Arena Cheerleaders in sport

I don't know how you feel about this, but I've been growing quite weary about it over the years (I'm pretty sure I've posted about this before). Chants/cheers/etc, ought to grow organically from the crowd- of course this can never be 100% possible in this day and age, with all the nonsense often posted on jumbotrons, but still-, rather than led on by cheer squads. When I've watched the EPL, World Cup, baseball, hockey, the lack of cheerleaders didn't at all inhibit the experience of those sports. The NFL & NBA are much entwined with this sort of thing; too much focus is heaped upon this aspect in those sports a lot of the time- the game itself ought the sole focus.


Of course, there are other issues too. It's unsettling that women (as most-but not all, of course-cheerleaders are women) are "needed" to perform routines in skimpy attire in a large public setting for entertainment. http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/76061588/nfl-cheerleaders-exploitation-lawsuits-for-working-rights-minimum-wage#!ZvOds]Patrick[/url] Hruby has an excellent article about this.


At least, that's the way I feel about it.

 

To be fair, ice girls sort of fill the same role in hockey that cheerleaders do in the NFL.


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Cheerleaders wear Skimpy outfits. Football players get knocked down. Its the american way.

 

For those of you who may not know , Russell Crowe owns part of a rugby league team in Sydney called the South Sydney Rabbitohs. When he took charge, Rusty sacked the traditional all-female skimpy costume 'cheerleader' squad and replaced them with a male and female drum squad. Not sure if this will have much take up elsewhere but there have been mixed reactions to this move. The rationale is that scantily-clad cheerleaders bumping and grinding on the field to the inevitable calls.whistles and cries of "show us your ****" is not family friendly and rugby league is a family game. Isn't cheerleading like a serious sport in the US?

 

Cheerleading is neither serious nor a sport.

At least, it shouldn't be.

 

Tune-Up, in regards to the Premier League, google 'hammerettes'.

And they are rightfully ridiculed.

 

Cheerleading is not only sexist as ****, it's also ridiculous. Same with guys dressed as mascots. Ridiculous.

 

Cheerleaders are integral to sporting. Same as expensive, awful food; blaring one-hit wonders from 30 years ago over the PA; brain damage; and obscenely rich kleptocrat owners.

 

If girls want to cheer, so be it for me to say no.

 

Tangential to the thread subject, cheerleaders do more than cheer at games. When I was deployed overseas, I saw a few USO sponsored shows put on by pro cheerleaders who volunteered to fly out to unpleasant places and entertain the troops. The Arizona Cardinals were especially good. I can tell you from personal experience that their willingness to let us know we were remembered and cared for made for a nice boost in morale.

 

Nobody should aspire to be a cheerleader, it's demeaning. Cheerleading performances tend to lack much artistry. Musically it's terrible (usually bland phrases split into disjointed mathematical sequences shouted slightly out of time with a tasteless choice of power-pop, in my experience), the dancing is rotten, the gymnastic/balancing set pieces can be quite interesting (but usually slow and awkward to assemble), but it's all just a tasteless gimmick and a rotten idea.

You crazy Americans and your 1950s high school jock mating rituals.

 

Fnar fnar chortle guffaw etc.

 

But what if it had been strippers instead. Better, no?


Regarding cheerleaders, isn't there a big scandal at the minutes because they are so exploited? I'm assuming it's been blown out of proportion as they probably earn a lot from personal appearances?

 

Whenever I'm flipping through the TV channels and see ESPN airing some cheerleading competition, I feel as much as the creeper many of you take me for just watching a teeny tiny bit of it.

 

Indeed... the ridicule is much deserved.

 

Well they do tumble a lot as cheerleaders so loose long clothing can actually be dangerous in that manner. Of course all the girls in the NFL get wickedly exploited and underpaid. I know a girl that did it for a local ABA team. It was about the moral boost and credentials you got on your resume. Its a positive thing because Cheerleaders have tryouts so you have to be good to get the gig. You have to be motivated and athletic and driven. It takes a certain person to go after the dream and they are rewarded for it. No different then a pro bowler or a pro football player.

 

I know I often mistake pro bowlers for cheerleaders.

 

For College Football and College Hoops they are perfect. Oregon always has really hot Cheerleaders.
Pro Sports who cares.

 

The exploitation is mostly about the amount of money they get paid. But in talking about it, some have come out complaining about certain rules and restrictions required from the team owners.

That's because they're high school cheerleaders. It was okay when you were fifteen and watching it. Not so much at thirty five, forty five and fifty five. Unless you have a daughter or son competing and focus on that.

 

From the comments above, it all seems to be about the outfits, singing, timing. I feel that the skill and bravery that these people exhibit in holding an entire human being aloft on one cupped hand, or being the one being held up as part of the pyramid.

I do get concerned when I see BS safety practices, like a single cheerleader standing in front of a large paper banner being held up, that the entire football team, in armour and cleats are about to come charging through. I don't know how the choreographer, participants, anybody attending the football game could not see that it wasn't going to end well.

 

It's nice to know that our military members needs a horribly misogynist and objectifying display in order to feel they are remembered.

 

You weren't there, and your assumption that it was misogynistic and objectifying is incorrect.

 

It's literally there to give men erections what is wrong with you.

 

as an avid sports fan and a feminist, i really don't care about this issue one bit.

 

Its called entertainment. Not what you say it is Vivec. What a wonderful way of saying you support the troops. Wow, that's the kind of comment I might have made if I didn't understand the mission of the USO. To give support to our troops whether its by a comedian or a bunch of cheerleaders making the men happy and giving them a chance to remember the loved ones they can't be with. Make no bones, Cheerleaders provide that boost of morale that the military needs. I don't wear a uniform but I won't insult the military that way. Never mess with a man's family. Especially a military one. And that is what you are doing.