I am sure that somewhere along in our lives we have all seen or heard the argument between a cheerleader and a football player. “In football you can get taken out and slammed right on the ground by a 250 pound linebacker!” “Well, in cheerleading you can get dropped straight to the ground from twenty feet in the air!” It is all endless. They will go on and on constantly bashing each other’s sports only to always come to no conclusion of which one overpowers the other. It is a topic that has been debated about for as long as we can remember. Considering my background of cheerleading, I may be a bit bias and favor my own sport, but I can honestly say there are high and low points to each of these very physically demanding …show more content…
activities. Cheerleading can be dated all the way back to 1898 when University of Minnesota student Johnny Campbell directed a crowd in cheering, "Rah, Rah, Rah!
Sku-u-mar, Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Varsity, Minn-e-So-Tah!” Obviously, since that day and age, it has extremely evolved. All- Star cheerleading now consists of a two minute and thirty second routine that includes stunting, tumbling, jumps, and a dance. All of this must be performed without flaws, so that your team may receive a higher score than your opponent. The sport of cheerleading requires stamina, strength, extreme flexibility, and very advanced coordination. Therefore, years and years of training are required to perform on a high level team. On a national scale, cheerleading results in 66% of catastrophic injuries, and it is ranked number three on a list of the most dangerous sports. This is right under rugby and cave diving. It’s not easy at all when it comes to pulling your leg all the way over your head, throwing flips that are basically impossible for the average human being, and holding other people right above your head while doing death defying tricks. In cheerleading there is no body protection. No helmets or pads to keep us safe. All we have is the carpeted floor beneath our feet, so it’s not abnormal to have bruises and scratches from head to toe. Plus, cheerleading will never have an “off season”. There is no time to go sit on a bench, have a half time, or take time outs. With this sport it is all …show more content…
or nothing. American football as we know it has been around since 1869 when Rutgers and Princeton played the first game on American soil.
Rutgers won the game 6-4 and the game has been around ever since. The goal of football is to outscore your opponent by using formations to score the most points. In this game there is offense and defense. Offense includes the offensive line, backs, and receivers. Defense includes the defensive line, line backers, and defensive back. This sport requires stamina, agility, and speed. One has to be able to throw a ball with almost complete perfection, have the strength to tackle other individuals to the ground, and be able to know the plays. Football is a very physically demanding sport that involves great danger, but its only accounts for 63.5% of all catastrophic injuries. Plus football does not even make the top ten in the national list of the most dangerous sports. None the less, it is number eleven which is still high up in the rankings. In this sport, there will always be some hard tackles and a lots of very rough plays, but football players are protected by helmets and almost full body pads. Football may have an “off season”, but most of these individuals condition and lifts weights all year round to stay in shape for the “on season”. Overall though, football is a very difficult and physically demanding
sport. As one may see, cheerleading has a bit more high points than football. It does overpower football in more areas than one. There is a higher percent of catastrophic injuries, a greater variety of skills are required, there is no body protection, and it is distinctly higher on a list of dangerous sports. Although, when it comes down to it, I believe that the sports are so different and difficult in their own ways that they are almost incomparable. Cheerleading and football will always bash heads and cause controversy, but it’s something where both sides just need to consider the difficulties and physical demands of the other.