Cheerleaders/poms?

[PonyTales]

Where were the rest of them last night? I know a couple of them were resting comfortably in the stands - that tall SMU Dancer with the brown/streaked hair had a nice view of the game while she was yammering away on her cell phone behind the bench. Isn't she the captain or something? It seems to me that if they are the "spirit" squads, they shouldn't be allowed to sit out every other game. Aren't they there to help generate noise, etc.? Guys, this isn't Duke, where you'd have 500 applicants lined up for the chance to dance and cheer at games. Get out there - for every single game.

[Eddie P]

It's kinda funny because it's not like this is an isolated incident for the cheerleaders. But despite many incidents like this, I am still absolutely amazed how offended some people got when the athletic department DARED to sell seats in the former cheerleading area, thus "displacing" the cheerleaders.

[Eddie P]

Exactly! Which is why it was so infuriating to see them [deleted] and moan. The student senate even wrote a resolution "strongly encouraging the atheltic department to raise funds without displacing the cheerleaders."
What a brilliant piece of legislation. So does that imply that the department made money because of the "displacement" of the cheerleaders?? Another example of people talking out of their collective asses without doing a shred of research into the subject. Instead, the cheerleaders are being picked on by the big, bad, greedy athletic department.

[DiamondM]

I spoke with several people on Thursday about the "spirit" squad issue and told them that I intend to write a letter to Judith Baines and Jim Caswell about the half-hearted attendance. If SMU doesn't expect and require it's so-called spirit squads to attend every game, then we shouldn't have any of them at any game. This is not about dissing those members of the squads who do work hard, it's about having standards indicative of the top-notch program we claim/aspire to be. Division I athletic programs do not have/tolerate this kind of half-assed spirit support. If there are unavoidable class scheduling problems for one or two people that is one thing, but that is clearly not what is happening here. Someone, not sure who, is giving half of the cheerleaders and all of the "dance" team off nights on Thursdays. Peruna is there every game, the band is there every game, the team is there every game, and if we ever want anyone to consider us a premier Division I program, our cheerleaders and pom squad better be there every game too. (Not to mention the ebarrassment of the uniforms borrowed from the Texas Tech pom squad.) This is certainly not a cost issue. We don't save any money by letting them have the night off.

Once I have had a chance to write out a coherent letter I will let anyone who wants to add their signature.

I have also considered offering to donate some money in support of the pom squad, conditional on (1) they no longer wear any black and red uniforms, and (2) they are required to attend all games. But I'd rather donate it to the band, who does show up every game.

[FLPony]

Yeah, I noticed last night that there were no pom girls and only 5 cheerleaders. I give credit to the ones that did show up, but they pretty much sat there the entire game, except during timeouts for the occasional run-on-court-throw-shirts-run-off routine. My friend and I (call us mean if you want) waited to see if they were ever going to start a cheer. They didn't get a cheer going ONCE in the first half, and I think maybe 5 times in the second. Most of the time, they just sat there and started cheering along when some students would start a cheer. I too noticed several pom girls and cheerleaders hiding in the crowd. It must be too hard to show up to the games wearing a brand new Texas Tech black and red outfit, so they just sat in the stands. They can try and use excuses when it's over a long weekend or the saturday before Christmas break, but a men's homegame on a thursday night should have been well attended, especially by the so-called spirit squads. I bet they will still suck up their entire budget however when it comes time to send 30 of them on an all-expense paid trip to the WAC tournament. Nothing made me madder than watching the SMU @ Hawai'i Football game on satellite 2 years ago and seeing more SMU cheerleaders there than I had seen at a home game.

[FLPony]

Didn't realize i repeated a lot of what DiamondM said until I had already posted. Great minds think alike, I guess.

[Eddie P]

Diamond M-

The only ****ty response you will get from that letter will be some bull**** about the athletic department "displacing" the cheerleaders and that is why blah, blah, blah. Yeah, like Caswell gives a damn. And I actually like Judith Baines a lot. She's a good person. However, that bimbo (yes, I said bimbo) who runs the cheerleaders probably won't care either way.

[This message has been edited by Eddie P (edited 02-07-2003).]

[Bergermeister]

Those dance girls in the trashy black tops and pants need to give it a rest. It's a waste and an embarrasment. Having them perform on the football field is even worse. We must have copied that from TCU because it is just plain cheezy.

[Ringer]

O.K. now I am hot. I knew there was something missing at the game Thursday. After reading your posts I know what it was. I find it absolutely undefendable to have half of the cheerleaders out. Sack their asses and get some people on the sqaud that want to have some fun and lead cheers. No excuse. Not even one time much less what sounds like a regular occurance this year. Absolutely pathetic and those cheerleaders should be kicked off. Unless you are at home in bed with a 104 temo. a cheerleader belongs at a game. Absolutely pathetic. Same goes for the pop-pom squad if in fact they are doing the same thing. If it is actually condoned by their sponser. Can his/her [deleted] too. SMU athletice is not about half-ass efforts.

[The CPC]

First and foremost, CPC would never question the dedication of Maggie, the dance squad captain. She's been at every game for years, either performing or in the stands watching. Dancing our not, she hass always supported the teams. CPC has even seen her at more than a few of the womens games, where student support is otherwise non-existent. CPC has even run into her in Ford or Moody when there are no games, because she works in the Spirit Shop. When it comes to supporting the programs, there is not really anyone who has done enough to question this persons dedication.

Where CPC is thoroughly confused, though, is why the pom squad isnt in uniform and participating? I'm glad that some of the ladies still want to come to the game and support the team, but why arent they dancing? If some of them cant make it, where are the rest? There should not ever be a game when the entire pom squad and more than half the cheerleaders are all gone at once. If the Spirit Office is in charge of scheduling, CPC would hope they could get a little better organized than this.

[EastStang]

Unless there was an academic excuse, like an exam the next day, or an illness (including female cycles) I thought the cheerleaders had to attend every home game and be available to attend every away game that the school sent them to. If that is not the rule in fact, it is at least implied. If they have other priorities, then they should not be cheerleaders. I don't care how great their double stunts are, or their technical proficiency at cheerleading competitions, if they aren't there for the games, then in my view they are cheerleaders. Just my 2 cents.

[Jonas Seuraut]

They all put quite a bit of effort into what they do (cheerleaders and pom). It's always the same 6 cheerleaders or so at all the games, and then Saturday or TV games, the rest show up.

My beef with pom squad is just the uniforms. I don't care if black pants are a standard; they can still wear them. But last time I checked, there is BLUE in our school colours.

Worst thing: Last year, Texas Tech game, whoever picked out the outfits for Pom did a horrible job in choosing red and black for the game. They have plenty of good, red and blue outfits, but I don't see them enough.

And I was also wondering about attendance/class conflicts. I know, being in band, that if half of us had class conflicts on a Thursday night (where we KNEW that there is a basketball game for two months when we were registering for classes) Kehler or Tucker would kick us out and not let us perform at all. I don't know if that's the particular situation, but these kids need to show up more, especially at women's games when no spirit groups aside from us (occasionally cheerleaders will make it there) show up.

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The Diamond M.

[Chavo]

What are you talking about? The "prom squad" is a joke. No girl lasts on it longer than a year. The cheerleaders are crap too. Just give the money that those groups get to the band, at least they show up and seem to care.

[Guest]

Check your facts. The captain has been there for 4 years and has never missed a game. Several of the other girls have been there 2-3 years. You shouldn't make random statements like that if you don't know what you are talking about. <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Chavo:
<B>What are you talking about? The "prom squad" is a joke. No girl lasts on it longer than a year. The cheerleaders are crap too. Just give the money that those groups get to the band, at least they show up and seem to care.</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Chavo]

Listen up pom girl, your group sucks. Stop trying to stick up for them. Seven girls that can't dance and dress like sluts are an embarassment. Does anyone like them? Do they get anyone into the game? Watch a video of yourselves dancing, trust me, it looks like crap.

[This message has been edited by Chavo (edited 02-08-2003).]