Does Lacrosse Have Cheerleaders? (Is It Trending?)
When considering the most popular sports in the world and the United States, some have cheerleaders, whereas others don’t. The reasons for this are many, but the particular question I have seen lately considers lacrosse. So, does lacrosse have cheerleaders?
Generally, youth, high school, and collegiate level lacrosse doesen’t have cheerleaders, nor do women’s lacrosse. However, MLL and NLL professional lacrosse do have cheerleaders at their games.
That being said, the answer is a yes and a no answer. So, the lower level of lacrosse from college and downwards doesen’t have lacrosse. The reason for this is because the cheerleading season is during fall and winter, whereas a lacrosse season is played in spring.
So, when the cheerleading season is on, lacrosse players aren’t playing and vice versa. Naturally, there aren’t any cheerleaders present on the lower level of lacrosse.
However, professional lacrosse has professional cheerleaders that can work whenever really, so the issue of seasons isn’t present.
Another reason for the lack of cheerleaders in most lacrosse is the popularity of lacrosse. Have you ever been in a lacrosse game? They are rarely even close to sold-out, and that hit’s the budgets. Cheerleaders aren’t free, which is partly why there are so few in lacrosse.
Besides, cheerleaders usually won’t pick lacrosse as their first choice either. Other sports such as ice hockey and football are considerably more popular, and they would rather practice cheerleading there.
All things considered, lacrosse is growing, and without a doubt, so is the cheerleading population within the sport. To recap, here are the reasons why lacrosse doesen’t see as many cheerleaders as other sports at the moment:
- Noncurrent season with lacrosse
- Lack of lacrosse budget
- Low lacrosse popularity compared to other sports
- Cheerleaders want to work amongst more popular sports
Contents
Pros and Cons With Cheerleaders In Lacrosse
Given that there are sports that have cheerleaders and don’t, it would be nice to know the benefits and the downsides of having them for lacrosse, or are there any? Let’s start with the pros.
Pros
The main objective of cheerleaders is to cheer up the energy on the games, and we all know that lacrosse could use some of that. In my opinion, that’s the best benefit of all and sufficient alone to justify cheerleaders on the games. Personally, I like cheerleaders and what they can achieve to the vibes.
The cheering effects aren’t certainly beneficial and pleasant to the fans such as myself. The cheers are meant for the team, and the players can absorb some of that energy! This makes the players feel better, play better, and the overall match quality will be better when cheerleaders are present.
Second, the effect of cheerleaders isn’t only beneficial to the fans and players, but there is even a third group of people benefitting from them. That’s the cheerleaders themselves, and the young girls and some boys that look up to them as role models.
The cheerleaders love to cheer as that’s what they have chosen to do; they get paid to do it and can live their lives off the salary. A job that is fun and pays the bills at the same time! The youth that looks up to them can gain a sense of direction, hobby idea, or even a lifestyle, with a dash of positiveness.
Cons
As in all things, where you can find pros, you can find cons! That’s the same with cheerleading and lacrosse. Let’s learn more.
The first con for cheerleaders in lacrosse would be the risk of injury for the cheerleaders. Given that lacrosse shots are very powerful, and the ball will hurt when struck, it’s dangerous if the cheerleaders go in the way of the ball’s trajectory. As you might know, there is much room behind a lacrosse goal where people might accidentally wonder.
Second, even though the cheerleaders mean good and their objective is to cheer and make everything better, some players feel that they interfere with the focus and flow of the gameplay.
Imagine being a lacrosse player, and you have your flow going on, but then a group of cheerleaders pauses the game to cheer.
Personally, I don’t see the issue with this, and it would get me even more pumped out, but I know that some players feel this way, and that’s a con when some of the teammates are interrupted out of their focus.
You can weigh the pros and cons of cheerleaders in lacrosse, but my opinion is that bring out the cheerleaders as their energy is so great, and the cons are so small. Although, you might have a different opinion, and that’s why it’s on the discussion anyways.
Which Sports Have Cheerleaders?
Cheerleading isn’t a treat for all sports. In fact, only the chosen few get to include cheerleaders into their games and thus, making the game ambiance much better! So, what sports are the lucky ones?
Generally, football, basketball, and ice hockey have the most cheerleaders of all sports. Cheerleaders are occasionally seen in other sports, including soccer and formula. Fighting sports like wrestling, MMA, and boxing feature ring girls mixed with cheerleaders but aren’t.
There aren’t more spots than the big three where cheerleaders are always seen and a big part of the sport itself.
However, when switching genders, there is only one women’s sport where male cheerleaders appear, and that’s women’s roller derby. Are you as surprised as me when I first heard about it? Probably.
So, the sport that nearly always have included cheerleaders are;
- Football
- Basketball
- Ice Hockey
- Women’s Roller Derby
What Countries Have Cheerleaders
It was interesting to see the sports that have included cheerleaders as part of their culture; it doesn’t tell the story of which countries have done so. Cheerleaders usually wear revealing clothes, which is far from acceptable in some countries, so what countries do have cheerleaders in the first place?
Cheerleading is the most popular in the United States, Finland, followed by the Philippines, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The sport is popular in every continent except Africa and Antarctica.
In countries where revealing clothes on women aren’t still approved, such as Arabic ones, you really can’t find cheerleading. In addition, cheerleading hasn’t spread to developing countries either, where many are in Africa. Thus, there isn’t much cheerleading in African or Middle Eastern countries.
When it comes to the most popular area of all cheerleading, Texas in the United States is considered the heart of modern cheer!
Is Cheerleading a Girl Sport
Cheerleading originated as a man’s sport and developed into a woman’s sport. But is it as such in today’s world? In the decade of 2020, there practically aren’t any girl’s and boy’s things as separate because of the norms we live in today. So, what’s the case with cheerleading?
In short, cheerleading is a female dominant sport, but it isn’t a girl sport. Both women and men are practicing the sport of cheerleading, whether that is on a female team, mixed team, or an all-male team. It’s estimated that 76.9% of cheerleaders are female, 17.5% are male, and 5.6% are unknown.
These numbers come from Zippia statistics and are from the United States. That being said, if 76.9% or roughly 3/4 of cheerleaders are female, it isn’t exclusively a girl sport.
I know only one male cheerleader personally, and I can tell you that I don’t know many other men in better masculine shape than he is. Therefore, cheerleading isn’t a girl’s sport, nor are male cheerleaders feminine, on the contrary.
