Being A Cheerleader
There comes a time every cheerleader has to retire. It could be due to ‘old’ age or multiple injuries throughout your cheer career. Either way, you’ve decided to call it quits and hang up your cheer shoes.
But cheer is a way of life and old habits die hard. If you identify with these 15 signs, chances are you were once a cheerleader.
1. You can do a split and still think you’re inflexible
Flyer goals: To be able to put your ankle to your ear effortlessly.
2. You do stunts everywhere
At the beach, at swimming pools, on holidays. If you have a stunt group, there’s going to be a stunt photo.
3. You low-key judge cheerleading movies or shows
You can no longer watch shows like Bring It On without making comments. Though you love cheer movies, you can’t help but scoff at how cheerleaders are being portrayed. We’re not all that bitchy and spirit fingers aren’t a thing.
4. You can’t listen to songs in your routine the same way again
You’ve probably listened to it a dozen times and gotten it stuck in your head. Every time you hear it, you’d start counting “5-6-7-8” and visualize yourself performing the stunt. You probably even remember the added whooshes, “pew pews” and “dings” for when your flyer hits a heel stretch.
5. You not-so-secretly want a cheer boyfriend/girlfriend
Being a cheer couple brings your relationship to a whole new level of closeness, especially if you guys compete in competitions together. You’d always have a stunt partner and have pictures which are #cheercouplegoals.
6. You want your children to be cheerleaders
You’d probably want your children to share your love for cheer and might have considered having three boys and a girl for a full stunt group.
7. You can’t help but watch cheer videos even after you’ve stopped cheering
Watching other cheerleaders perform amazing routines gives you the itch to put on your shoes again. Partially because you miss the thrill of unlocking a new skill, but mostly because you want to see if you’ve still got it.
8. You can’t decide which is the smelliest
Choose one.
9. You have cheer battle scars
My coach always says, “you must kena zam one time if not you will never learn how to siam”. This is especially true for bases. Are you really a base if you’ve never been hit in the face? Bonus points if you’ve been kicked in the balls.
10. ASU taught you resilience
Every cheer team wants to ASU (All Stunts Up) during a routine. If you give up on your stunt you’re letting your entire team down. So you’ve removed ‘can’t’ from your vocabulary—it’s “ASU or A&E” (Accidents & Emergencies department).
11. Your hands are messed up
Especially for bases, your wrists take a beating during training and at least one finger is f*cked up beyond repair.
12. You feel a sense of pride when you watch your old team perform
You know all the hard work that goes into those few minutes, and how difficult it is to make stunts look easy. When your old team executes their routine flawlessly, you feel like a proud mother hen watching her chicks leave the nest.
13. You periodically check if you can still pull a heel stretch or a scorpion
Willingly going through stretching to get your ‘scorpion‘ or ‘needle‘ poses is borderline sadistic. After putting in all that hard work, your body better retain its flexibility.
14. You will always defend cheerleading as a sport
You get annoyed when you hear people say cheerleading isn’t a sport. What do you mean flipping, jumping, stunting, cheering is easy?!
15. Your cheerleading team is family
Having to fly two and a half stories up in the air with confidence requires a mad amount of trust in your bases. With the bonds forged through blood, sweat, and tears, you know at the end of the day, your teammates will always have your back.
Once A Cheerleader Always A Cheerleader
Though your cheerleading days may be over, all the friends, lessons, and good memories made will last a lifetime. May cheer remain a fond memory you wouldn’t trade for anything.
