Cheerleading: Is it a sport? Basketball players are known for their height. Football players for their strength. Lacrosse players for their speed and agility. Baseball and softball players for their coordination. Cheerleaders,they aren’t known for doing much. They are known for being on the sidelines and showing off their bodies. That’s it. We’re not here to show you high school cheerleading. We’re here to show you the young women and men putting all of their free-time into a stuffy old gym. Trusting each other with their lives and defying gravity. We’re not here to show you the average athlete. We’re here to show you the all-stars. The definition of a sport is an “activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment” (Sport). So is it not considered a sport if a ball is not involved? Cheerleading is the second most dangerous sport under horseback riding (The Top Tens). We suffer more injuries and more concussions than any other sport. People or some may look at us like we’re nothing. It’s hard to throw a touchdown pass but try throwing and catching a body before it crashes. What makes it even more dangerous is that we don’t have face masks. Put yourself in our position and see how long you can last. Cheerleaders are known by stereotypes. Stereotypes are made from people who have not stepped foot onto the blue mat. No, we don’t starve ourselves to stay skinny. Believe it or not we actually eat