In order to access information about an ASU student-athlete, I normally visit the official intercollegiate web site of ASU athletics. The site is easy to navigate and provides information about team and individual achievements for each sport. But as I was trying to access information about ASU cheerleader Jessica Shannon, I couldn't find any information about the ASU cheerleading program on the official web site. Apparently, ASU Cheer is not considered a sport by ASU athletics.
In fact, as I searched the site with various cheerleading keywords like "tumble," "cheer" and "hot girls," I only came across one article that detailed the ASU Cheer program.
Then I realized that the general public's lack of knowledge about the ASU Cheer program is exactly what stood out in my interview with Jessica Shannon. She details the demanding schedule of cheerleaders, their enduring work ethic and their lack of recognition as athletes.
And she does it all with a smile:
SPM: Don't I know you?
Shannon: You've probably seen me around. Whether I'm in uniform or not, people tend to recognize cheerleaders' faces. We do a lot of promotional events and can often be seen around campus. That's why we have to watch our behavior.
SPM: What's it like to cheer for ASU sporting events in front of thousands of people?
Shannon: It's so much fun! The more the crowd is into it, the more you're into it. It also helps when the team is winning.
SPM: I guess you had a bad week then. How much does the cheer team practice and is your practice in preparation for games or cheerleading competitions?
Shannon: We practice Monday through Thursday from 9:00-11:30 a.m. and then Saturdays we have games and Sundays we have open gym. Monday and Wednesday mornings we do weights. The practices are almost all for competition. We go over game preparation early in the year, but practice is for competition.
SPM: So you pretty much only have Fridays off. It seems like you have all the demanding hours of an ASU athletic team, but is cheerleading really a sport?
Shannon: Yes, it's a sport! We put just as much time in as anyone else. Cheer has the skill, strength and endurance of a sport and it's growing every day. We've been on ESPN, too.
SPM: Exactly, you've been on ESPN 2. If cheerleading is really such a difficult sport, what are some advanced moves?
Shannon: Partner stunting, full up stunts, a double full, twisting baskets and pyramids to name a few.
SPM: OK, sounds pretty technical. How did you become an ASU cheerleader?
Shannon: I've been cheering since my sophomore year in high school. I wanted to cheer for a big school with a football program that also participated in competitions, and ASU was the perfect place. Cheerleaders are more about the competitions than the football games, though.
SPM: Are cheerleaders given an undeserved stereotype?
Shannon: Yes, definitely. People don't really know us, and they assume that we're ditzy and stupid. We're normal, fun human beings.
SPM: I don't know about normal. I certainly can't do a flip off the ground and there's no way you're throwing me up in the air. So, what's you're actual position in cheer?
Shannon: All the girls fly and I'm in the middle on pyramids. I'm the girl on top of the guy and there's a girl on me.
SPM: Wait, so you mean that if I was a male cheerleader I could have two girls on top of me all at once? I've got to start coming to open gym. Is it uncomfortable for you to be held up by a guy whose got his hand on your, uh, bloomers?
Shannon: No, you don't think about it that way. And hopefully the guy doesn't either.
SPM: Trust me, he does. Anything you want to add?
Shannon: I think cheerleaders don't get recognized for all the work we do. We don't get scholarships and we don't even get invited to athletic team events that all the other sports are invited to.
SPM: I respect you. So, what are you doing Friday night?
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