whaaaat?

[MCS]

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the quality of cheerleading squads has nothing to do with what they look like.

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I think some people don't realize this.

It's not SUPPOSED to have anything to do with it. It might actually depend a little on how good the judges are.

[BigSoonerFan]

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Maryland was the first D1 school to offer scholarships to their competitive cheer team a few years back (it's a different squad than what cheers at a football or basketball game). I think it was primarily for Title IX reasons - I'd imagine other schools that want more schollies for their men's sports will follow suit: http://umterps.cstv.com/sports/comp-...042805aad.html

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That's just an opportunity for them to balance things out without adding a women's sport. I'm sure they'd add women's Marbles if they could, but it still wouldn't be a sport.

[BigSoonerFan]

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cheerleading is easily one of the toughest sports athletically and on your body.

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Just because it is athletic does not make it a sport.

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so?
it's more atheltic than many all-male sports.

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So is "Dancing with the Stars", but dancing isn't a sport. There's a difference between artistic expression and sports. Cheerleading started as an art and someone decided "Hey, let's rate how good they are at it." That does not make it a sport.

[BigSoonerFan]

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eagles,

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Just because it is athletic does not make it a sport.

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The fact that they train hours and hours a day to compete in NCA Chamionships against other schools does though. A sport consists of a physical and mentally competitive activity carried out with a recreational purpose for competition, for self-enjoyment, to attain excellence, for the development of a skill, or some combination of these. Cheerleading has every bit of this. Just b/c you don't see it in the light of football doesn't mean that it doesn't require mental discipline, physical discipline, competition, etc.

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Like I said, so does competitive dancing. That does not make it a sport.

[tdarko]

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There's a difference between artistic expression and sports. Cheerleading started as an art and someone decided "Hey, let's rate how good they are at it." That does not make it a sport.

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I would agree with what you are saying if cheerleaders were still doing the same, easy, boring cheers and nothing else as they did when the artistic expression/sport started out. Cheerleading now is almost nothing about cheering for a football team (the competitive squads) but about stunts and flying. I saw my gf's dad's HS football tape in the garage and we decided to throw it in to see what was up, well little did I know her mother was a cheerleader--this was in the late 60's I guess. Well the cheerleading consisted of a few cheers and sitting on a partners shoulders waving their pom poms. Not even close to what goes on today...so you can't compare something b/c of how it started, there is evolution in many things, especially sports.

[tuq]

td,

I think it's worth noting that's why there's been something of a decline in the attractiveness of the college cheerleader. They're being hired for their athletic ability more than their legs these days. I'm appalled at how butterfaced some of the girls I see are anymore (I'm sure your gf was hoooooooooottttt though).

I'm used to the much more lean pro sports team cheerleaders, where attractivness is the main qualifier, and if you want to see a pyramid you better book a flight to Egypt.

[bigt2k4]

Western won the US cheerleading competition this year (even though it is in Canada) and a lot of the stuff they do is incredible, but having known 2 of the guy cheerleaders I can say that it is not tough nor demanding ( yes you have to be athletic and flexible) and is definitely not a sport.