John Butler
Cheer Parent
- Dec 27, 2010
- 371
- 2,335
As recently published in The Cheer Leader Magazine:
By Gabi Butler
It is a new year and with it comes new changes. I am excited to announce that I have teamed up with TCLM this year in support of a brand new idea. As most of you know, because of the increase of social media, allstar cheerleading has started to change. A lot of great athletes on teams all around the country are starting to get recognized individually for their contribution to Allstar Cheerleading. Somewhere along the way, people have made up a word to describe these individuals: "Cheerlebrities". I for one really don't like this word for a lot of reasons. The most important reason is that we are NOT celebrities. All of us who have gained recognition or a following on social media are just regular girls and guys doing what we love; CHEERLEADING!! We don't drive around in limousines or buy designer clothes. We don't walk the red carpet or have paparazzi following us around. And we certainly don't make millions of dollars like most celebrities. Most of us don't even know exactly how we ended up getting so popular. We didn't do anything different than anyone else. We post pictures on Instagram like most teenagers. We tweet about things that interest us just like most teenagers. We have facebook pages to keep in touch with people we meet just like most teenagers. We post videos of ourselves tumbling and flying like so many other cheerleaders. All around we are just like any other teenager. We go to school, we work hard in the gym, and we cheer for our teams and give 110% just like all of our teammates!
A lot of people have started to talk negatively about those who have been recognized (not by ourselves but by others) as "Cheerlebrities". This is sometimes hard because it can be hurtful to those that are included in that group and we are not doing anything any differently than anyone else. We didn't choose this, but we have decided that since we are very much in the public eye, that it is important for us to take the responsibility seriously and try to be a great example for all the other people out there. So since it's a new year and things are changing in our sport, we came up with an idea to change the perception and get rid of this world "Cheerlebrity". In it's place, let's replace that word with something that we have all been since we stared cheer... cheerLEADERS. So we have all decided to team up with TCLM to create this new idea and to help be leaders within our sport. As cheerLEADERS, we pledge to be the very best that we can be and to try to always set a great example for the younger people who are joining our sport every single day. We will use this new word to replace that other one that nobody likes. Together, we will all strive to be great leaders within our sport and most importantly, to help others in our sport with every opportunity that we have. This means also being involved in charity events for those that are less fortunate within our sport and those who have been struck by tragedy. Together, we will try to lead by example and help to bring the cheer community together to show the rest of the world just how great our community is and how amazing the sport of cheer is.
So if you're with us in this new beginning, please join us in banding together and getting rid of this negative "Cheerlebrity" stereotype and let's bring in a new age where each of us together are known as cheerLEADERS!!!!
I am so excited to see what the future holds for our sport. I have already had so many amazing years and every year things just keep getting better and better. I am so excited to compete with my SMOED teammates at the Worlds competition this year. I am also very excited to be part of a new competition by Nfinity called The Champions League. It will also be in theaters which is so exciting. We are really looking forward to competing in the event for the first time ever. Just like all the other teams out there, life has been so busy as we are in the middle of the season and we are working hard to make sure our team is ready. I want to wish all of you an amazing season this year. May you all accomplish your goals in this amazing sport!
As Always, please keep those less fortunate in your prayers. There are so many families out there who need our support. Please also pray for Kaylin & her family from Georgia Allstars who was recently taken from us much too soon. Let's continue to show the world just how amazing our cheer community is!
