Sis Boom Bah

According to this article in today's New York Times (subscription may be required), cheerleading has become at least as, and perhaps more, dangerous than some of the sporting events at which cheerleaders do whatever it is they do:

Emergency room visits for cheerleading injuries nationwide have more than doubled since the early 1990s, far outpacing the growth in the number of cheerleaders, and the rate of life-threatening injuries has startled researchers. Of 104 catastrophic injuries sustained by female high school and college athletes from 1982 to 2005 — head and spinal trauma that occasionally led to death — more than half resulted from cheerleading, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research. All sports combined did not surpass cheerleading.

This danger element may be new to cheerleading, but here's something that has always been true: Cheerleading is stupid, exceptionally so.

I have never understood why parents and schools at all levels -- elementary, high school, and college -- think it is worthwhile to have students, almost always female, spend time "cheering on" others, almost always male, instead of doing something constructive themselves. I mean, it is not like people attending sporting events don't know when to applaud. And, please, don't tell me how athletic you have to be to do it. If cheerleaders were such good athletes, they would be playing on the teams they watch.

It's always been ridiculous. And now it's ridiculous and dangerous. It's tough to be perky after being dropped on your head.