- (FBE) We're actually gonna have you try out some cheer moves yourself.
- (grunts)
- Oh! There it is.
- One, two, three, four. - Ooh!
♪ (rock intro) ♪
- (FBE) Have you heard about the show Cheer?
- Oh, like on Netflix? Yes, I have.
- Cheers? Yes. Cheer? No.
- (FBE) The series was released earlier this year on Netflix,
and it appears to become kind of like a worldwide phenomenon recently.
So, for this episode, we brought in some football players
to kind of bring a different perspective
on cheerleading since we've seen a lot of people online
who don't really consider cheerleading to be a sport...
- Yeah. - (FBE) ...even though it's quite
physically demanding and a lot... - Oh yeah.
- (FBE) ...of them just assume that they're kind of meant
to cheer on the football teams. - I see where you're going. Yeah.
- It's something that you train for to get better, but that don't make it
a sport exactly. - (FBE) To get things started,
we wanted to show you the trailer of this Cheer series,
so you can understand it a little bit better.
But we won't have you be watching it alone.
- Hello! - Hi.
- Hi, I'm Sammie. - I'm Micah.
- I'm a cheerleader. - I'm a football player.
- What's up? - (chuckling) How are you?
- I'm good, man. How are you doing? - 'Sup? How's it going?
- I'm good, man. What's up with you?
- How's it going? - I'm Alyssa,
and I'm an all star cheerleader.
- (Clavacia clapping) - And what you said was wrong.
Cheer is a sport. - Uh-oh.
- Cheerlead-- - (clapping) What is your name?
- Marcus! - Woo! Let's go, Marcus!
Woo! - Yeah.
- I watched this, and you're gonna be blown away
if you think that it's not a sport. - Yes. Oh, yes, Darius.
- That's crazy. - So, fun fact is some of these
are friends of mine.
- (man) People from all over the country come here to cheer
for Monica. - (Coach Monica) My goal was to be
the best cheer program in the country.
- (cheerleader) We only compete once for two minutes
and 15 seconds in Daytona. - Daytona. Mm-hmm.
That's what is like a goal for all cheerleaders like cheer teams,
competition teams to go out there and compete,
and you know, essentially get bragging rights
and credibility. - (cheerleader) We only compete once
for two minutes and 15 seconds. - How many minutes do y'all play
in a football game? - About an hour.
- Because literally people don't realize that you get two minutes
and 30 seconds on the mat. That's your entire career.
- (Coach Monica) We have kids that come from a broken home
or a troubled past. - (cheerleader) I kind of lost myself.
If I wouldn't have came here, I'd be sitting
in a jail cell right now. - I hold things in,
because I feel like I'll be judged sometimes.
- We're always judged in cheer. Always.
- Oh, I bet. - (Coach Monica) Those are my kids.
I'll fight tooth and nail for them.
- And that's when your coach literally becomes your second mom.
- Mm. Never wanna drop a girl. - Oh my goodness.
- Or anybody. - (Monica) If you wanna be
one of the top teams at the competition,
you have to step it up. - (man) Do what you are here to do.
- It's real dangerous too. - I see.
- Yeah, you football players throw balls. We throw people.
- (cheerleader) Whoever thought of chucking someone
into the air and seeing how many times they can flip,
that person is psychotic.
- (cheerleader) But yeah, I'm the crazy person that does it.
- Yup. She's a great flyer, has great technique, everything.
- (coach) Yes. - (cheerleaders) You can!
- (coach) We will. - (cheerleaders) We will!
- (coach) We must. - (cheerleaders) We must!
- (coach) Let's get it. - Yo, this trailer made me
self-conscious about my abilities. Hold up.
- I don't know. I'm kind of at a loss for words
that people take it this seriously. - Cheer isn't just the pom-poms
and just saying "Ra, ra, go team" anymore.
People don't realize the athleticism,
the hard work that goes into it, so I'm glad that they actually showed
how hard we work, the actual stunts that we do.
Yes, we do fall. Yes, we do get hurt.
- One of my friends invited me to practice and was like, "Hey,
do you wanna come to cheerleading practice?"
I was like, "Nah, bro, that's kind of gay." (laughs)
Knowing full well that I like dudes, but it's fine. It's whatever.
- Okay. - And I went and man,
I found a world that embraced me as a person but also challenged me
as an athlete, and it's addicting, because you never stop.
- (FBE) So today, to see how difficult cheer actually is and if it might
be a sport or not, we're actually gonna have you
try out some cheer moves yourself. - (laughs) That's crazy.
- You want the pom-poms. - I don't know if I want 'em now.
(indistinct music and cheering)
- (crowd cheering)
- This is the gym I-- and this-- dude, this is me!
Nobody told me I was gonna be in this.
It's my routine in 2013, dude. Oh my god. That's nuts.
I'm literally right here in the front row.
- So good.
I wish my jumps looked like that. (chuckles)
- Incredible. - Oh my goodness.
- Wow. A lot of jumping. A lot of jumping there.
- (FBE) Okay, so are you guys ready to teach and try
some cheer out today?
- Yes. - Let's get it.
- I should've stretched before I came here today. I know that.
I'll just simply say I'll do what I can.
- I think a lot of guys have the strength to do it.
It's just the technique, and I feel like
you can learn it. - There you go.
And that's a really good saying, because a lot of people think
it's just about being stupid strong, and it's not, you know?
It's a lot about a lot of good technique.
- Let's just start with a T jump. That's your basic--
- T jump. - Okay, all right.
- Okay, so one, two... - (both) Three, four.
- Five, jump, six. - Oh, no. The legs stay in.
- Yes. - When you clap, (claps)
make sure that your-- everything is in.
You don't wanna be like this. You wanna be like this.
- And tight. - Okay?
- Okay. - So, you're gonna bring
your feet up to here. - That looked really nasty to me.
Hold up. - Yeah, you're gonna bring your feet
up to here, but you're gonna bring both of them
up at the same time. So, you'll jump off the ground,
you'll bring 'em up to that position, and then you'll land with your hands
just below your knees. So, you'll basically end up
hitting this position mid-air. Make sense?
- This is the simplest thing you can teach me?
- The simplest one. - All right.
- Clap, one, two. Out, three, four.
Five, jump, six. Good job!
- (claps) - (claps)
- Five, six, seven, eight. One, out, two, down, three, four.
Huh!
Ayy! - There it is.
We don't have to jump too much
in football. There it is. - No applause, guys? Come on.
- Five, six, seven, eight. One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight. - Ooh! I hit outside.
- That's okay. - I'm sorry. I didn't clean.
I didn't clean. - Oh my god!
- But I hit the thing. I hit it.
- Five, six, seven eight.
- (both clap) - One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight. Woo-hoo!
That wasn't bad at all! - Go team!
- That wasn't that bad. - And three, four, five, six,
seven, eight, one. Three, four, wham. Wow!
- Yeah! You see that? - I'm shook.
- Yeah! - I'm shook. I'm shook.
- (FBE) So next up, we are gonna show
some stunt clips. - Okay.
- (FBE) Don't worry, you will not be stunting here today.
But a major part of being one of the top girls
in cheerleading is flexibility and being able to hit
those kind of poses at the top of the pyramid.
- (cheerleaders) One, two, three. - Yeah, this is Top Gun.
I cheered for them when I was in Miami. (chuckles)
- Yes! Arabesque.
- That looks like the Wide World of Sports.
Yes, yes! (claps) - She fell like that.
- That ain't me. Oh, no. You gon' pick me up like that?
- Pwah!
- Yeah, switch girl. Yes! Get that switch, cutie!
- It's always fun to see fully grown adults
stunt with children.
- She is a beast, and she's probably five years old.
- Right.
- She's so young. She's so small. - (chuckles)
- And technique? This girl practically invented it now.
(chuckles) She's so good. - That takes, you know,
day-to-day flexibility, stretching, courage. That's crazy.
- If you got two or three guys down there,
I feel like it's not as crazy. - That's a good observation,
but think of it like this: A lot of the times,
cheer isn't very guy-heavy, so a lot of the bases
are gonna be women doing this, which is what makes cheer amazing,
because sometimes you go out there and you see frail girls
throwing things that even I can't throw,
and it's just like, "Wow." Like, they work harder
than any athlete I've ever met. - So, if you stand here,
and you pick up your left foot, you wanna put the arch of your foot
by your knee right here. And you wanna lift your knee up
as high as possible, hold a glass of water right here.
But tuck that foot in. - Don't bend down to get your foot.
Your foot is gonna come up to you.
(laughs) Yeah. - You just kick it up.
- (laughs) Just so simple, huh. Just kick it up.
- (grunts) - Okay.
We're probably at the same level. - (pained) Probably. Okay.
- All right. There it is. - He got it. He got it.
- Oh! There it is. Hold on. - High V.
- You feel me?
- Good. - That's as high as it's gonna go.
- (grunts) - Yes! So close! Yeah! (claps)
Wait, I can do that too. Yay! - Yeah.
- Now we're matching. - That's easy.
- You got it. No, I believe in you.
- (whispers) Yes, yes, yes, yes. - Oh, yes.
Wow! Okay. - Hold up.
- I love-- yes! And the leg was straight.
We flex the foot, but that's all right, Jesus.
Okay, we made it work. - (FBE) So, for our last round,
we're actually gonna have you guys learn a short cheer routine together
from one of the most popular cheer movies of all time.
- Ohh! Is it Bring It On? - Oh, boy. Yeah.
- Bring It On? - (clapping) Bring! It! On!
- Which one? One, two, or three?
- Ohhh! He knows.
- That's Bring It On. - Clovers.
- I got sisters. I've seen this.
- Yeah. Mm-hmm. - Ayyy!
The Clovers! (clapping) - Oh! Yes, Gabby!
Do your thing! Ay, sis!
- ♪ I said brr! ♪ (rhythmic clapping)
- (cheers along) ♪ It's cold in here ♪ - (cheers along) ♪ There must be
some Clovers in the atmosphere ♪ - See! You know it.
- (cheers along) ♪ I said brr! ♪
- (both cheer along) ♪ It's cold in here ♪
- ♪ There must be some Clovers in the atmosphere ♪
- ♪ (humming along) ♪ - ♪ I said oh-ee-oh-ee-oh ♪
♪ Ice, ice, ice ♪ - Slow it down!
- ♪ Oh-ee-oh-ee-oh ♪ - (chuckling)
- Oh, I love this movie. - A lot of people think cheer
is just Bring It On, which is great that Cheer
on Netflix came out, because now you get a little bit more insight.
- I watched that one for sure. - See, there you go.
- I've watched that one. - Even the Muggles like it.
- We got this. Let's get it! - I'm just gonna copy off of you
the whole time. - All right-y.
- All right. - Five, six, seven, eight.
♪ Brr ♪ (claps) - ♪ It's cold in here ♪
♪ There must be some Clovers in the atmosphere ♪
- (both) ♪ I said Brr! ♪ (stomps) ♪ It's cold in here ♪
- ♪ There must be some Clovers in the atmosphere ♪
- Slow it down. ♪ Oh-ee-oh-ee-oh ♪
♪ Ice, ice, ice ♪ - Ow, ow, ow!
- Our game day cheers
are not quite like that. (chuckles) - I want In-N-Out for real, though.
I'm hungry now. I done worked up a little appetite.
- (FBE) So, now that you have tried out some moves yourself, Micah,
how are you feeling? - Oh, I'm feeling great.
- (laughs) - Best believe,
next sign up for cheer, I'ma be at the top of the list.
- I definitely wouldn't do it for fun or as a sport,
but... - But it is a sport.
You know, just throwing that out there.
- The athleticism behind it is definitely to not be undermined.
It takes a team effort. There are no individuals
in cheerleading. You all have to be in sync.
- A little less confident than I was when I walked in.
- Oh. - But you know what?
I appreciate my partner here, 'cause he definitely helped me
and gave me, you know, the support I needed.
- (chuckles) We're supportive. That's what cheerleaders are for.
- (FBE) Finally, to end this episode, what do you guys want to say
to those out there that might not think
that cheerleading is a sport now that you've tried it yourself?
- Oh, it's a sport. - That was probably one
of the harder things I've ever had to try
as far as physical activity. - People should take it
a little bit more seriously, because people are really passionate
about it, you know? Just the same way
as they're passionate about football or soccer, anything like that.
- You try to be flexible and then still gotta maintain
your conditioning, your stamina. It's a lot of commitment.
- At the end of the day, I still feel like it's--
you feel me? It's not a sport. They some high intensity,
high level athletes, and it's a profession for sure too.
- Traditionally, it is true that it wasn't a sport.
And the traditional style of cheerleading is non-competitive
and is strictly supportive to our teams, and then it evolved
into competitive, all-star cheerleading.
Some people aren't quite caught up on that world, so I don't really
take too much offense to it now, 'cause the Olympic union has now
deemed us a sport, so everybody else can kick rocks.
- Thank you so much for watching this episode.
- What show should we react to next? - Let us know down in the comments.
- If you liked this episode, make sure you hit that Like button.
- Bye, guys. - Hey, everyone.
Lauren, producer here at FBE. Thank you so much
for watching this episode. Make sure you guys subscribe
to the channel if you wanna see more videos just like this
and hit the notification bell so you get to know
whenever we upload a new video. Bye!