Cheerleading: Its Vital Role in Igniting the Passion When the Game Gets Tough
Cheerleading looked a lot different when it was first invented than it does today. In the 1880s, a group of men started an all-male pep club at Princeton University to cheer on the school’s football team during its early days. One of these men, Thomas Peebles, would then move north to become the first football coach at the University of Minnesota, and while he would only spend a single season coaching the team, he spent the year introducing male students in Minnesota to the idea of implementing a cheer team. It would eventually help him earn the title “The Father of American Cheerleading.”
Initially, the cheer teams at schools like the University of Minnesota consisted of nothing but men. By the 1920s, though, women started joining these teams in droves, and by the 1940s, women began to dominate cheerleading since so many young American men were recruited to participate in World War II. It wouldn’t be long before most high schools across the country would begin adding cheerleading as an option for students. That would later lead to the formation of competitive cheerleading teams without any official ties to educational institutions.
Today, there are more than 3 million American cheerleaders of all ages, and they continue to play a key role in getting fans fired up during football games, basketball games, and other athletic competitions. Here are several reasons why cheerleaders are so important within the sports world.
Help Players Get Amped Up for Games From the Start
In certain instances, athletes won’t need any assistance when it’s time to start getting amped up before a big game. If, for example, a team is playing against a rival, they’ll usually be ready to go from the second a game starts. But in some cases, it won’t be that easy. Even professional athletes will sometimes struggle to get things going at the beginning of games for one reason or another.
This is where cheerleaders can step in and help. They’ll often start cheering as soon as players are introduced for a game, and this will make it possible for athletes to get their adrenaline going. They’ll see every member of their team’s cheerleading squad wearing a cheerleader uniform and making noise, and they’ll know it’s time to get locked in on the game ahead.
Create Distracted Environments for Opposing Players
Most cheerleading squads will focus on cheering for their teams as opposed to cheering against other teams. But at the same time, the simple fact that they’re making so much noise for one team will help create a distracted environment for the other team. It’ll get fans of this team excited and cause them to be so much louder than they would otherwise, thus providing the perfect atmosphere for their team to gain an edge over an opponent.
Cheerleaders will also continue to let fans of the teams they’re cheering for know when they should cheer throughout a game. Not everyone who attends a sporting event knows the right times to cheer, but with a little help from cheerleaders, they’re able to follow along with what’s happening and show their full support to their team.
Motivate Players to Keep Going During Rough Stretches
People often refer to a sport like basketball as a “game of runs.” One team will go on a run that sees them score 10 straight points, and then an opposing team will bounce back by going on a 17–7 run of their own. Cheerleaders will obviously help cheer on their teams when things are going well for them, but they’ll also step up their efforts when they witness their teams on the wrong side of runs.
When a team is having a hard time stopping an opposing team from scoring, cheerleaders will go into overdrive in an attempt to get them to turn things around. By doing this, they’re sometimes able to help bring runs to an end. If nothing else, they can keep a crowd actively involved when a game takes a turn for the worse. They can ensure fans stay interested in a game so that they’re able to keep on sending positive vibes in the direction of the players they’re cheering for.
Keep Everyone Entertained During Breaks in the Action
These days, cheerleaders do so much more than just cheer for teams during games. They also put together choreographed routines, sometimes based on viral dance trends, and perform them during timeouts and other breaks during games. This is where cheerleaders are truly able to shine and show that they’re every bit as athletic as the players they cheer for, as well as make things fun for the audience. Some cheerleading teams will even look to defy the laws of physics by pulling off dangerous stunts to wow audiences.
This is just one more way in which cheerleaders play a major role in the outcome of sporting events. Without them, many games and other athletic competitions wouldn’t be half as exciting as they are, especially when the teams they’re cheering for aren’t putting forth their best performances.
