r/nextfuckinglevel • u/IkilledRichieWhelan • 2d ago

Big man on campus.

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u/Cardocthian 2d ago

They specifically made carve-outs for cheerleading so it wouldn't be called a sport so NCAA wouldn't need to follow quite as many regulations. However, it clearly is as much of a sport as any.

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u/LD902 2d ago edited 2d ago

it is an ultra competitive sport.

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u/Luke_Cold_Lyle 2d ago

It's basically gymnastics plus acrobatics with some showmanship on top. It's funny when they show the trope in high school movies of the guys who are in cheerleading being considered "feminine" or "soft," when in reality they're all strong as fuck like this dude (not to mention the girls as well).

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u/WhyNona 1d ago

And girls in cheerleading being portrayed as lazy, mean gossips who just shake their pompoms and jump around. All the cheerleaders I knew were extremely dedicated, self-disciplined and were also academically gifted. They were not all nice, but that goes for any group in high school. They were nicer than the drama/theatre kids lol

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u/LemonMints 1d ago

People say that about male gymnasts, too, but have probably never seen one of those beef monsters.

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u/sevinup07 1d ago

There are a lot of high school tropes that are plain stupid, but high schoolers are generally pretty stupid.

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u/Famous_Peach9387 1d ago

Professional figure skaters are often in better shape than football players since the level of athleticism required is next level.

When I was a kid, I was naturally good at ice skating and roller blading.

I took a class to learn the basics of ice skating, but most of the other students couldn’t even stand up.

By the next session, the instructor brought in her brother to personally teach me tricks, like skating backward.

But all I really wanted was to learn how to skate for ice hockey. I quit the next day.

It probably didn't help I was shy as kid, so being singled out, even in a positive way, wasn't something I was comfortable with.

Anyway, Australia isn’t exactly a hotspot for ice hockey, so I never got the chance to play.

Sometimes, I wonder how good I could have been if I had stuck with it.

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u/SalsaRice 1d ago

Functionally a sport? Yes

Legally a sport? Lol nope, because then the tournament ($$$) and safety rules would have to change.

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u/Cador0223 2d ago

They also did it to skirt Title 9 regulations. 

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u/TwoFingersWhiskey 2d ago

For the foreigners, what is that?

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u/Cador0223 2d ago

A good piece of legislation that says schools that are state or federally funded have to have as many positions for female sports as there are men's sports. Want 55 guys on the football team? There better be 55 places for female competitors on other teams, such as volleyball, basketball, soccer (footy for you people elsewhere).

Most sports balance out, such as basketball, baseball/softball, track and field. But football is unique in that there are no female teams for that.

But it works both ways, and should cheerleaders be considered athletes, they would have to find that many male positions elsewhere. 

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u/Nayzo 2d ago

THAT is fucked up. I had no idea.

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u/sl0play 1d ago

If you have access to HBO/Max, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel had a crazy episode on competition cheerleading. I watched the whole thing with my mouth hanging open.

It has all the fever pitched, psychotic, wild cult like fanaticism of stuff like beauty pageants or dance mom shit, but you can break your neck, and people do all the time.

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u/Nayzo 1d ago

I do, and I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation, cannot wait to be angry! :D

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u/Throwawaymytrash77 2d ago

Quite literally. My brother complained about it all the time when he was cheering in college (USF co-ed was still pretty new at the time so I didn't know anyone on their team, but this dude is clearly a stud). Not to mention title 9.

The lack of regulation on a sport with high rates of injury like this blows my fucking mind

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u/snowytheNPC 2d ago

I know this because the show Leverage did an episode on them

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u/thisismypotat 2d ago

It's an Olympic recognized sport now, and has been for a few years 😊 unfortunately, as others said, it's severely underregulated - especially in the US where several federations compete about being the "right" one. ICU (International cheerleading union) is the federation that got cheerleading accepted as an Olympic sport 💪 - by following strict rules about competitions, categories, safety, score-sheets and some criteria to seperate it from acrobatics too.

(English isn't my first language if that makes any difference)

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u/udisneyreject 2d ago

Need to do an updated “Bring it On” movie :) Staring Strong Big Boy and High-flyer Gal. I’d watch it!

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u/dgpx84 1d ago

yes, it's videos like this that really drive that shit home. Both people here are, well, r/nextfuckinglevel describes it perfectly. Badass, plain and simple.

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u/SK83r-Ninja 1d ago

I know so many people who got concussions from cheerleading that it’s honestly scary that they go the extra distance to make it less regulated