It's about damn time that undying optimism and those relentless vocal chords were used for something other than white noise! Personally, I've never questioned the athleticism of cheerleaders - of their gender - out of fear that they might respond by challenging me to do a split or hold up another human being with nothing more than my palm. I have, however, taken umbrage with the idea that something can be considered a sport when there's typically not a winner or loser. That said, while this megaphone-toting Wildcats enthusiast might not have physically been out there contributing anything to a final score, he was giving his team a mental edge by drawing the ire of the officials, chirping members of the opposition by name, and becoming a galvanizing force by which the team could rally around. Nothing provides a shot in the arm to the active roster quite like a good old fashioned, principled ejection, especially when it doesn't - in any way - deplete the active roster. I'm still not ready to call cheerleading a sport, but the counterargument just got a little bit stronger. If the participants are going to become noticeably invested in them in a way that gets under the skin of those who are actually out there competing then it's undeniably sports-adjacent...and not just because they tend to spell out their cliched chants court side.
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