I was flipping through the channels this morning, cursing the lack of football and the rain-delayed start of the Daytona 500, when I came across a college cheerleading comptetition on ESPN 2.
I'm not going to pretend that it wasn't the pretty young ladies on cute outfit's that initially caught my attention...but what held my attention HOLY CRAP, THEY ARE THROWING HER LIKE 20 FEET IN THE AIR!!!!!
Back in high school, I paid minimal attention to the cheerleaders...we had a typical group of high school cheerleaders...cute girls, but it wasn't a competetion style squad. I was really fairly ignorant of how much air these girls were catching until a little bit ago. It's not just the height though...there were several times when these girls where plumetting head first back down...talk about trust in your team mates...
As a father of two girls...I'm truely terrfied. Both of my girls are likely to be short and petite...the types of girls who would be selected to be tossed up in the air, ending up at the top of the pyramid.
I think, even with all the recent concussion talk, I'd rather have them running around on a football field instead of getting tossed up on that pyramid.
At least they would have a helmet on...
If you check, you may discover that cheerleaders suffer debilitating injuries at a rate equal to or exceeding football players. You have reason for concern.
ReplyDeleteKevin's right (and no I wasn't one, short yes, petite no), concussions, broken limbs, torn muscles & ligaments....if you watched the competition long enough you'll have seen at least a few girls wearing knee braces of various kinds, ankle braces would be hidden under the socks they usually wear, though not always.
ReplyDelete+1 to Kevin. I think that cheerleading is the most dangerous high school sport.
ReplyDeletethe most dangerous high school sport
ReplyDeleteBut the courts, in their infinite wisdom, have declared cheerleading Not A Sport. It's supposedly for their own good (ain't it always?)--this prevents cheerleading squads from being counted as female sports for Title 9 purposes, but it deprives them of basic protections that those in "real" sports take for granted. One more reason I won't let my girls participate.
Well, little bit of emotion out there about the safety of cheerleading...glad I wasn't alone in freaking out. The same size properties that could make them good cheerleaders would also let them be great lead-off slap hitters in fast-pitch softball, without the chance of death from falling off the pyramid...
ReplyDelete