Recently a boyfriend of a cheerleader posted a comment on how he thought cheerleading was improper and how he made his girlfriend give it up. This got me to thinking on how relationships can affect your cheerleading career. And I began to wonder if you'd give up something you loved because a boyfriend, a family member or a friend didn't agree with what you were doing?
There is no doubt that cheerleading takes a lot time out of your schedule and this time could otherwise be spent with family members, friends and boyfriends. There is also a lot of controversy in cheerleading (short skirts, provocative moves, high costs and the overall impression of cheerleading) so it's understandable that people on the outside of cheerleading might interpret it as an undesirable activity, but what are your thoughts? Would you give up cheerleading because a friend, boyfriend or family member didn't approve?
I receive a lot emails telling me about friends that don't make the squad, boyfriends that don't approve of cheerleading and family members that object to the cost involved in cheerleading. I understand all of these objections, but my question is whether you'd give up cheerleading because of any of them? If you actually make the squad and are better than a friend when it comes to skills and abilities would you pass on cheerleading? If your boyfriend objects to you cheering because he thinks your uniform or cheerleading moves are provocative, would you give it up? And if family members think that cheerleading is taking up too much of your time and the cost of cheerling is too prohibitive, would you pass on the opportunity to cheer?