I’ve discovered a new show called Cheerleader Nation on Lifetime…except it’s not on the regular Lifetime channel, it’s Lifetime ‘for real women’ or something. Maybe for women without breast implants? For women without plastic surgery (so NOT Irene Marie)? For women who are not transsexual/transgender? Good question, not sure.
There isn’t anything particularly funny or tragic about this show, it’s actually a really good program. It’s set in Kentucky (so it goes without saying, it’s a small town) and it’s about a high school named Dunbar. The squad is going for their third straight national championship this year, so tryouts were intense! They were only taking the best of the best. It was fun to see these girls and how consumed they were with being cheerleaders and how serious everyone was taking it.
I really like it because even though they’re still teenage girls, and they roll their eyes and pout, they still seem really genuine and likeable. Unlike the girls from “13” who made me want to remove my uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries, and put them down the garbage disposal and then set fire to the house that contained said garbage disposal. They all have really big suburban houses that have six rooms and two floors and brand new kitchens. And most of their parents are still together and everyone in the family was all about supporting the teenage girl! I loved it.
One of the freshman girls said she likes to hang out with the seniors because they’re more mature and they know where they’re going in life. At which, I uttered out loud – I don’t even know where I’m going in life at 29. I miss those days when I thought I had everything figured out and put emphasis on things that aren’t really that important.
And then they keep going out to eat at these chain restaurants with their boyfriends and it looks like they are just having the best time. Good for them. It will all be over soon, enjoy it while it lasts ladies.
I’ve discovered a new show called Cheerleader Nation on Lifetime…except it’s not on the regular Lifetime channel, it’s Lifetime ‘for real women’ or something. Maybe for women without breast implants? For women without plastic surgery (so NOT Irene Marie)? For women who are not transsexual/transgender? Good question, not sure.
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So immediately upon reading this post I got onto my DVR and programmed in Cheerleader Nation to record every time it airs. I saw an episode yesterday, which I have a feeling may have been the final episode of the season. They went to Nationals and won, so I'm not really sure what else there is to have happen.
I agree, this is a great show. This is exactly the kind of stuff I like to watch. When they are doing their routines it makes me wish I could dance. It also reminds me of my little sister, who took part in these competitions regularly in high school.
A couple of things I feel I should point out: There was an inexplicable amount of crying in the episode I saw. We're at Nationals! Crying ensues. We have to do preliminaries tomorrow! Crying ensues. It's raining! Crying ensues. We made it to finals! Crying ensues. There's red jello at breakfast! Crying ensues. We're about to go on! Crying ensues. We're waiting for the results! Crying ensues. We won! Crying never ends.
Now, is this right? Should cheerleading really be this upsetting? I remember that I used to think (silly me) the purpose of cheerleading was to cheer on the athletes and get the crowd excited. This team was on a different planet entirely. They were SO focused on this competition and had devoted SO much of their lives to it that when it finally happened they were having nervous breakdowns.
After they performed in preliminaries and proceeded to have a crying fest, it showed the guy coach saying, "Well, this just wasn't the performance we were looking for." What? They were in the top TWO. The top TWO!!! No wonder they were crying. Then at the very end when one of the girls was admiring the huge trophy they won, the lady coach (who is also unfortunately her mother) started saying, "Now, we need to win next year. I've never HEARD of a team winning 4 years in a row. THAT would be amazing. Next year, next year." Her poor daughter is only like a sophmore, so she'll probably be in a looney bin eating through a straw before she graduates from high school.
I'm also a tad concerned about the trend in cheerleading uniforms. Remember the cute little pleated skirts that would poof when they twirled? Now they are just wearing these really straight, tight "skirts" that of course barely cover their butts and have an awfully hard time coming back down following a gymnastic trick of some sort. See, one of the benefits of the pleated skirt was that it very easily fell back into place. These skirts confuse me and alarm me a bit. I actually saw more panties than skirts, you know? Lindsey had a couple like that and she thought they were "so cute!" but I still prefer the more traditional ones. They seem so much more dance/stunt friendly.
I forgot to mention their ponytails. My scalp started to hurt when I was looking at their hair. Ouch!!!
ummm... I know Irene Marie from my Miami days. She is, naturally, a bitch. Anyway, ummm... the difference between LIFETIME and LIFETIME FOR REAL WOMEN is quite simple for those "in the know."
You see, it is well known that LIFETIME - is actually NOT "Television for women" as was well publicized during the first few years of the cable channel's inception. In truth, LIFETIME is "Television for women - and gay men." Which leads me to believe that LIFETIME FOR REAL WOMEN excludes the gay quotient altogether. Hey, I understand... after all now we have LOGO. We all need our boundaries...
oh, and one more thing... have you all seen the Flight Attendant School show - I don't know what channel it was on or if it is even airing anymore... but that was some good shit - and perfect for LIFETIME - the original channel, if you catch my drift.
http://flipkicksandnightbellows.blogspot.com/2006/04/cheerleader-nation.html
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