Bring It On!

Blog soundtrack:

Iz had her first cheerleading competition today. It appeared most of the week that she less than enthused about the competition and more excited about the bus ride. “Mommy, guess what? I get to go on a bus. On the highway! I’m sitting with Mindy. And, we’re going to play “Skunk in the barnyard.” She then started singing the song, which goes something like, “Skunk in the barnyard, pee you! Somebody ate it, that’s you!”

This morning, we began the grueling pre-competition prep. Getting dressed wasn’t the issue; it was abiding by all the cheerleader laws that made for a difficult 30 minutes. And, the way that went, I had a feeling that sitting through hours of cheerleading routines would make for one
l-o-n-g day.

According to cheerleader law, Iz needed her hair in a ponytail (quite a feat when it’s so short!) with the sides slicked back along with her bangs. Though first, we had to remove the pink and gold glitter nail polish, because cheerleading just says “No!” to nail polish.

Once I got her hair back in a pony tail, and it was all I could do to capture a small clump in the supplied ponytail holder with its attached purple and white ribbons, I got out my “super glue” gel. Redken’s Hardwear is a “super strong gel.” I’m pretty certain that you could also use it in a pinch if you happened to be short a glue stick!

I put a few barrettes on either side of Iz's head, slicked back the stray hairs that the barrettes would not grasp, and then I slicked back her bangs. She has such a cute haircut that I almost felt like I was committing blasphemy against Vidal Sassoon by turning her adorable little do into a non-descript and voluntary helmet head!

After I completed, I think grimace on my face might have given me away a tad. Iz asked, “Do I look geeky, Mommy!” I reassured her. “No. You look great, Iz!” She then started whimpering. I quickly searched the “Motherhood 101” textbook portion of my frontal lobe for something better, and all I could come up with was, “Everyone will have their hair like this Iz!” Yes, I need an updated version of that textbook for sure. She perked up a bit, because she said, completely switching gears, “Mom, we get to do a pyramid!” and then she was happily off on the bus to the Tsongas arena.

Upon arrival inside the arena, I was instantly greeted by people selling flowers, t-shirts, and, of course, cheerleader bears. And, what sporting event would be complete without the scent of nacho chips, fried dough, and soft pretzels? Err, after a diet Pepsi and plate of nacho chips, which smelled strangely like bleach, with a cheese sauce, which had the consistency of pudding, were purchased, it was time to find a seat.

As I walked down the stairs, I could see that this was no small competition. There were several hundred people, and across the arena, there were several hundred more cheerleaders dressed in blue, purple, black, pink, red, green, and orange, resembling a picture that someone might have created with a Lite-Brite.

When I sat down, a group of older girls were just starting their routine. The emcee introduced them, they ran onto the large mat, and then the music started. An intense boom, boom, boom was the beat for all the music, which pretty much all sounded like remixed video game music when it wasn’t hip hop or 80s tunes. At first, it was hard to get used to, but after a while, it kind of grew on me, as I sat there shaking my head back and forth to the beat. And, as I watched the routine, I thought, “This cheerleading stuff is tons of fun!”

And, fun was exactly what it was all about there. Now, I’m sure there is tons of competition behind that fun, but cheerleading seemed to be one of the few sports where it looked like the participants were actually having an enjoyable time while competing. For example, I can’t remember ever seeing a runner smiling while paticipating in the Boston Marathon! AND, I’m pretty sure that after the 30th mile of many of my 50-mile bike rides that I look mildly annoyed.

Right before Iz’s group of “Tiny Mites,” when on, I headed down the stairs with my camera. They paraded onto the floor and then all went into their “cheer stance.” Yes, really, there is a cheer stance, see!



After they were announced, they all ran onto the mat and assembled, some of them glancing at the others to remember exactly what they were supposed to be doing. Once the music started and I saw Iz tumbling, jumping up and down, and screaming at the top of her lungs (a.k.a., cheer voice), I started to get all choked up.

I had been to several dance recitals and graduations the last four years, but I had never felt this exact way before. Seeing her out there in front of hundreds of people doing her thing made me happy and the slightest bit sad all at once. Happy in that I was so proud of her, and that at only 6 she had the courage to go out there in front of such a huge crowd; and oddly it was a bit sad as I thought, what if a day came when I couldn’t see her anymore? Life is about moments like that one, and it was yet another moment in my life when I realized how very, very, very much I love my girl.

Anyway, their performance was wonderful, complete with their adorable finale pyramid. Actually, all the routines were great, especially since amidst the back flips, round offs, cart wheels, tumbling, and pyramids, there was this huge energy; it was girls just wanting to have fun making the competition seem secondary most of the afternoon.

At the very end of the competition, the emcee invited all of the girls back out onto the floor before the awards presentation. As the girls swarmed onto the floor, the music started, and they all began to move to the music, creating the biggest dance party I’d ever seen. As one person commented, it was actually more fun watching them all dance together at the end than it was to watch the competition.

Side-to side…



Up and down…

Ring around the rosie…



And, the conga line!

It seemed to be something you’d only see at the end of a Disney musical, but here it was right in the Tsongas arena – a happy ending in joyous motion. And, I think half the people in the audience would have joined in if they had been invited to do so. I certainly would have, though we all know I am a card-carrying party animal!

After about 20 minutes, the awards were given out among cheers and screams. And, if the Siamese cat has the loudest meow of all cat breeds, then girls ages 6-15 have the loudest screams among the entire female population!

Anyway, contrary to Cosmopolitan magazine (http://goddessofallthingslovely.blogspot.com/2009/10/scope-guys-size-without-getting-busted.html), confidence has nothing to do with “being on top.” Confidence, I think, especially for young girls, has everything to do with being part of something that makes you feel like you are on top of the world in more ways than one. ♥