Cheerleading: Sport Fact or Fiction?

"She's ditzy," "They're snobs," "What an airhead," and the list of unflattering traits goes on. When referring to cheerleaders, chances are you've probably heard them all. You may imagine a cheerleading member is not too bright, and more concerned about what shade of red lipstick to wear than world events. Most people think of cheerleading squads as a social club of good-looking girls who wouldn't give the average Joe the time of day, right? Wrong. Cheerleaders are athletes. In past years, high school cheerleaders needed only to be pretty, perky and popular. However, over the last d…