Cheer leading.. Hobby or Sport? SG#2

If you ask any other sports team whether cheer is a sport or not they will all answer the same.. "Cheer isn't a sport, its just a bunch of girls jumping around in shorts skirts yelling 'Go Guys/Girls'. Yes they lift people once or twice, but that doesn't amount to the real athleticism we go through."
In my opinion, and many cheerleaders like myself, cheer is a sport. Cheerleaders condition just as hard as other sports teams. They run bleachers, miles, and lift weights. Cheerleaders not only lift weights, they also lift people. The average college flyer weighs between 100 and 120 pounds. Most of the time, a flyer is standing on one foot while three other girls are below her, holding her with arms fully extended. Not on that, but in  college cheer, women stunt not only at arms length, but above.Most College level stunts are three tiered, meaning there are three bases and two flyers. As a base, you need to make sure the flyer is stable. If shes falling or coming down, you have to use every ounce of muscle and balance to catch her without her or any of your other bases falling due to the momentum.

 
Not only do cheerleaders push their limits physically, but they also push them mentally. While they are expected to  perform stunt sequences flawlessly, they also need to remember dance routines and cheers. When a cheerleader is on the field performing, all eyes are on them. The crowd sees every mistake, every fall, and every ugly facial.

While other sports teams can 'sit on the bench and take a break', cheerleaders are constantly standing on the sidelines. They hardly ever get a chance to get a drink, let alone sit down and take a break.
Cheerleaders also compete in state and national competitions. They perform in front of a panel of judges who base them off of their jumps, dancing, stunting, and their presence. They judge whether your jumps were high enough, if your toes were pointed, if you were smiling and looked genuinely happy to be there. They also judge on the difficulty of your stunts and and whether the team was in perfect synchronization. If your flyer wobbles, or if your stunt falls, you lose points.

All in all, cheer leading and cheerleaders are not given enough credit for their strenuous efforts. One day, I personally hope cheer will be recognized for being just as equal in athleticism and skill as football and volleyball are for example.

God in America/ Assigned Entry #2

During my search on Google for our next entry, I found this video on CNN about God in America. The video talks about atheism, celebrities who are atheist, and active atheist groups. The report doesn't talk very much about other peoples opinions about where God is in America, even though the name of the video is "What happened to God in America?"  All in all, I think that this video was made to anger people in America who are religious and make them revolt against atheism and atheist groups. http://cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2013/02/07/nr-pkg-costello-atheist-movement-america.cnn