It’s not news to anyone that cheerleading has long been a part of amateur and professional sports. From its humble beginnings in the early 20th century, to its modern competitive nature, cheerleading has seemingly gone hand in hand with sporting events. In my opinion, there seems to be nothing wrong with that, but one has to wonder: does cheerleading do anything?
Unfortunately, it seems quite obvious that cheerleading adds nothing to sporting events, save for some eye candy for men (and sometimes for women). That being said, I understand its original purpose, and I support the idea behind it, but it’s essentially useless these days. Let’s look at the National Football League and its use of cheerleaders. The original purpose of these cheerleading squads was to give some form of moral support to the players, while simultaneously getting the audience involved (or More Involved) with the game. There seems to be nothing wrong with that – save for the fact the women are scantily clad, but that’s it. I have no real qualms with the original ideology behind cheerleading, but has it really helped any team? Are there stats that show NFL teams with cheerleading squads perform better? No. There aren’t. Why? Because they don’t add anything. No NFL team heard the cheerleading squad cheer “D-Fense! D-Fense!” and thought “Hey. They’re right. We need to play Defense to win!” That’s not how it works. The players get motivated by their coaches, their team-mates, their fans, and their love for the sport. Women shaking pom-poms (pom-pons) unfortunately doesn’t motivate the players in any way. I know that seems harsh, but it’s the truth. I also find it somewhat degrading to the women on the cheerleading squads. How does the hiring process go for that?
“Well Miss X, you’ll be dancing around during the game, but nobody will be watching you, as they’ll be watching the game...since that’s what they paid for; however, some of the men may look at you when there’s a break in the game, but that’s primarily because you’re pretty, and because you’re not wearing a lot of clothes. Is that ok?”
Maybe I’m being too cynical, but truthfully, I can’t find a real purpose for cheerleading at sporting event these days. The fans come to watch the game and players, and are excited from the game and the players – not from the cheerleaders.
However, it should be noted that there are some cheerleaders and cheerleading squads that I DO have respect for. If you’re wondering whom I’m referring to, it’s the cheerleading squads that compete on a competitive level. These squads actually consist of very athletic individuals that train and compete in competitions across North America (and I assume in other parts of the world). That being said, I wouldn’t want these cheerleading squads replacing the NLF squads, as I can only speculate that they would distract fans from the game, as they actually have something to showcase.
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