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Cheer contest chock full of spirit
Rain cannot dampen wild enthusiasm
This "newbie" still has a lot to learn about how things go in Putnam County.
Many events and procedures so far have proven to be carried out just like most others do them, but every day something new crops up that isn't done like anywhere else I've been.
Thursday night was another one.
I can't honestly say I was particularly enthused to cover the Putnam County Cheerleading Contest, especially since it is normally conducted in an outdoor setting and the rain was falling.
When it was over after being moved to an indoor venue at South Putnam, however, I learned one thing for sure -- this event is a HUGE deal.
As the photos accompanying this column show, the crowd was unbelievably large. It filled half of the South Putnam gymnasium, and there were many more people on the court seated around the sides. If I had to guess, some people may have even gone home either thinking it was going to be postponed or not wanting to drive to another location.
I have been to many sporting events with even larger -- yet almost lifeless -- crowds where you couldn't even tell anybody was in the building.
The cheerleaders were very good, the routines were impressive and clearly well rehearsed and the atmosphere was just amazing.
The passion displayed by the crowd, as well as the camaraderie shown by the participants toward their fellow competitors, should be replicated at every such sporting event.
Sometimes, though, the passion apparently exceeded acceptable limits. I never would have guessed beforehand that the public address announcer would have to make a statement encouraging sportsmanship and positive comments that was clearly directed toward the parents and other fans. I didn't hear anything out of line, but that's not surprising because hearing was difficult all night long due to the rampant enthusiasm.
This appeared to be an isolated incident, and nothing more was said about it.
The only bad thing about the whole night was the unavoidable subjectivity of the evaluation of the participants.
The team I thought was clearly better than any of the others did not win its division, and I did not think it was particularly close.
(Not that I have a clue what specific things they were looking for, though.)
There's no better way to do it, obviously, and such activities appear to have the same issues in this area as competitions in band, gymnastics and diving.
There is, of course, subjectivity in the most popular sports that also becomes a factor -- the block/charge in basketball, safe/out in baseball and the impossible task of accurately placing a football on the correct yard line after digging it out of a huge pile. Such things can be overcome in those sports, though.
Still, it was a really great environment for the competition:
* There were signs for individual schools and competitors.
* There were numerous people wearing shirts from their specific schools. North Putnam's football team was especially visible with their bright orange jerseys, and Greencastle students had an impressive "rollercoaster" cheer consuming a large portion of the gym floor while the final results were being tallied.
* After each team performed its routine, the observing teams would all give them a genuinely sincere "g-o-o-d-j-o-b" cheer. (Probably not going to see that at any other sporting events this fall.)
* I even heard Greencastle's Jessica Duell say during her Outstanding Senior Cheerleader routine something about hoping to do well so she could be on the cover of the Banner Graphic.
* While the judges were performing their extremely difficult jobs, cheerleading teams would go to the stands in front of their fans and lead cheers to pass the time. After the last team had performed, every team was leading cheers at the same time in a cheerleading contest equivalent of a fireworks show finale when numerous rockets are shot off at the same time.
* Non-winning teams were understandably disappointed, but I didn't see any crying or complaining. Many of the cheerleaders seem to know each other and were very supportive of each other.
* It would have been interesting to have a heart-rate monitor attached to the three competitors in the Outstanding Senior competition. These three young ladies took the mat all by themselves, performing a specific routine with more than 2,000 eyes on them that had to be one of the most terrifying moments of their lives. And one of the most fun.
There are often debates about whether cheerleading is a sport or not.
I'm not ready to jump on board to say that leading cheers such as "two bits, four bits, etc." at a football or basketball game qualifies as a sport, but what took place on Thursday night was much of a sport as any of the numerous thousands of events I've seen in my lifetime.
School spirit has appeared to be lacking for many years at the many games I have attended and covered. Cheerleaders who have worked hard to encourage enthusiasm in the crowd have too often had their efforts fall on deaf ears, and are sadly the only ones doing the cheers.
I have a feeling as I get into the upcoming school year that won't be the case around here.
What a refreshing change that will be.