So I was shooting a Jazz game recently and I remembered a prior conversation with a friend where they commented that one of the perks of shooting Jazz games is that the dancers (cheerleaders) sit next to the photographers on the baselines. I retorted that this was not a perk because the smell from all the gallons perfume and layers of hairspray is enough to make you ill.
Sorry, it is just not my gig.
But this sparked a memory of a totally kick ass cheerleader I had shot during the girls high school basketball championships. Alexis Armstrong is a special needs student at Wasatch High School where she is also a member of the cheer squad. I was fortunate to meet her prior to her team’s game in the championship.
I was getting set up to shoot when I noticed her in her wheelchair trying to get up onto the court that had been laid at the E Center in West Valley. Her cheer squad teammates were already in position and none of them had helped her onto the court so I went over and introduced myself to her and wheeled her on the court where she could cheer.
She was behind me much of the time at first while I was shooting but when I changed positions to the other side of the court for a quarter I could see why she was member of the squad.
Alexis seemed to be the only cheerleader in the arena really cheering with all her heart. She was really going for it with everything she had. Maybe it was the disability that freed her from the scripted routines that seem to be really heavy in passion-lacking yells of words of encouragement, painful ear to ear smiles and the manicured look of cliche.
No matter what it was, she really cheered for her team in a genuine manner that stood her apart from the rest.
I have never understood the concept of cheerleaders and probably never will. But watching Alexis gave me hope that not all cheerleaders are as annoying as I imagine them to be.
Her team went onto win the championship.
PS. Why is there always a couple cheerleaders that run onto the court during timeouts tumbling as far as they can? Why do they do this and what purpose does it serve?