You know you are getting older when the clothes you wore in high school have become this year’s “retro” fashion trend.
I am, of course, talking about the eighties.
I got to thinking about my high school days after visiting with the Mill Creek High School competition cheerleading squad this week.
Cheerleading has come a long way since my days of pom-pom shaking.
If you had tried to call cheerleading a sport when I was in high school, everyone – cheerleaders included – would have laughed.
Our idea of competition cheerleading was shouting to the squad across the field:
“We’ve got spirit, yes we do! We’ve got spirit, how about you!?”
To which the other team would invariably reply:
“We’ve got spirit, yes we do! We’ve got spirit, how about you!?”
This would go on and on until one side or the other had enough and started chanting:
“We’ve got more! We’ve got more!”
Finally, a resolution would be reached when both sides were sufficiently satisfied that their squad did indeed have “more” and both sides would then erupt into a victory celebration of flailing pom-poms and herkeys.
In other words, cheerleading was not very competitive. Cheerleading in my day was about looking good, encouraging our players and talking smack to the other team.
Looking good probably was the top priority. We had seven different uniforms and each game brought the debate about which one to wear. Then there was the great shoe debate of 1987 and so on and so on…
Once the fashion decisions were made, we got down to the secondary business.
In the early stages of the ball games, we spent our time trying to fire up our players. Sometimes we would single out a particular player. For instance:
“Oh Slade, you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow our mind, Hey Slade! (clap, stomp, clap) Hey Slade!”
Yes, we ripped off a Blondie song for that one, but it was the 80s for heaven’s sake. Cut us some slack.
If that wasn’t enough to rally the team, we might turn our attention to psyching out the other team.
One of our more popular and more intimidating cheers - one that just hinted at felonious acts - was:
"We are bad, we are cocky. Going to ride over you like a Kawasaki! Vroom, vroom! Vroom, vroom!”
Seriously.
If that didn't set their knees quaking, we might crank it up a notch – especially if we were playing our arch-rival Coosa:
“Rip ‘em up, tear ‘em up, stomp ‘em in the mud! All we want is Coosa blood! Bleed, Coosa, bleed!”
In retrospect, I suppose that one was a little over the top. Heck, today that cheer would probably earn everyone on the squad detention, psychiatric counseling and a juvenile record. We weren’t as politically correct in the eighties as we are now.
Needless to say, cheerleading today does not resort to threats of blood and violence. These young women are truly athletes and do things that I couldn’t have done in high school and, frankly, would have not even tried.
Just to get on the squad, the girls have to do things like standing back tucks, back handsprings, round offs and other complicated gymnastic moves. Heck, only two of the people on my squad could even do a cartwheel.
Competition cheerleading may have some elements of old school cheering, but, make no mistake, it is a sport and these young women are outstanding athletes.
Kristi Reed is sports editor of The Braselton News. Contact her at 404-667-4314 or by e-mail at kristireed@mindspring.com.
