I know). I always "got in trouble" for reading my own novels during class, but my teachers would always give me back the book at the end of class bc they were so happy to actually see a kid reading, lol!! I've been reading to my daughter since she was in my belly! She started reading very young and is in the first grade reading on a third grade level and has YET to not know a single spelling word for her weekly tests (as in prior to studying for it). I get her words at the beginning of the week and do a "pretest" to see how many she already knows. So far, every single one of them .

I think reading is the key. I was a huge reader (still am) and my kids enjoy reading as well. That to me makes a bigger impact on the grammar than the spelling. Spelling - I do know what you mean with the connection between learning it via actually writing the word rather than just by typing.

I too would get in trouble for reading under my covers. I always loved to read and continue to do so. My son is constantly reading and it shows in every aspect of his life. He is able to communicate at a much more mature level (he's 16), people are always amazed at how mature he is when he is speaking with them. Ironically, he would much rather speak to people than text them.

 

[RockstarCheer]

I am a small cohort in this really strange industry wide discussion of Cheerlebrity. There are not many of us out here who truly have a dog in this fight and I may be an army of one or two here on this board. But let me say, just as I think it is silly to pin a kid up against a wall in Myrtle Beach for a picture and an autograph even though it was harmless in the end and not a problem in retrospect, it is even more silly to see this response to the concept cheerlebrities in general by the rest of the community. Me thinks the cheer industry is constantly looking for a crusade to fight, a cause to hook itself to for whatever reason including legitimacy. Maybe move on to safety and conditioning to prevent all the injuries to these kids knees, backs, hips, necks and arms or something that has some value to everyone. Or how about scoring standardization, registration, promotion of cheer as a viable sport? The response is sillier than the phenomenon.

AMEN!! I wish I could shimmy times a million! I'm in your army

 

[Cheerforme]

How many times do I have to explain that this is not a new phenomenon?! It occurs in almost every single team sport, including high school (I believe I've already mentioned this in extensive detail somewhere in this thread) all the way to the pros. The public chooses their athletic "idols" and/or "role models" and just bc there are more talented players in the NFL, NBA, NCAA, etc., than the ones who happen to get the most attention, that's the way it's always been and will continue to be. Many college and pro athletes don't see anything wrong w/personal recognition and it's not a serious problem within the respective industries; it comes along with the territory sometimes. The same thing happens in other high school sports as well. It's really not the end of the world.

Until someone is hurt...How many times do I have to tell YOU...there is a difference between "respect" for the athlete which is what most often happens with the high caliber high school athlete and what these cheerlebrities are doing by creating this situation...and the college and pro teams put ALOT of money into security for their athlete...WHEN the cheerlebrity pays for their OWN security - to protect themselves and the innocent children that could get injured during one of these "out of control situation" , then I will think the situation is being properly handled...rather than PART of the territory that some parents, some owners and some kids create for the rest of us. AND DONT turn it onto the EPs unless they are the onew promoting these kids...IF so then they most definitely should pay for the security etc...DONT turn it onto the rest of us in the form of higher fees and ticket prices. AND "crazed fans" SHOW some respect, DONT fall for the magazine covers and twitter accounts...these athletes may look approachable - but they shouldnt be.... ENOUGH SAID!

 

[Jason]

Narcissism = Cheerlebrity

 

[xtremeteal4life]

Until someone is hurt...How many times do I have to tell YOU...there is a difference between "respect" for the athlete which is what most often happens with the high caliber high school athlete and what these cheerlebrities are doing by creating this situation...and the college and pro teams put ALOT of money into security for their athlete...WHEN the cheerlebrity pays for their OWN security - to protect themselves and the innocent children that could get injured during one of these "out of control situation" , then I will think the situation is being properly handled...rather than PART of the territory that some parents, some owners and some kids create for the rest of us. AND DONT turn it onto the EPs unless they are the onew promoting these kids...IF so then they most definitely should pay for the security etc...DONT turn it onto the rest of us in the form of higher fees and ticket prices. AND "crazed fans" SHOW some respect, DONT fall for the magazine covers and twitter accounts...these athletes may look approachable - but they shouldnt be.... ENOUGH SAID!

That's not entirely accurate if you must know (speaking from personal experience). Do you think every college athlete has a bodyguard to walk them to their classes everyday? The security as some of the sporting events is NOT to the caliber in which you describe (and I'm referring to a couple of major well known teams). They all get mobbed after and before the game regardless.

 

[TheTalkedAboutMinor]

It's honestly not the cheerlebrities that bug me. A lot of those kids are incredibly talented. It's a few people:

-The fans. What I don't like about them is that they obsess over these kids like they're precious angels sent down from the cheer gods. Over the hours these girls spend over obsessing over cheerlebrities, they could be running their routines or learning a new pass. Maybe even stretching. Instead of trying to be like somebody else, why can't they set their own goals and work to the best of their abilities? They shouldn't strive to have Jamie's abs or Kiara's pass or Gabi's needle. They should work on themselves and worry about their own teams.

-The endorsement deals. Seriously. Why do these companies promote these kids? I came into cheer to do something I love. I came to make friends with my teammates, to stretch myself as an athlete, and to do something I've always wanted to do. I'm positive that every cheerlebrity out there came in to do the same exact thing. I never got into cheer to be mauled by fans or to sign autographs. Especially that stupid Secret Diary of an American Cheerleader. Dumbest. Thing. Ever. These stupid endorsement deals exploit the minors and suck all the fun out of their cheer experience. As I said before, during the time wasted on endorsement deals, that time could be spent on learning a new pass or running the routine.

Ultimately, I feel bad for the cheerlebrities. Of course they love hearing that people are inspired by them and that people admire them. Everyone does. I just feel that fans and haters are a package deal. So the haters will slow the kids down and make them upset. And honestly, at a competition, during warmups, we'd want to be focused on hitting our routine and getting psyched up about getting on the mat. The enthusiasm from fans will drain those kids, and due to that, their performance will be poor. So honestly, for the love of cheer, stop obsessing and start working.

 

[TheTalkedAboutMinor]

I'm glad you have a better perspective. Maddie knows the young man on your team and likes him a lot and she says his heart is in the right place. Unfortunately for him, that cat is so far out of the bag you will not get it back in. Or, who knows, he may get great opportunities. I am still of the opinion you cannot make fetch happen, when the kid has the charisma it just happens.

May I just say, that pun, intentional or not, was perfect.