As a parent, who has somewhat begrudgingly grown to love cheer, I'll say this...I love watching teams compete. It gives me chills when I think of all the great accomplishments, it makes me cry when I feel the disappointments. There is something so noble about putting a routine together and performing it, and I admire the drive and athleticism of all these athletes and the passion of their supporters.
This sport has some struggles, there is an opaque scoring system, a monopoly to contend with and a definite for profit feel to the industry. Parents, fans and athletes behave poorly sometimes. I'm okay with, to some degree. It's the nature of competition, people behave badly, it is what it is. But for people to behave badly in public, and expect not to have some consequence for it is silly to me. You felt strongly enough to put yourself out there, if it's dramatic drama will ensue. As an observer, I do have teams I don't care for. Sometimes this is based completely on the public image a team has. Not fair in some ways, I suppose, but true. I have also had times where I was not happy with people at my CPS' gym(s) for the same reason. You better believe that if I think you make their gym look bad, I am likely to express my opinion. I am capable of contextualizing, so can sometimes get why people act the way they do, but I won't make or buy excuses. If you mess up, own it and move on,
I am never okay with coaches or owners behaving badly. They get paid, they austensibly have some sort of certification to get paid for what they do, so they have to earn respect. They should take that seriously. I didn't see or hear of examples of coaches or owners behaving negatively for worlds, so this makes me happy. I do have a tendency to judge programs that are known for their negativity though. I can respect talent, but hate entitlement. The beauty of this sport is that it takes so many hearts to win. You might want it. You might have excellent coaches, or facilities or choreographers, etc., but it's the kids out there making it happen. If you don't respect the competition, then you lose something even if you win.
