Cheerleader Love

Tonight I got the privilege to attend the Lower State cheerleading competition to cheer for the Johnsonville competition squad do what they do best. Let me tell you, I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect. I had not seen them in action, but from the moment they took the floor they represented Florence School District 5 proud.

Many people who last turned in their uniform and pom poms over 18 years ago might would say, “I WAS a cheerleader,” and from time to time I may say that too, but that is a false statement. True cheerleaders never stop being cheerleaders. True cheerleaders are born, not created by attaining a certain number of points at a tryout.

True cheerleaders do just what the word suggests. They lead with cheer, not the screaming kind with bopping bowheads in short skirts, but cheer as in the true meaning of the word, happiness. They are the ones who get on your nerves because they always see the goodness in people and situations; they spend endless energy cheering on others accomplishments and lifting them up when the game doesn’t go their way; day-in-and-day-out what they do is the definition of selfless. All this being said, despite the giving spirit, despite being pretty girls on the sidelines of the “main” event, they are without a doubt ATHLETES.

These ladies work their tails off. Just let me tell you; they try out in the spring before school gets out; work throughout the summer in camps and raising money for needed equipment. I don’t know what they do now, but when I cheered, the week after tryouts, we started lifting weights in the weight room multiple times a week. They jump and yell and practice every day. The lift other people over their heads; throw them in the air; fly to the rafters, flip, scream.

They practice till their legs cramp up at night and their arms hurt; yell until they have no voice; get busted blood vessels and bruises all over their body; then hurl those same bodies under their teammates to protect them from falling to the floor. They break arms and legs and ankles and necks, while sadly some have died participating in the sport they love. And all of this they do with a smile, perfect make-up, curled hair, a short-skirt, yet break a sweat.

These ladies do all of this, just like any other sport, while at the same time cheering on the other athletes at school. These girls, who are often picked on, ridiculed, mocked, don’t deserve that. True, they may not don their uniforms and pom poms to cheer at every game, but most of the time they show up, dressed as civilians, and cheer endlessly and loudly for all the teams they can.

If this is true, then why is it no one shows up to support them? Why is it they are laughed at for doing what they love to do? Tonight other than family and a few devoted faculty members, two people showed up to support these ladies. TWO. I was so excited to see these football players walk into the gym at Lower Richland. They drove two hours after practice and missed the girls’ routine, yet they stayed and supported them until the end. I am so proud of them for that. Their actions were the true definition of school spirit and support.

It is true the ladies didn’t make it to the state competition next weekend, but let me assure you, it is not because they didn’t perform the daylights out of that routine. It was sharp and energetic and fun. (Watch the video if you don’t believe me.) It never crossed my mind that by the end of the night we wouldn’t be figuring out how to get the varsity cheerleaders from the Lower State football game next week to Greenville Saturday morning for the State Championship meet.

When the announcer finished calling out the qualifying names and Johnsonville didn’t come out his mouth I was in utter and complete shock. I thought your ladies deserved no lower than fourth place (They didn’t announce places) It was so absolutely unbelievable that other squads were looking at them shocked. Our ladies, never breaking spirit, picked up their stuff, held their heads high, and walked out that building exuding absolute class, more so than some of the qualifying teams, in the face of heartbreak.

I have cheered my entire life, literally, and even though I wasn’t at practice with them since the summer, I know the level of dedication and hours of practice it takes to perform the stunts they did tonight even partially, much less with the skill level they achieved.

So to the ladies of the competition squad, I congratulate you on what you achieved tonight. You represented your school with class and grace and true cheerleading spirit. I am so proud of you and know that you are only going to get better, and to the people who read this, think about supporting your cheerleaders the way they support you. You won’t be bored or disappointed.