Male Cheerleaders – Is he Cheerleading Material?

So, you think you want to go coed? Or maybe you’re already on a coed team and are just interested in beefing up your program. Don’t just take any guy, just like you wouldn’t just take any girl. It takes a special mindset for a guy to be able to put it all on the line and become a cheerleader. This quiz, developed by Liz McGivern and the seniors at Bishop Guertin High School in Nashua, NH, will help you determine if that hottie is right for cheerleading.

1. You’re leafing through a cheer camp brochure and you stop to gawk at a picture of a college guy doing a double cupie. He looks over your shoulder and says,
a. ‘What, couldn’t he make the football team? Nice pants.’
b. Nothing. He just wanted to know what time the bell rang.
c. ‘Hey, guys – come look at this – this guy is jacked! What’s he doing cheering?’
d. ‘Wow – that looks like it’s pretty hard. How does he do that?’

2. On Monday morning, the principal announces that your varsity team won first place at a regional competition on Saturday. He turns to you and says,
a. ‘Ooh, first place! Could you little girls even carry that big, heavy trophy home?’
b. ‘What did you get for number four on last night’s physics homework?’
c. ‘That’s better than you did last time – not that I’m paying attention or anything, right, guys?’
d. ‘Awesome! Did you do that really cool thing where you toss Cara up in the air and catch her?’

3. You’re running wind sprints with your team at practice when he walks by with the rest of the football team. You hear him yell out,
a. ‘2,4,6,8, who do we appreciate? Sweaty girls, sweaty girls, hooray!’
b. ‘Come over tonight and we’ll watch Buffy together!’
c. ‘Hey everyone, look at the legs on those girls – wow!’
d. ‘Keep it up you guys! Five more and you’re done!’

4. You’re at the school-wide Sports Awards ceremony, and your coach calls your name as Most Valuable Player for the season. You see him in the audience:
a. Pretending to dance and shake a pair of poms and making his friends laugh hysterically.
b. Checking out the new Adidas basketball sneakers his best friend just bought.
c. Clapping politely while whispering to his friends.
d. Standing up with all his friends, and giving you a standing ovation for your hard work throughout the season.

5. You’re cheering at the cross-town rival game of the season, and the whole school has turned out to cheer the team on. You glance up in the stands and see him,
a. Being passed around on his back with his shirt off, his chest painted your school colors, and wearing a huge hat with a life-size replica of your school mascot on his head.
b. With his back turned to the field, watching a Porsche 911 drive into the parking lot.
c. Doing the wave with his buddies, who are all sporting the latest fashion threads.
d. Holding up a sign that says, ‘Go Cardinals – Beat Those Panthers’ and chanting ‘Six More Points’ with the crowd.

6. You’re walking out of your favorite downtown pizza place with the rest of your team after the big game. He spots you across the crowd and says,
a. ‘Nice poms, baby! Did you get those for the big game?’
b. ‘Hey, did you try the new double cheese and pepperoni pizza? I hear it’s really good.’
c. ‘Hey guys, look – it’s the cheerleaders!’
d. ‘You guys did a great job tonight – the crowd was really getting into the game, don’t you think?’

7. You’ve put up advertisements for ‘Bring A Guy Night’ all over school in the hopes that some guys will want to join your team. You see him and some friends standing near one of the flyers. You overhear him saying,
a. ‘Hey, guys, what size skirt do you wear?’
b. ‘Does anyone know when the talent show is this year?’
c. ‘I hear they’re in the weight room three times a week – what do you think?’
d. ‘One of last year’s guys got a full scholarship to the University of Hawaii!’

8. You’re passing out an informational flyer for anyone who wants to go to UCA summer camp with the team. One falls on the floor near his feet and he,
a. Picks it up, makes it into a paper airplane, and aims it at his best friend’s head.
b. Steps on it.
c. Asks how many girls in short skirts will be there.
d. Wants to know if guys ever go to these camps.

9. In class, your English teacher (who happens to be the cheerleading coach) spends the last three minutes of class showing last weekend’s competition video. He’s sitting in the front row and he:
a. calls out, ‘Hey, did you see her fall? That must have really hurt!’
b. asks to go to the bathroom
c. bobs his head to the music and turns around to see if his friends laughed.
d. watches the whole thing and then says to you, ‘Those flippy things look really good. What do you call them?’

10. You mention that the National High School Cheerleading Championship is on ESPN tonight, and he responds with, 
a. ‘Aww, man! Then who’s carrying the big game?’
b. ‘Really? So, did you hear about the new parking restrictions for freshmen?’
c. ‘Cool! What time is that on…you know, just in case I’m home?’
d. ‘I’ve seen that! Those squads are awesome!’

Truth Time:

If you answered mostly A’s:
This guy is the life of the party! He loves to make people laugh, and he’s usually the center of attention. But you might want to look a little closer at whether his sarcasm is insulting to cheerleading. Does he really have the right attitude, or would his attitude hurt your team’s reputation? Maybe his need for attention will overpower his ability to work well with your team.

If you answered mostly B’s:
This guy is definitely not interested, so don’t bother. Leave him alone to his SuperStation and his Neanderthal friends who probably don’t know the difference between a pom and a prune. And if you’re dating him, you need to have your head examined – he’s definitely not interested in what you do!

If you answered mostly C’s:
Ok, so he has potential. But look closely – do his friends make fun of cheerleading? Is he afraid of what they will think? You’re going to have to get beyond the ‘old boys club’ if you want this guy to join – try to convince one of his friends to do it, too, or else you’re doomed.

If you answered mostly D’s:
Grab him! This guy doesn’t care what other people think – he respects cheerleaders for what they are: finely tuned athletes