A few of things on that article and really any article like this on any topic. My wife was interviewed by phone and we were shocked that there would even be any interest. If you have ever done one of these or anything with the press you may know how difficult it is to give answers to a line of questions that may have no specific sequence or vision before the article is written and then have an article come out summarizing your thoughts in the way you would want it written. Suffice it to say, the author did a pretty good job, but Sarah never suggested Maddie was the only one who could do that stunt. As you know, you are not allowed to proofread and make suggestions or changes to the article. Anyone just had to look at the extreme stunting videos from 10 or 15 years ago and you know that is not true. But apparently the people who reviewed the piece, non cheer people, were most impressed with the stunt sequences. Probably not a surprise. I suspect she was just trying to build up that part of the article. Second, it came across as if she was criticizing parents of present day cheerleaders and she was not and would not do that in any way. We all live and do things for our kids as we see fit, and we are not in anyone else's shoes. The last comment was not used in the appropriate way. I think she said compared to when Maddie came through, the whole thing may have gotten way past where it was when she was popular, and things had gotten a bit crazy. Lastly, the article implies that Maddie had entered in monetary arrangements with varies entities as an all star cheerleader. Never happened. She did not receive any payment from anyone for anything except the shopping trip from Tate until after she walked off the stage at Worlds for the last time. We insisted on that, she was an amateur. She only received payment for expenses and appearance fees after her career had finished. She is a sophomore at UNC, cheering varsity, doing great in school and appears to be having a great time with her college experience. We wish everyone well, especially those who find the spot light shinning brightly on them. But she and we remain convinced that the road to success is paved through hard work, the proper education and dedication to studies, along with developing good people skills. Lessons all cheerleaders can learn in cheer, famous or not.
