Cheer
Premise - A documentary television series about the journey of Navarro Junior College winning the 2019 National Championship in cheerleading, the team's 14th national title. While 40 college cheerleaders make up the team, only 20 cheerleaders can be "on-mat," or perform in competitions. The series therefore details the incredible competition the cheerleaders face not only with other teams, but amongst themselves, to be the best cheerleaders in the world.
Review - I think I really needed this series. If anything, I needed it for the motivation to become more physically fit. Cheerleaders are the strongest, bravest, most impressive athletes in the world. I could never come close to this level of athleticism but the hard work put in by these cheerleaders is inspiring me to do a least a little bit more.
I also needed it for the nostalgia. I was a cheerleader for about eight years and it was one of the best parts of my childhood. I completely forgot the level of devotion I had for the sport. I would practice my cheers on the daily, and record videos of myself doing jumps over and over again to make sure they were getting better. I also feel like, at the time, it was a huge part of my identity. My friends, and lots of guys, knew me as a junior cheerleader. All of these memories of hard work and dedication came flooding back to me through this documentary.
But at the heart of why I resonated with this documentary was the wish fulfillment. Through all my years, I was never a competitive cheerleader. I could never tumble (except for maybe the occasional cartwheel). I never did fancy stunts. I was on a recreational team that cheered for our junior football team throughout elementary and junior high. I was never even a high school cheerleader. I tried out my freshman year, and no one that young made the team. (Though, ahem, I still think I was more than good enough to get on, I mostly blame my poor attendance and dress code during tryouts whoops. And probably my lack of charisma. I think I just had a flat smile on my face the entire time I tried out). But I never tried out again because I had prioritized marching band. Being a high school cheerleader was not a big deal at my school, as they never even performed half-time routines. There was little drive to do it. Similarly, I never joined a competitive team. As a freshman, I did try out for a competitive all-star team and was offered a spot. I didn't tumble, didn't have my splits down, but I had a strong body, good technique, and high motivation to learn. But I didn't take it. The gym was too far away, and the practices too often and too long, and I was going into a very intensive academic program. Long story short, I prioritized school and I prioritized marching band. And I grew out of the junior recreational cheerleading team. I don't regret my choices.
But there is a part of me that always, ALWAYS wanted to be a competitive cheerleader, and I will now never have that chance. I used to watch videos of competitive cheerleading routines, advanced basket tosses and pyramids, on YouTube on a daily basis. I fantasized about it so much. And here I got to watch the people who actually did it and see their process. There was an endless supply of stunting, dancing, and tumbling to watch and it was so satisfying.
The documentary is not solely about the cheerleading itself, but also the life stories of the cheerleaders and the cheerleading coach. While there were forty members on the team, the documentary focused on a particular four cheerleaders likely due to their heart-tugging backstories. As much as I loved all four of them, I have a feeling I would have equally loved the other 36 and intensely wish they got more screen time. There were a few cheerleaders I was really curious about getting to know better (i.e. Sherbs) and never did.
People moved from all over the nation to attend this 2-year college just to become a cheerleader there. It's insanity for those who are not familiar with the sport. It does not receive any recognition, as Varsity Athletics owns all the rights to the content. ESPN does not even air cheerleading competitions anymore. In greater discourse, it's probably still debated whether or not cheerleading is considered a sport. But for those in the know, Navarro cheer is clearly the BEST of the BEST and people would make massive sacrifices to participate. All of these people moved to the middle-of-nowhere Texas for goodness sake, most of the male cheerleaders being gay and largely unaccepted by the town outside of the cheer team. But clearly they all believe it was worth it. The documentary also tries to show the whole college in a very positive light, but I personally struggled through all of the talk about religion, traditional family values, and the right to bear arms. Even in exchange for being the best cheerleader in the world, I would not move to Texas. No thank you.
I think generally I'm just in a very emotionally vulnerable place right now, but I straight up cried a lot during this documentary. I cried when they won, but I also cried when they fell. Every time one of the girls was dropped it was like a stab in the gut. I had such intense empathy for the female cheerleaders in particular, having been a flyer myself and also just loving young women. Seeing them fall and get hurt, cry out in pain, and perhaps lose their shot of stunting again, was just too much. On the contrary, cheerleading coach Monica seemed to be incredibly unfazed by injuries, even of a more serious nature. These athletes were putting their lives at risk for the sake of the team. Monica talks over and over about how nervous she is for her cheerleaders because she is terrified of the idea of losing. She loses sleep over being the reason why they lose. But never once does she say she loses sleep over being the reason why one of them gets hurt. I appreciate her toughness, but that was something I just had trouble understanding. As much as it matters to win, I cannot imagine it meaning more to you than the lives and well being of young people put in your care.
I'm writing this review now without any knowledge of whether or not there will be future seasons, and if future seasons would be about Navarro College. If there are more, I will watch them. (89/100)
Quote - SHARK BAIT HOO HA HA WELCOME TO THE RING OF FIRE THE RING OF FIRE
What to watch for - The pyramid sequence is probably the most fascinating part to watch out of the entire routine, and the most fascinating to see them rehearse. It's also the easiest place for things to go wrong.
If you liked this documentary, I'd recommend Bring it On!
Created by Greg Whiteley
Distributed by Netflix
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