tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post5036391274139554588..comments2023-10-26T15:34:56.807+01:00Comments on Pond Parleys: Cheer-leaders. The Devil's Spawn.Pond Parleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03127142379706540812noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-47952408787374459222011-11-08T01:09:30.562+00:002011-11-08T01:09:30.562+00:00We're SO on trend!!We're SO on trend!!Expat mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17798190669591053390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-8552193430707143442011-11-07T21:14:18.653+00:002011-11-07T21:14:18.653+00:00I just saw a BBC trailor for an All American Seaso...I just saw a BBC trailor for an All American Season and one of the programmes is about Cheerleading becoming big in the Uk...AmsterdaMummyhttp://www.amsterdamummy.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-2025081865724366682011-11-07T13:04:01.267+00:002011-11-07T13:04:01.267+00:00Always think of cheeleading as very, very American...Always think of cheeleading as very, very American, so beyond my comprehension. Even less comprehensible is why it's taken off over here...Nota Benehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00969705852180234416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-88433054982783901742011-11-06T16:57:50.450+00:002011-11-06T16:57:50.450+00:00Cheerleading! I can see the viewpoints of both of ...Cheerleading! I can see the viewpoints of both of you, Toni and Mike.<br />Maybe it would be better off left for the Americans ...... but there are little girls over here that love to do it. (Usually in parades and such) and I have seen cheer leaders outfits and sticks on sale in chain stores, so I guess we are going to be stuck with it.<br />Maggie X<br /><br /><a href="http://granniemay.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Nuts in May</a>Maggie Mayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06183886005936250976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-39722209821830101552011-11-06T07:25:48.869+00:002011-11-06T07:25:48.869+00:00Seems we're too late:
http://ukca.org.uk/compe...Seems we're too late:<br />http://ukca.org.uk/competitions/2010dates/<br />http://www.futurecheer.net/<br />http://www.cheerleading.org.uk/<br /><br />I'm gong back to bed.MikeHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01530099708429116393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-2752834184596125532011-11-06T07:17:06.815+00:002011-11-06T07:17:06.815+00:00I agree with awindram; cheerleading is basically g...I agree with awindram; cheerleading is basically group rhythmic gymnastics so I don't see why it shouldn't be granted 'sport' status, other than the fact that it would open the possibility of seeing Freestyle Cheerleading as an event at the 2016 Olympics.MikeHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01530099708429116393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-66032755866751088092011-11-06T07:10:23.796+00:002011-11-06T07:10:23.796+00:00I agree that outside the US, cheerleaders can seem...I agree that outside the US, cheerleaders can seem unsavory. I do think cheerleading is a throwback to a time of innocence in the US, and they really are talented dancers and gymnasts. It is nice to have another opportunity beside traditional sports for girls to keep themselves busy and be a part of a team. In my opinion, cheerleading is a wonderful American tradition :)Travel With Luluhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09646026064261601469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-76845643660975217752011-11-06T04:35:09.931+00:002011-11-06T04:35:09.931+00:00I guess it comes down to how you define a sport an...I guess it comes down to how you define a sport and whether the voting component invalidates something as being a sport. Though that could be extended to ice skating or even, at a stretch, boxing when there hasn't been a knockout. If ice skating can be classified as an Olympic sport, and that seems to be the best analogy on account of scoring an artistic element then I don't see why cheerleading can't be seen as a collegiate sport.awindramhttp://anthonywindram.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-55779101087016001972011-11-06T00:33:54.054+00:002011-11-06T00:33:54.054+00:00I rather agree with Mike. It's fine for enthyo...I rather agree with Mike. It's fine for enthyoosiasm to be associated with sports in the US, but in the UK, we have a fine tradition of laconic disinterest. As the Flanders and Swann song says about other countries' sports teams "they argue with umpires, they cheer when they've won, and they practise beforehand which ruins the fun". I mean, if people want to get enthyoosiastic at soccer matches or Wimbledon or something, well, so be it. But we definitely don't need cheerleaders to help them on their way.Iota https://www.blogger.com/profile/08507184283437057648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-34838367469882588302011-11-05T22:52:40.992+00:002011-11-05T22:52:40.992+00:00There is a huge argument at the moment to have che...There is a huge argument at the moment to have cheer-leading declared a sport in the same way as other things are. That would presumably mean that scholarships could be had. I think the argument against, as I recall, is because it's not always competitive in the same way other sports are.<br /> And yes, they are athletic. I'm not for a moment suggesting that the moves in cheer-leading aren't athletic; just a bit pointless. And irritating.<br />But not nearly as irritating, come to think of it, as those bloody brass bands.<br />Re- sexy cheer-leaders - the professional cheer-leaders tends to be more pseudo-porn star, especially the basketball girls.Expat mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17798190669591053390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-53929214631206223192011-11-05T21:14:58.302+00:002011-11-05T21:14:58.302+00:00I do find cheerleading but I know that's entir...I do find cheerleading but I know that's entirely due to a cultural and snobbish bias on my part.<br /><br />Re: cheerleading (or a vague, embarrassed simulacra of it at English football grounds) this really isn't a new development at all. A handful of clubs have made attempts at it since the late 80s when there was a brief (though minor) interest in American Football in the UK. All the cheerleading teams I've ever seen follow the same lines you noted, they're there more to interact with the club mascot and do a brief dance routine at half-time. I really don't see it entering the national scene more so than it has already.<br /><br />They are not there to cheerlead. To be frank, they're not needed. There'll always be a fat, topless, inebriated gadgy stood at the home end starting chants. <br /><br />I'd also suggest that Brighton is in a pretty special situation with their new stadium and the decade long fight to get it. Perhaps the marketing dept at the club thought a cheerleading component would help create a more family-friendly atmosphere when they move to the much larger site at Falmer, as well as being a group that could be utilized in their community outreach programmes.<br /><br />As for cheerleading in the US, I don't entirely get it, but in the absence of a fat, topless, inebriated gadgy (God bless 'em) I can see why they'd be needed to create atmosphere, along with those blasted brass bands. <br /><br />From the very little collegiate football and basketball that I've seen, for the most part I was struck by how silly and unerotic cheerleading is. The cheerleaders seem to be either high-octane, peppy (almost sort of wholesome) but not that great at routines, or extremely technical and athletic. Most of the collegiate outfits didn't seem any more revealing than what you'd see an Olympic gymnast wear. Far more demure than the far more revealing clothes you'd see in Hartlepool on a Saturday night. The eroticizing of cheerleading seems to be happening not with the squads, but people playing on that image in magazine shoots, music videos, films, etc. The same could be said of school uniforms, nuns habits. etc. Taking something with more wholesome connotations and sullying it.<br /><br />Also, if the cheerleading also competes in competition do we give them a pass? If you're going to have a collegiate system that gives out scholarships based on a person's athletic rather than academic ability (something I find bizarre), then considering the athletic ability of the cheerleading squads I don't see why they shouldn't get a slice of the scholarship pie. They probably bring in more revenue than the likes of the lacrosse team.awindramhttp://anthonywindram.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-40981832266312503832011-11-05T15:39:20.782+00:002011-11-05T15:39:20.782+00:00One thing I didn't put in the post, was how mi...One thing I didn't put in the post, was how misogynistic it all is. For example, there are many professional sports where the players and cheer-leaders aren't allowed to have a relationship. Guess who gets fired when an affair is discovered though. On one team (can't remember which one) the same player had affairs with 3 cheer-leaders, and they fired all 3 of the women.....Expat mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17798190669591053390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-42994008977955303332011-11-05T14:38:09.000+00:002011-11-05T14:38:09.000+00:00I'm embarrassed by cheerleaders. I'm embar...I'm embarrassed by cheerleaders. I'm embarrassed for them. I honestly don't see much difference between them and the Playboy Bunny. Great post and great comment from Smitten.<br />:-)Clippy Mathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15922234265229327474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1374269644093476975.post-36182387108255450642011-11-05T13:27:52.455+00:002011-11-05T13:27:52.455+00:00Why? For the same reason we have reality shows tha...Why? For the same reason we have reality shows that focus on women who do nothing but stay at home and spend their husband's millions on plastic surgery and copious amounts of shoes. For the same reason we've spent the last week talking about Kim Kardashian's divorce rather than how to create jobs. For the same reason that Toddler's and Tiaras is a hit show. For the same reason that Sarah Palin gets more attention than any other female politician, including the Secretary of State. Because she is an attractive woman.<br /><br />We are still very much a misogynistic country. It is the last bastion of discrimination that gets almost no focus whatsoever. And almost as much of it is perpetuated by women as men. Don't get me started!<br /><br />My husband saw an advert the other night for Swiffer something or other and he commented "It's no wonder that men still have these old ideas about women when you see these commercials. They always portray the woman as the cleaner and the nurturer of the children." For the first time this week I saw a commercial for Tide that featured a stay-at-home dad. Now, that's something new. Hurray for that!<br /><br />Cheerleading in schools continues to be perpetuated by parents, some of them those helicopter parents we love, who were cheerleaders themselves or love the traditions around football and they want them continued. It's also one of the few chances that females have to participate in something sports related that actually gets attention. At least in my neck of the woods, no female sport gets major attention, it's all male football and basketball teams.<br /><br />Am I allowed to write a comment this long? We'll see Blogger.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com