Final Research Essay

Final Research Essay
Argumentative Essay: Cheerleading As a Sport

There have been many arguments on whether or not cheerleading should be considered as a sport. Many who are unaware of the world of competitive cheerleading believe that the sport doesn’t involve the physical and mental hardships that other sports do. Cheerleaders sustain injuries that many other athletes will never experience, let alone hear of. For those who think cheerleading is based upon appearance and peppiness, the truth is that this sport is about strength, skill, and bravery. In my opinion, cheerleading is a sport. When you are stretching yourself past your limits, lifting people the same size as you, and flipping your body in multiple directions, anyone who argues about cheerleading as a sport should try the abovementioned things first and then try to argue their position.

Many people wonder how an activity differs from a sport. The meaning of a sport refers to an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature. When most people think about athletes and competitive sports, there is usually a lot of sweat, body contact and maybe some dirt and blood. By those standards, cheerleading is just like any other sport. Cheerleaders perform for short bursts at a time, giving their performance all they have, to do the best job possible. Cheerleaders sweat, but it is often masked by their quick movements, makeup, and lack of coverage when they are off stage. Whereas football players are often seen resting on sidelines with sweat dripping off of them. Cheerleaders have an ample amount of body contact, but for them it is part of the event-a requirement and a test of physical ability in many ways similar to boxing. From personal experience, there is blood and dirt, with scrapes, falls and broken bones. All in all, cheerleading may not be the messiest sport, but just because they look nice and perform in unison does not mean they are not some of the strongest and most talented athletes around-and well deserving of recognition of their craft as a legitimate sport. Forget the American stereotype of blonde, ditzy cheerleaders in tight sweaters pining for the muscled quarterback. The world of cheer no longer means sideline squads that exist solely to support other teams. They are teams in their own right these days, not so different from the football and basketball teams for which they traditionally cheer for. College and high school cheerleaders compete for state and national championships, while risking terrible injury. Cheerleaders get recruited for college scholarships, and in some cases they put in more practice hours than certain football teams. Although there have been very many arguments on whether cheerleading is a sport, it is now set in stone that this activity is in fact a sport. Shout this into the nearest megaphone: cheerleading, that uniquely American exemplar of earnest enthusiasm is now an industry!

The history of cheerleading offers some surprising truths about the sport. Today, cheerleading is a big part of nearly every high school and college sporting event around the country, and athletic squads vie for trophies and large prizes at cheer competitions each year. However, the history of cheerleading shows that the start of this sport is a far cry from the short skirts and athletic leaps seen today. Women started to become involved in cheerleading during World War II. At that time, cheering was limited to leading cheers for the crowd and doing a few simple dance steps with pom poms. Back then, the girls wore ankle-length skirts and varsity sweaters. The cheerleaders were normally the most popular girls in school because they were voted onto the quad, rather than having to try out. Cheerleading developed at a slow pace throughout the next several decades. Some significant changes from the past were the introduction of a few basic jump moves and the expansion of cheering to support other sports. However, a 1972 rule was passed and opened up competitive sports for female athletes; as a result, cheerleaders engaged in more athletic moves. Cheerleading uniforms also changed to suit this role. Baggy sweaters and skirts were replaced by more aerodynamic outfits that allowed the girls to flip through the air. “As the men left to fight in the war, more and more women emerged in the cheering arena. They added their own touches to the sport, introducing dance moves and routines that included gymnastic feats. When the men returned at the end of the war, they found that the popularity of women in cheerleading was irreversible. Cheerleading schools and workshops opened, and the interest in the sport grew exponentially.” (Cheerleading Tips). The development of the sport was rather quick. By a matter of time the very first stunts, tosses, pyramids and tumbling skills were introduced, allowing this once seen activity to evolve into a strong and skillful sport. By 1997, fifteen states recognized cheerleading as a sport. The sport drew widespread attention as stunts became more and more complicated. The final stamp of approval for the sport came in 1999, when ESPN declared that cheerleading was indeed a sport.

When considering the amount of injuries average cheerleaders sustain those who believe cheerleading is not a sport would most likely think the greatest level of injury consists of a sprained ankle. From personal experience, I beg to differ. At the age of fourteen, I suffered from a herniated disk in my back as a result of tumbling, jumping and stunting on a day to day basis. This injury did require surgery and months of physical therapy, along with me being told by multiple doctors that I would never cheer again. After being out of commission for more than 6 months, I returned to the sport I loved, discovering that my passion overruled my pain. Although I continued cheering for the next three years, my once had injury continued to stress a great amount of physical struggle upon my body. Even though my cheer career has ended, I am still brought to face everyday challenges along with a lifetime of back problems from this single injury. Those who think a majority of cheerleaders only sustain minor injuries are wrong. Many may not see such injuries because of the certain façade cheerleaders maintain. For fear of losing their spot on the mat or letting down their teammates, most cheerleaders will portray a brave front, masking a real feeling of throbbing and agonizing pain. “In a study published in the January issue of the journal Pediatrics, the authors conclude the number of emergency room visits for cheerleaders between the ages of 5 and 18 increased 110 percent from 1990 to 2002.” (Cabot). Although some would disagree, I believe that the argument of cheerleading as a sport can be defended solely on the amount of injuries resulting from this vigorous sport.

To me, cheerleading is definitely a sport. The passion cheerleaders have for the sport can overpower the many mental and physical hardships that cheerleaders face. Along with that, I believe that the amount of bravery and fearlessness cheerleaders have surpasses that of other athletes. Cheerleaders train for three hours a day, six days a week, for over half of a year. In the end, the routine may only be less than five minutes, but the passion cheerleaders have for this sport lasts a lifetime.

Survey

Survey Assignment: Cheerleading As A Sport

At first I thought that this survey assignment would be hard because I felt like know one would care enough to answer any of my questions. However, once I posted the link on facebook, asking people to take the survey, I realized that more people did it than I had even asked for! I thought that the results of my survey were very interesting because I didn't expect too many people to agree with the way I feel about cheerleading or even know anything about the sport whatsoever. I was also surprised to find that a majority of the people who were surveyed said that cheerleading was more difficult than the other sports that had been listed. I didn't really find anything disappointing about my survey, except for the fact that some people didn't answer the questions to their full potential, unlike others. If I could change my survey now, I would probably include a few more difficult questions, like some that a lot of people don't understand about cheerleading. Other than that, I think my survey and the results came out very well!!

Interview

Interview with Lindsay Nelson about cheerleading as a sport:

I conducted this interview with Lindsay Nelson by using Skype and WebcamMax, along with taking snapshots during the interview.

Lindsay Nelson: cheerleader for 11 years, coach for 1 year.

Lindsay's Room (the background in which the interview took place).

Lindsay's varsity jacket, along with the metals she has one from cheerleading competitions.

Some of Lindsay's patches from winning regional competitions and being a state qualifier.

Newspaper article about the team Lindsay cheered for.

The Allen Park Competitive Cheer Team from Lindsay's senior year of high school.

The Allen Park Middle School Competitve Cheer Team that Lindsay coaches.

Lindsay's art project that showcases many pictures and articles from her high school cheerleading career.

Profile Paper

I have known Lindsay Nelson since I was 7 years old, when we both started cheering together. I chose to interview Lindsay because I know from personal experience that she is very passionate about this sport. Lindsay is very familiar with cheerleading, along with knowing a lot about the controversy of cheerleading as a sport. Our interview was conducted through live video chat via Skype and WebcamMax, along with taking snapshots during the interview. The setting of the interview took place in both of our bedrooms. Also, Lindsay’s setting included many pictures of cheerleading, along with an ample amount of cheer memorabilia. Besides what was recorded, our interview was also filled with many stimulating and outrageous stories about her cheerleading career.

Lindsay Nelson was born in Michigan and lived in Riverview until she was 5 years old. After the age of 5, Lindsay and her family moved to Allen Park. She comes from a very sport oriented family, which has always pushed her to achieve her long term athletic goals. “My dad has always taught me and my sister to find the sport that we loved.” Lindsay took that advice from her father and found a sport in which she was truly passionate about; cheerleading. Besides doing 7 years of little league cheerleading, Lindsay also cheered in middle school and high school for both sideline and competitive cheerleading. When I asked her which was more difficult, sideline or competitive, she stated that competitive was definitely more difficult. “It’s a lot more practicing and a lot more work, and we compete every weekend.” Lindsay said that she considers competitive cheer as the “sport version” of cheerleading. She is very familiar with the subject and knows almost everything there is to know about cheerleading in general. Lindsay has 4 years of varsity competitive cheer experience, along with 1 year of coaching experience. “I’m extremely familiar with cheerleading in general because I have been a cheerleader for 11 years.” Lindsay made it apparent that cheerleaders sustain many injuries by participating in this sport. “I’ve had many injuries. I’ve had turf toe for a long time, which is where the joints of your toes are jammed into your foot. I had to get wrist surgery because I had a ganglion cist which prevented the motion of my hand from moving. I had shin splints which still bother me. Also, my ankle makes a really loud popping noise because my tendons are loose in it.” After she told me about her many injuries, she let me listen to the sound of her popping ankle, which I found to be very disturbing yet revealing of how cheerleading injuries can be permanent. She told me that there is a lot of wear and tear through cheerleading, like bruises and falls. However, she also said that since she graduated and stopped cheering, her previous cheer injuries have gotten worse. For instance, her joints pop, her knees are sore, she has a pinched nerve in her back, and the tendons in her neck are causing strain on her head and on the back of her neck. While listening to her plethora of injuries, I also felt pain in some of the areas she was mentioning. After our in depth discussion of injuries, we then talked about how cheerleading is set apart from other sports. “I would say this sport is different because there is no defense. In most sports you have the option of fitting back, but in this sport it is strictly scores. You’re on the mat with just your team, so there’s no way to defend yourself. It’s all offense.” She then talked about how the sport can be somewhat subjective because it is completely team oriented and relies mainly on teamwork and support. When I asked her about the difficulty of cheerleading, she said she believes cheerleading can certainly be more complicated than some other sports. “Gymnastics and stunting are really hard on our bodies and it takes a lot of practice to get really good at these skills.” She stated that cheerleading is complex because the teams are judged on perfection and of course no team is perfect. Next I asked about her initial reaction to people who say cheerleading isn’t a sport. “I get very angry when people tell me that cheerleading isn’t a sport because we compete for scores, places, and state titles just like any other sport does. We work out just as much, if not more. Also, we’re building muscle and learning physical skills, just as any other athlete does.” After this discussion, we conversed about the change in personal views of cheerleading as a sport over the last few years. “Since competitive cheerleading has become an MHSAA sport, which is the high school league in Michigan, everything has gotten a lot more difficult and the sport has been building and building every year, allowing it to be more recognized.” The last part of the interview questions was how cheerleading had overall impacted Lindsay’s life. “I have spent so many days and hours practicing. And now that I’m a coach, I see it from the opposite end of things, and I love coaching just as much as I love cheerleading. It’s just a passion of mine that I will carry with me throughout my whole life. It has taught me a lot of things like discipline and teamwork, also how to set your mind to something and work hard at it to reach your goals.” After the interview questions, Lindsay went on to show me some things she had received from cheerleading such as, her varsity jacket, her competition medals, her state, regional, and league patches, team pictures, newspaper articles, and school projects.

After interviewing Lindsay and listening to her experiences and her perspective on cheerleading, I feel that I have an overall better outlook on cheerleading. Also, I believe that if people heard how cheerleading has impacted certain cheerleader’s lives, they would better understand the strength, skill, and heart that this sport offers.

Reading Response #2

"Yes/No/Okay, But"

Exercise #1:

I believe that Jean Anyon shows a mixture of both agreeing and disagreeing with those she summarizes.

Examples of agree/disagree-
1) "...have argued that knowledge and skills leading to social power and regard are made available to the advantaged social groups but are withheld from the working classes, to whom a more 'practical' curriculum is offered."

2) "While there has been considerable argumentation..."

3) "...there has been little or no attempt to investigate these ideas empirically in elementary and secondary schools and classrooms in this country."

4) "...by providing illustrative examples of differences in student work in classrooms in contrasting social-class communities..."

In my opinion, I think Jean Anyon both agrees and disagrees with the articles she summarizes. However, it is difficult to identify her position based on the minute amount of information given. I believe she has a combined standpoint with the articles because she states the positive and negative points of each article. She sounds like she is agreeing with the article when she says "while there has been considerable argumentation of these points regarding education." However, she shows a disagreeing stand point when she says "there has been little or no attempt to investigate these ideas..." Altogether, I believe Jean Anyon displays a combination of disagreeing and agreeing with the articles she summarizes.

Exercise #2:

In David Zinczenko's "Don't Blame the Eater," Zinczenko gives a solid explanation about his opinion on child obesity by expressing his personal experiences and overall view points on the subject. "They've crossed under the golden arches to a likely fate of lifetime obesity and the problem isn't just theirs-it's all of ours." I agree with this idea because I do believe that it is impossible to blame just one person for a child's obesity problem. In order to be able to defeat the issue of obesity, it is important that people accept the fact that this issue is no one person's problem. "Complicating the lack of alternatives is the lack of infomation about what, exactly, we're consuming." I agree with this statement also because there definitely is a lack of information given to those who decide to eat fast food. "Advertisements don't carry warning labels the way tobacco ads do." In refrence to the last quotation, my opinion on this one is likewise. Although it is their decision to consume these potentially harmful food products, they are also left with the mystery of what those products may contain. "Without such warnings, we'll see more sick, obese children and more angry, litigious, parents." Zinczenko is surely right about what will be seen in the future because the ratings of obesity will sky-rocket within the next few years if the industry and the government, together do not inform the population of the harmful affects of fast food in the long run. Altogether I do agree with Zinczenko's ideas and arguments, and I believe that his effort to express his overall viewpoints are very informative and true.

Reading Response #1

"They Say"

Exercise 1:

A) Many scientists' experiments suggest that there are dangerous levels of Chemical X in the Ohio groundwater.

B) Some critics would say that this novel has certain flaws.

C) Women are more likely to think football is boring, rather than men.

D) Most teachers and students believe that male students often dominate class discussions.

E) Many film critics have said that this film is really about the problems of romantic relationships.

F) Certain people may think that templates like the ones in this book will stifle their creativity.

Exercise 2:

If ever there was an idea custom-made for a Jay Leno monologue, this was it: dressing up your dog. Isn't that like putting a collar on your baby? Whatever happened to animal rights?
I happen to sympathize with pet owners, though, perhaps because although I would rather not see my dog dressed up in ridiculous ensembles, it is quite amusing to see them dressed up as a pumpkin or a bunny.

Screenshot

SCREENSHOT ASSIGNMENT:
This composition inparticular was especially difficult in terms of vocabulary, format, and overall construction. When this assignment was brought to my attention, I realized that the required format for the paper was one that I had never been taught in highschool. When I saw my composition as a screenshot, I thought it was very interesting that I can view and save some of my most difficult assignments just by the press of a button. Now I realize that as I view multiple internet pages, I can save them as a screenshot if I'm in a hurry, allowing me to take a look back at what I had previously been doing, had I forgotten. To me, composing changes shape in digital spaces because it allows us to see what was written, and at what point in time it was written. Digital spaces bring somewhat of an interesting point by allowing the reader to predict what was on the writer's mind at that particular moment. By picking out details from a specific work, we can better understand digital composing. By looking at different details from a specific work, we can better understand digital composing. By looking at different details in a composition, one can determine the author's writing style, tone, and overall main message that is being written about. Overall, I believe that pictures can make the composition easier to understand to fellow readers. With the addition of pictures, it is more likely that the reader will better understand the concept of the work. In my opinion, screenshots can be very useful and informational in times of stress or struggle.