Cheerleading program should maintain same level of professionalism as other UTM athletic programs
Justin Hunt
Issue date: 12/9/09 Section: Viewpoints
Cheerleading is a way for people to think they're talented at something when they're really not, like Guitar Hero and Sudoku puzzles. There are some things in life that are more useless than others. For example, if everything in life was categorized into groups based on varying degrees of uselessness, "cheerleading" would fall into the same group as "pinecones," "Desperate Housewives," and "being able to spell 'boobs' on your calculator." But before I go into detail as to why cheerleading is completely useless and an utter waste of time, let me bore you with a short history of cheerleading.
Cheerleaders were not always overly-caffeinated gobs of make-up and ribbons. Cheerleading began its evolutionary process in the late 1800s with a heckler trying to rally the home crowd into yelling the same cheer. Eventually, this heckler, a student at the University of Minnesota, organized a team of six men to help rally the home crowd to participate in unison cheers for the remainder of the football season.
Pretty soon other schools adopted this practice, and in the 1920s, females began to join these types of cheer squads and incorporated gymnastics and tumbling as a means to supplement the limited availability of women's collegiate athletic programs.
In the beginning, cheering was just a group of people that took initiative to be spirited for their school and their athletic programs. Today, cheering has been elevated to the status of a talent.
*Ahem.* I would like to point out that anyone can don form-fitting tops and scandalous skirts and yell rhyming phrases towards the general direction of the spectators. But, on the other hand, it does take an enormous amount of talent to shake pom-poms. Not just anyone can shake pom-poms. Do you think you can just pick up some pom-poms and "BAM" you are a cheerleader? OH, by no means. Pom-pom shaking isn't just some simple arm movement or wrist flick. No. Pom-pom shaking is an inborn ability that has to be slowly cultivated with delicate practice and coaching.
Cheerleaders were not always overly-caffeinated gobs of make-up and ribbons. Cheerleading began its evolutionary process in the late 1800s with a heckler trying to rally the home crowd into yelling the same cheer. Eventually, this heckler, a student at the University of Minnesota, organized a team of six men to help rally the home crowd to participate in unison cheers for the remainder of the football season.
Pretty soon other schools adopted this practice, and in the 1920s, females began to join these types of cheer squads and incorporated gymnastics and tumbling as a means to supplement the limited availability of women's collegiate athletic programs.
In the beginning, cheering was just a group of people that took initiative to be spirited for their school and their athletic programs. Today, cheering has been elevated to the status of a talent.
*Ahem.* I would like to point out that anyone can don form-fitting tops and scandalous skirts and yell rhyming phrases towards the general direction of the spectators. But, on the other hand, it does take an enormous amount of talent to shake pom-poms. Not just anyone can shake pom-poms. Do you think you can just pick up some pom-poms and "BAM" you are a cheerleader? OH, by no means. Pom-pom shaking isn't just some simple arm movement or wrist flick. No. Pom-pom shaking is an inborn ability that has to be slowly cultivated with delicate practice and coaching.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 32
UTM Fan
posted 12/09/09 @ 12:42 PM CST
1) Look up Title IX
2) Did you cheer any at the game? Probably not, and its definitely not the cheerleader's fault.
3) Please refer back to Title IX
TNStud
posted 12/09/09 @ 1:41 PM CST
Cheerleading is an art. It gives people like me, the TN Stud, something to watch other than the sorry butt football team. I say keep the cheerleaders and do away with the excuse of a Football team. (Continued…)
bananabandit
posted 12/09/09 @ 3:32 PM CST
They should kick the cheerleaders and give the chemistry kids some money. We could use some renovated laboratories...
fan
posted 12/09/09 @ 4:54 PM CST
UTM cheerleaders do collegiate stunts. The pyramids and basket tosses performed by the cheerleaders are illegal to do at middle and high school levels. (Continued…)
You'd Like To Know
posted 12/09/09 @ 11:35 PM CST
Cheerleading is NOT an art. If that's an art, my cat's crap in the litterbox is a Michelangelo masterpiece. If you'd like to know what art is, allow me to refer you to this really cool building on campus you may have not known of, bro, called the FINE ARTS building, not the Elam Center and other sports related buildings. (Continued…)
Dave
posted 12/10/09 @ 9:02 AM CST
I agree with you wholeheartedly, Haha. But here's my understanding of the situation.
Looking through the last issue, I saw that this was in the Viewpoints section. (Continued…)
Smoke Dog
posted 12/10/09 @ 9:36 AM CST
I'm not sure but I'm willing to bet ol Justin has had a little trouble with the ladies at some point or another. Not that there's anything wrong with that. (Continued…)
jerry whitehouse
posted 12/10/09 @ 11:33 AM CST
Little too much anger and concern on what the cheerleaders are doing, don't you think Justin? Is it that slow in Martin that all this rhetoric and angst has to apply to this group? Dude? Lets use your own final thoughts (with a twist to guide an opinion you might want to consider - Make the audience care about your articles. (Continued…)
viewpoints?
posted 12/10/09 @ 12:41 PM CST
Ok..seriously, anything going into a university paper should have at least some academic merit. Before you start publishing any other 'viewpoints,' please have the writer take the time to establish an understanding of all points of view surrounding the issue at hand. (Continued…)
in all honesty...
posted 12/10/09 @ 3:37 PM CST
Really? You are the editor of the section. Does this position require you to fill space in the newspaper? Or have you decided that what other people send in is just not worthy enough, so you have to create "articles" of stupidity about Jehovah Witnesses. (Continued…)
Post a Comment