Throughout my time as a cheerleader, I realized that no matter where you are, or how old you are, you will always have cheer in you. Here are 10 tell-tale signs you know you are a cheerleader at heart:
1. You don’t worry about ever pulling a Marilyn Monroe with your dress – Nike Pros to the rescue! Nike Pros under your skirts and dresses are always a MUST.
2. You know WAYYYY more about football than you ever thought possible. I guess after all those years of standing on the sidelines, it finally sunk in!
3. Just one word can spark a cheer…what was that? You said you got a bulldog? GO BULLDOGS GO BULLDOGS FIRST AND TEN!
4. ”One more time” does not actually mean one more time. From years of your coach yelling “just one more full out,” and then proceeding to do six, you’ve learned to take that phrase with a grain of salt.
5. There are some words whose true meaning will never return. A Needle is not something you get a shot with or sew with but rather a body position. A Dorito isn’t a chip but instead a bad Scorpion.
6. You clear your schedule for the last weekend in April – whether competing, spectating, or holing up in your room live streaming, the build-up of the entire season is finally here! The Olympics may come every four years, but Worlds come every year!
7. You get mad when someone says cheer isn’t a sport. Can they tumble, stunt, jump and dance all within a 2:30 minute time period while maintaining facials and cleanliness? I don’t think so.
8. You find yourself counting in 8s…. 5,6,7,8! From years of counting out the music in your routine, 8 counts are forever ingrained in your brain.
9. The bruises. Whether it’s from stunting, tumbling, or just purely accidental, these bruises speak for themselves. They are perpetually on your skin and have become part of your personal style! Forget Orange is the New Black, black and blues are the new black…at least in the cheer world.
10. You’re sad when your time on cheer has finally come to an end, but you can’t wait until you have a child and can vicariously cheer through them.