Fair points... Kris10boo. However, the original point was to hopefully teach kids to be happy with their performance, not the placement. And yes, I know that's not realistic at the top worlds level... But it should be. I got 3rd last year at worlds.. and I did all I could... And my bronze medal is in a beautiful frame with a picture of my team.
My perspective is coming from coaching for 5 years at a top level. I came from a gym that has gotten second to big names more times than I would like to remember. But every time we did... my kids jumped up and down to show they were thrilled to beat the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th... place teams. One of the best moments of my life was when my J5 went from 11th in prelims to 4th in finals at NCA Dallas. When they got called 4th, everyone was in happy tears. It's about perspective, and it's about gratitude. Whether it was fake or real was up to the kids.
At the end of the day... If you cheer, I hope you do it because you love it. If you are California and get second at worlds, it's disappointing. But holy moly, you are right there with the legendary Panthers... and you beat like 60 other teams in that competition. It's disappointing not to win, but it's a tribute to your hard work to be at the top like that. And yes, you can turn that disappointment into hard work elsewhere... but the time and place for that disappointment is not for the awards floor.