Dear dimwit on the phone

Exactly. The only difference is we don't use our hands and we certainly don't dress in skirts--we paint our faces.

 

And I suspect you tumble.

 

No. And neither do they on Friday night.

They are Cheer+Leaders

 

That's not the sport they are promoting.
Competitive Cheerleading is as much a sport as gymnastics is.

 

Golf?

 

My definition of sport includes some random thing too. Screw common usage.

 

Agreed. If there's some sort of scoring system involved, like in gymnastics, diving or figure skating, then you can classify it as a sport.

 

I haven't seen those kinds of Cheer-Leaders at a high school or college in years. The ones these days do pyramids, tumble, etc.

Then there is the dance team, which is also athletic -- in a pole-dancing kind of way.

 

HanSenSE,

At least in gymnastics, diving or figure skating, you know where the competitors stand after they are done competing. Only cheerleading - and dance team and marching band - makes you wait so you don't hurt anyone's feelings.

 

Having never covered a cheerleading competition, I would not know that. I'd say that's something they need to work on to be taken seriously. Kind of like some coaches who don't call in losses because they don't want the kids to feel bad? The kids already know they lost!

 

My brother was in marching band, so I've seen enough of those to know that the final placings are announced after everyone is done competing ... and no public list of scores is made available immediately following.

In competitive cheerleading, at least the ones shown on ESPN, the scores aren't announced until the very end when they bring all the squads back in.

 

I've seen a junior college dance team that isn't athletic in any kind of way.

At most of the home basketball games last season, the cheerleaders just stood around during time outs ... except for those times when the band would finally say, "Fuck it," and start playing. Then the cheerleaders would come out — forcing the band to stop — and then cheer the crowd into the absolute opposite of a frenzy.

Near the end of the season, the band said "Fuck it," and kept playing even when the cheerleaders did finally come out.