All-Star More Cheer In The Media

[4me2Kno]

Federal court rules once and for all that cheerleading is not a real sport | Prep Rally - Yahoo! Sports

Just a recent news article about the state of cheer as a sport.

Sometimes the comments people leave at the bottom of these articles really get my blood boiling...

 

[Shaeeee<3]

I don't think we're ever going to win this battle, they just don't understand what all of us go through and all of the hard work we put into the sport that we love! I've come to accept the fact that cheerleading isn't going to become a sport anytime soon!

 

[alexandra_ashleigh]

I don't understand why everyone pushes it to be considered a sport. Putting the label on it of sport doesn't change one thing. It won't change the hours we spend in the gym, or the passion we put into each routine. Sure it makes me mad when people tell me it's not a sport, but at the end of the day it doesn't change the image that the general public has in their heads of what we do.. And most of the time this image unfortunately contains a sideline and pom pons. I just don't understand why everyone is so concerned about it being a sport or not..

 

[yojaehs]

Most of these articles are showing how "cheer" in these cases are not fitting the guidelines of "sport". For those that say "I don't care, it means nothing". I don't feel my love for cheer changes but I do think that cheer is HUGE without being recognized. I can only imagine how amazing it would be if we could get recognized as a sport. My main issue is the separation MOST in the world of "sports" separate that ONLY sports have athletes. Meaning if you are participating in something that isn't officially a sport than you aren't an athlete. For me, being recognized as a sport doesn't change much, won't change my day to day but would make what I do more recognized and respected.

 

[CAMOM98]

What if.. just wondering.. if we renamed the sport? I showed a video of a performance and right away they were like .."wow a team full of gymnasts.." This person had never seen a performance of a cheer competition. Yes there are people out there whom have never seen a cheer competition and will ALWAYS associate "cheer" with football. Well, I mean my child really has never "cheered" during a performance just tumble, stunt, pyramid, and dance. No cheers. Hasn't said a gym cheer in awhile. Well, just a thought. Allstar Acrobatic & Tumbling or Allstar Stunt & Tumble. Try it. See how many outside the cheer world would like it and consider it a sport. The only thing is what would you call yourself instead of a cheerleader.. Allstar A&T athlete ?? like I said ..just a thought.

 

[yojaehs]

What if.. just wondering.. if we renamed the sport? I showed a video of a performance and right away they were like .."wow a team full of gymnasts.." This person had never seen a performance of a cheer competition. Yes there are people out there whom have never seen a cheer competition and will ALWAYS associate "cheer" with football. Well, I mean my child really has never "cheered" during a performance just tumble, stunt, pyramid, and dance. No cheers. Hasn't said a gym cheer in awhile. Well, just a thought. Allstar Acrobatic & Tumbling or Allstar Stunt & Tumble. Try it. See how many outside the cheer world would like it and consider it a sport. The only thing is what would you call yourself instead of a cheerleader.. Allstar A&T athlete ?? like I said ..just a thought.

I hear what you are saying but I don't think that is the major issue. When defining a "sport" you need a non subjective scoring system. You need a singular governing body. A definitive national and world championship. etc. etc.

 

[AllstarObsession]

What I get from most of these commenters is that many of them haven't seen any cheerleading in a while.

Even sideline cheerleading has stepped it up tremendously in the last 10-20 years.

 

[cheernerd5678]

Honestly, I don't really think it would change anything. Just because it's a recognized sport doesn't mean people respect it. I mean, I respect most major sports, but I will never consider golf, ping pong, pool, etc. a sport, even if they're recognized. In my opinion, they just aren't respectable sports. Everyone has their own opinion on what makes something a sport, and some people will never consider cheer a sport, just out of stubbornness. Sure, many people are misinformed, but that's life. I know it's a sport, and that's what matters to me. We can't force people to respect us.