WILY TV 8/14/05: Give me a T! Give me a V!

Admit it. When you run across the national cheerleading competitions on ESPN2, you watch. It's okay. You're not alone.

Now, I'll make a confession. I was a college cheerleader. Wasteland Spouse and I were stunting partners. It was fun and some of the most physically demanding stuff I've done. Hey, I weighed 200+ pounds and could do a standing back tuck. That took work. And, I spent hours on end holding young women -- admittedly, skinny young women, but still -- over my head and on my shoulders. I won't even start on the pain of a person falling on your head from 10 feet up, while kicking and screaming.

Anyways, yesterday, we ran across the NCA National Cheerleading championships on "The Deuce" and watched a bit. Then, later in the afternoon, we caught bits and pieces of Bring it On on one of the basic cable channels. (The movie basically sucks, but it's a fun sort of sucking and some of the barbs directed at cheerleading are spot on.)

At the end of the day, Wasteland Kid (who's 4) says, "Hey, do you want to see my cheerleading routine?" So, intrigued, I say yes. WK proceeds to turn his back to me, wiggle his ass, and say, "Shake you booty one more time! Shake your booty one more time!"

I told him he was 75% of the way to a national championship.

What I learned yesterday on TV: There's a little cheerleader in us all; embrace the cheerleader within.