My OperaWhere Is the Cheering Squad?
Friday, December 15, 2006 12:55:51 PM
The sporting events now held in this university are totally different from the ones held during my stay in secondary and senior high school.
I was weak in sports from the very beginning. Therefore, the only thing I can do to make myself useful in those events is being a member in the cheering squad. It is a shame that I cannot be an athlete in any of those games.
The sporting events themselves in this university have little difference from the previous ones. However, the form and atmosphere change so much. I strongly feel this through being a member in cheering squad for so many years.
During the time when I was still in secondary and senior high school, sporting events were always held in the winter after the middle exam. The first procedure was parade, a march in a public procession. We had rehearsal several times days before the events. When the opening ceremony began, all of the students wore the school uniform and marched around the playground, with colorful plastic flowers or banners holding in their hands. Everything went like the ceremonial review of troops.
After that, different kinds of fierce competition began. It was not only the competitors but also all of the other classmates devoted themselves in the sporting events. I was the one of the members in the cheering squad. The athletes ran, and we ran. The athletes finished the running, but we were still running, because we had to run to get clothes, or water, or medicine for external use.
Every class was a unit, having their own camps, which were scattered around the playground. Everyone enjoyed the happiness and sometimes disappointment during the games. The whole class, the athletes and members in the cheering squad, became an entire whole. Blood or tear was not unusual. The sporting events provided an opportunity for those athletes to prove their value in front of their classmates, and the whole class helped each other. In a word, it was not the results or prize that counts, but the events made the class more united. What is more, the spirit shown in the games encouraged everyone. The whole playground was an ocean of cheers and shouts. You would never feel any coldness when you were there.
Now, let’s see how the sporting events in my university look like.
Due to the large population of the students in the university, there are several rounds of sporting events between respective faculties first, and then comes the final university-wide one. However, disproportionally, there is much less people in much larger playground. All you see are only the athletes and the referees. Some of their close friends sometimes come to cheer them up. It doesn’t even look like a competition.
Athletes just come to finish their task, because they have no enthusiasm at all. There is no cheering squad; even no one except the referee is watching the athlete who happens to be the last participant. The whole playground is almost silent. You feel even colder here.
It seems that it is only the athletes’ own responsibility. No one even their classmates care about them or the results. The sport events just began and end without any waves. Except for some awards and prizes, nothing seems to have been added or improved.
Let’s just imagine, when the Olympic Games began, there is only the referees and athletes on the playground. Can that still be called Games?
In my opinion, cheering squad is to sporting events as soul is to human beings. Without it, the sporting events are just meaningless and fruitless.
There are only two sides for you to choose. To be an athlete, or else, to be a member in the cheering squad.
I was weak in sports from the very beginning. Therefore, the only thing I can do to make myself useful in those events is being a member in the cheering squad. It is a shame that I cannot be an athlete in any of those games.
The sporting events themselves in this university have little difference from the previous ones. However, the form and atmosphere change so much. I strongly feel this through being a member in cheering squad for so many years.
During the time when I was still in secondary and senior high school, sporting events were always held in the winter after the middle exam. The first procedure was parade, a march in a public procession. We had rehearsal several times days before the events. When the opening ceremony began, all of the students wore the school uniform and marched around the playground, with colorful plastic flowers or banners holding in their hands. Everything went like the ceremonial review of troops.
After that, different kinds of fierce competition began. It was not only the competitors but also all of the other classmates devoted themselves in the sporting events. I was the one of the members in the cheering squad. The athletes ran, and we ran. The athletes finished the running, but we were still running, because we had to run to get clothes, or water, or medicine for external use.
Every class was a unit, having their own camps, which were scattered around the playground. Everyone enjoyed the happiness and sometimes disappointment during the games. The whole class, the athletes and members in the cheering squad, became an entire whole. Blood or tear was not unusual. The sporting events provided an opportunity for those athletes to prove their value in front of their classmates, and the whole class helped each other. In a word, it was not the results or prize that counts, but the events made the class more united. What is more, the spirit shown in the games encouraged everyone. The whole playground was an ocean of cheers and shouts. You would never feel any coldness when you were there.
Now, let’s see how the sporting events in my university look like.
Due to the large population of the students in the university, there are several rounds of sporting events between respective faculties first, and then comes the final university-wide one. However, disproportionally, there is much less people in much larger playground. All you see are only the athletes and the referees. Some of their close friends sometimes come to cheer them up. It doesn’t even look like a competition.
Athletes just come to finish their task, because they have no enthusiasm at all. There is no cheering squad; even no one except the referee is watching the athlete who happens to be the last participant. The whole playground is almost silent. You feel even colder here.
It seems that it is only the athletes’ own responsibility. No one even their classmates care about them or the results. The sport events just began and end without any waves. Except for some awards and prizes, nothing seems to have been added or improved.
Let’s just imagine, when the Olympic Games began, there is only the referees and athletes on the playground. Can that still be called Games?
In my opinion, cheering squad is to sporting events as soul is to human beings. Without it, the sporting events are just meaningless and fruitless.
There are only two sides for you to choose. To be an athlete, or else, to be a member in the cheering squad.
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