Is this a Southern thing?

[Anonymous]

Whether we do or do not like hair bows and make-up on preschoolers, elite cheer squads are very much sport. Watch the national finals sometime on ESPN and then tell us that having the power, balance and musculature to flip 4 times in the air is not athletic.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in Atlanta but had parents from NYC and Chicago. In high school and college, my mom played Field Hockey, dad rowed crew, and my uncle was an All-American Lacrosse player at Hopkins so, even though no one down there played those sports, I knew what they were. I live in Washington now but all my Atlanta friends tell me they have LAX now and its the "hot" sport for kids in the South. I do think, however, that LAX is more of an upper socio-economic fad down there.

Football and cheerleading is huge down there. Even most of the private schools have it and its a big deal. Growing up in Atlanta, no one I knew did pageants, that's more small town South. Football and cheerleading also get bigger the further out of the big cities you get. Honestly, I think intellect is less well-regarded in the old south and so physical prowess for boys and feminity and beauty for girls took precedent. I do think that is changing as more inhabitants of the south are from all over and old southern values are disapearing. That is good in many respects but Southerns do tend to be friendlier and more well-mannered than the rest of the country. I hope that stays the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree that the cheerleading/pageant/dance, Jon Benet-esque stuff is more of a way of life in the South. Ick. I think it's gross...it's all looks-based...putting makeup on 5 year olds...so sick. Sure, the cheerleading folks say it's a sport -- yeah, b/c one or two of them die when their bow heads go thud on the concrete every year. But it's such a sexist thing and so much of it is looking and acting the part.

But it's also very much a class thing -- for many moms, the only avenues for success they see for their daughters is trading on their looks since they themselves probably never had no use for no book learnin' and the way to land Buddy, the football hero is by lookin' purty.

Could you be MORE ignorant? First, cheerleading, pageants, and dance are 3 VERY different things. I know nothing about pageants and never knew anyone that participated in them, so I won't be as idiotic as you to pass judgement on a topic I have no experience with. I was however very active in cheerleading for many years. In high school and college we had males on our team (not really sexist!) and were very competitive. The males on my high school squad also wrestled, played soccer, and basketball. I also played soccer and softball, but I can tell you that I got much more of a "workout" with cheerleading practice than the other 2 combined. Gymnastics has an element of performance, so is that not a real sport either? I danced when I was younger and again it was not to look "purty". I went to a very prestigous dance school - no canned recitals at the end of the year, just serious instruction.

Oh and I was also an IB graduate in high school, but my high school sweetheart was a football player - cause you know that was the only thing I could do I guess was "look purty". But, then again, I guess my multiple degrees in engineering must be because I had no use for no book learnin'.

Seriously, you might think these activities are a class thing, but you just showed how much you lack class. I'm sorry your DC have such an ignorant and judgemental parent.

[Anonymous]

pp here - I meant to add that I was not the anomoly in my school and I grew up in the "south". Not a small town grant you, but south nontheless.

[Anonymous]

Funny...I just heard from my college roommate (lives in south Mississippi--a definite 'bowhead') and she mentioned how busy she is driving ('carrying') her 6 year old daughter to and from peewee Cheerleading. I thought -Huh?-but after reading these posts, I guess I understand. I suppose the interest is there because my roommate's husband is a high school football coach.

[Anonymous]

I fully to subscribe to the its not a sport of you have to wear sequins and eyeshadow to compete.

[Anonymous]

So Olympic ice skating isn't a sport either, right?

[Anonymous]

And gymnastics, come to think of it. The men and girls who train in a gym with weights and practice up to 7 hours a day are not competing in a sport, because the girls' eyeshadow torpedoes that definition. Or wait -- is mens' gymnastics a sport because they don't wear sequins? I'm confused

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So Olympic ice skating isn't a sport either, right?

Don't knock skating. It's very athletic, in addition to be aesthetically graceful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So Olympic ice skating isn't a sport either, right?

Don't knock skating. It's very athletic, in addition to be aesthetically graceful.

Right. She was responding to the previous poster who said cheerleading wasn't a sport because they wear sequince (?sp) and eye shadow.

I think if anything cheerleading is much more of a sport in the South than it is around here.
A lot of the teams are coed and their routines involve some serious acrobatics.
AT my high school in metro D.C., the cheerleaders just jumped around and waved pom-poms. Nothing athletic.
It was just a thing for popular girls to do and a way to date a football player.

[Anonymous]

hi -- ignorant and judgemental here. I actually don't think gymnastics and ice skating are "Sports." It doesn't mean they aren't aerobic activities -- they are. I think any event that is subjectively judged is not a pure sport. Look at the crock judging in women's gymnastics where the chinese (underaged) gymnast fell to her knees on the vault and still got on the medal stand. Look at the vote trading that went on in ice skating. It is performance. It is art. But it isn't a "sport." And the idea that a medal should be awarded based on who looks prettier (ie liukin's nice lines etc) or is from the right country...it isn't a sport. Any "sport" where makeup and pretty dresses are involved. Guess what? Not a sport. Any sport where you have to put vaseline on your front teeth to keep smiling like some sort of half-wit? Not a sport!

[Anonymous]

sport 1 a: a source of diversion : recreation b: sexual play c (1): physical activity engaged in for pleasure (2): a particular activity (as an athletic game) so engaged in

fairly broad definition.

Is baseball not a sport because the umpire makes a subjective decision/call on every single play, occasionally resulting in the awarding of points? Are 100% of MLB umpires ethical, fair and perfect? How about NLF refs, who also make a subjective call on every single play, with their subjective calls sometimes determining the final outcome of the game? NBA refs? Do they ever 'not see' a foul? Wait, wait -- boxing refs. They're never unethical, especially not in Vegas.

Just admit it -- you don't like eye shadow and sequins.

[Anonymous]

I was never a cheerleader (actually was the girl in black smoking pot behind the bleachers at games).

My good friend was a competitive cheerleader who went to college on a full cheer scolarship, then graduated and became a HS teacher and the cheerleading coach.

If cheerleading is not a sport, I don't know what is. My GF has a rock-hard tight body after having 3 children back to back. The shape her body is in after a lifetime of cheerleading is nothing short of incredible. That's all I need to witness to know that cheerleading is a very intense sport.

The only reason I would not put my daughter in cheer is because I don't like all of the gymnastics required (gymnastics is the backbone of cheerleading). This can really screw your body up and I think those girls bodies take too much bruising at a young age.

However, after watching the Olympics, I think vollyball is the way to go. Did you see how those women looked? AMAZING. Not to big just perfect.

[Anonymous]

This whole thread is so freaking obnoxious. I saw the title and clicked and was expecting such topics as:

- People in the South are friendly. They always wave.
- People in the South seem to truly care about my family. They stop and ask about my kids.
- People in the South have a more laid back lifestyle than in the Northeast.
- People in the South seem to be more interested in life than work.
- People in the South are less focused on how much money they make and more on the quality of their friendships.

I have seen as many pageants in other parts of the country as I have in the South. Jon Benet, for your information, was from COLORADO, which is NOT in the South. There is a REASON why so many people are moving to the South. Good quality of life, less stressful lifestyle, friendlier neighborhoods, friendly people, better weather.

You don't have to join cheerleading if you are a girl in the South and you don't have to join football if you are a boy.

Sounds like OP should move back to DC if you don't like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread is so freaking obnoxious. I saw the title and clicked and was expecting such topics as:

- People in the South are friendly. They always wave.
- People in the South seem to truly care about my family. They stop and ask about my kids.
- People in the South have a more laid back lifestyle than in the Northeast.
- People in the South seem to be more interested in life than work.
- People in the South are less focused on how much money they make and more on the quality of their friendships.

I have seen as many pageants in other parts of the country as I have in the South. Jon Benet, for your information, was from COLORADO, which is NOT in the South. There is a REASON why so many people are moving to the South. Good quality of life, less stressful lifestyle, friendlier neighborhoods, friendly people, better weather.

You don't have to join cheerleading if you are a girl in the South and you don't have to join football if you are a boy.

Sounds like OP should move back to DC if you don't like it.

HAHA so much for people from DC being smart. The don't know the difference between Colorado and Alabama.