Cheerleading Persuasive Research Paper

In 1898, during a football game at the University of Minnesota, a young medical student by the name of Johnny Campbell armed only with a microphone was able to incite his classmates into joining him into a rowdy chorus in an effort to energize their team while demoralizing the opposing team. He went on to create a small team of “yell leaders” that would yell, sing, and dance to show appreciation to their favorite team. This act is attributed as the beginning of modern cheerleading which is now a part of every professional team, university, and high school in the country. The historical role of cheerleaders is to provide direction to crowds during sporting events leading in cheers, chants, and yells that serve to provide motivation to the athletes

This would lead to an official classification nationwide at schools and universities, setting rules and regulations that would limit safety concerns, hopefully helping with many negative qualities associated with cheerleading. On the other hand NCAA classification would allow schools to lie stating that they have adequate sporting activities for women through cheerleading while neglecting other more beneficial programs. While I do believe that a NCAA classification would be better for cheerleading I think that not only should cheerleading not be recognized as a professional sport but it should be abolished completely from schools programs. I also believe that if I had a daughter while I would of course allow her to choose to participate in any activity that she wished, I would recommend that she did not become a cheerleader and instead pursued another sport which would help teach life lessons while avoiding the negative qualities with cheerleading. I’d rather her be the kind of person who leads from the field instead of watching others achieve from the

While cheerleading does have many physical aspects to its function the majority of its roles are dedicated to support of existing sports. The focus on cheerleading again is controlling crowds and building in excitement and spirit. For the most part there is no competition during cheerleading and very little training or expertise required to participate. The exception to this is cheer matches where cheerleading teams face off physical routines that involve dancing, aerobatics, and a good deal of talent to be able to complete. These matches are extremely physically demanding and are also incredibly dangerous to the performers that act in them. I fully consider competitive matches a sport in the gymnastics community but I believe that it should not be affiliated with the same people who do side line cheers. It also should be free from the sexualized focus that surrounds cheerleading allowing performers to wear costumes and uniforms that are focused more on the safety of the performers that the entertainment of the crowd. Competitive cheerleading deserves to be a standalone program that is not hidden in the shadow of a football