Place your bets

UNTFan23 · February 12, 2004

Man, there are such negative vibes in this thread. We're all playing for the same team here. It seems like there are internal issues within the squad, but our hammering them isn't really going to help very much. The best we can do is be supportive of the ones that do want to cheer for NT.

See ya at the game.

BTW, IMHO this thread is ready for lockdown ... ASAP ... PDQ.

stebo · February 12, 2004

So have we moved over to the strong Cheerleading Association now, just can't compete for this year? From what I understand there are two major competions/laegues and we were prviously in what was considered the "easier" league. From your post, I take it we have moved on up with the big boys of cheer? When will will resume competition, next year? I would like to see how we do in a more competitive league. I just can't respect any league that ULM can win.

CO Green · February 13, 2004

Its interesting that you say we moved up to a better league. That part is debateable. I feel the new organization we are in now doesn't fully encompass all of cheerleading, but that is just my opinion. About being easier our former company everyone had a chance to win. There are some teams that are consistently at the top but everyone has a chance. In the company we are in now, it has been dominated by one team, Kentucky. I am not exactly sure about the competition thing for next year but I am hopeful. And by the way, ULM is in the organization that we are in right now.

Edited February 13, 2004 by CO Green

FirefightnRick · February 13, 2004

Even if they can't do the Eagle Claw correctly all the time I love the cheerleaders. They have been a huge committed group of students that have represented us well over the years. I am with Cerabus on the fundraising thing. We need to push for them to get scholarships as well. It's way past time to right a wrong in that department.

Rick

stebo · February 13, 2004

CO, I didn't mean to play down the past championships one bit, I hope I didn't do that. I had a good friend that was a cheerleader and another that used to work for me and both have told me the different positives of the two associations. Both of them did seem to have an inferiority of the other league but those were just two guys out of the hundreds that have held those positions. I am very surprised about ULM winning the Div IA competition over Kentucky, are they in the same level of competition or are they considered "small school" IA?

CO Green · February 13, 2004

Stebo, I didn't take it that way at all. I totally understand. If you really want to know the difference between the two you really have to see routines from both organizations. If you really want to see the different routines I can give you that information. As far as ULM winning, they are in the small coed division of IA. They only took four guys to the competition.

mdolan · February 13, 2004

all 4 of them were there tonight, i saw them, but i didnt really hear them

NTEagle08 · February 13, 2004

and no Scrappy, AGAIN!

GreenBrigadeDebbie · February 13, 2004

CO Green, any reason why we do not have backups to Scrappy? I understand that there is a life outside of being the mascot, but come on!!! SOMEONE should be in the Scrappy costume at ALL home games. I find it a little weird that we can get 6 cheerleaders to go to AWAY games during football season (I have the 2002 Mean Green DVD and can prove that there are that many cheerleaders there. Look at the part from the Lafayette and MTSU games. There are 6 cheerleaders and Scrappy!) and have Scrappy there too, but when basketball season comes around, we can't get more than 4 cheerleaders and Scrappy on a consistent basis and at home too. I understand that we can't have backups to the cheerleaders because we all can't do the cheers and wear the teeny tiny uniforms and the whole tumbling part. But it is not hard to find someone who can wear the Scrappy costume, put it on, walk around the Super Pit and entertain the crowd. And I am sure that there are plenty of people are willing to do this. So CO Green can you shed some light on this? Why can't we have backups to Scrappy to fill in for the regular guy when he has prior engagements that keep him from the game? And no, I am not flaming the cheerleading squad!! I am just curious as to why we cannot have replacements for Scrappy so we can have a mascot at all home games!

CO Green · February 13, 2004

Hey GreenBrigadeDebbie, if you look at one of my previous posts I think I mention the fact of not competing this year and still no scholarships as one of the reasons for the lack of commitment this year. Scrappy didn't go to all of the away games this year. And last year I don't think he went to all of them either. I am not sure about the whole back up Scrappy situation. You might want to talk to Jennifer Cloutier about it, she is the Spirit Coordinator and I think she can give you more details about it.

MeanGreenQueen · February 13, 2004

There is a girl named Jackie that I met tonight and she REALLY wanted to be the mascot because she wants to go to the games and get the crowd into it. What does it take to be the mascot? When are tryouts? Do they accept people that actually want to be there? Does she have to know how to do backflips? Where does she go? Who does she talk to? She'll be there whenever you'll let her!!

CO Green · February 13, 2004

MGQ, I am not sure about a lot of the mascot stuff. Your best bet is to talk to Jennifer Cloutier. I think you might be able to reach her through the athletic department but I am not sure. Most of the information comes through her.

GreenBrigadeDebbie · February 13, 2004

I think it is sad that most of our cheerleading squad tried out solely for the opportunity to compete and not for the MAIN reason why there are cheerleaders in the first place. And that is to cheer on the Mean Green in every sport. And no, not every cheerleader is a cheerleader for the intent of competiting. CO Green I really like the fact that you take the time to come on this board and read what other fans have to say and read our concerns. That is totally cool!! And I have a lot of respect for you for that. Yes, we really do not the amount of traditions that other schools have, but the traditions have to start somewhere. UT or A&M's traditions did not just plop out of the sky and they suddenly had traditions. I think that with the cheerleaders help, this student body can really get things headed in the right direction. I love having 21 on the squad because I came from a high school that had like a lot of cheerleaders (I graduated from Plano East Senior High). But at the same time, I want cheerleaders on the squad who love cheering and truly believe that our team is the best. Yeah, competitions are fun and the National Championships that the squad has won have been fabulous for school publicity. And I congratulate the people on the squads who have won the championships. But competiting is just one aspect of cheerleading.

I mean this post in no offense to anyone who reads this. I am merely stating my opinions.

February 13, 2004

I agree that hopefully in the future the selection of cheerleaders will have more to do with if the person actually wants to cheer for the University of North Texas.

stebo · February 13, 2004

Debbie,

That is silly. If the band didn't require music majors to be in the marching band we would have a band the size of the pep band for football games. Along those lines, the pep band ONLY comes to the basketball games when they are PAID. On top of that many of them are on scholarship so they are essentially getting double paid. If our football team did not have an opportunity to compete on the field then why would they play, just to entertain us? Play scrimmages against one another? No, they play because they have the opportunity to play other teams and even get to play in a championship bowl game.

The cheerleaners are a volunteer organization. They are not paid. The only things funded for them are their uniforms and their coach. They often have to pay to go to road games and are definitely not compensated for performing at basketball games the way that the band is. We should be fighting for more money for our cheerleaders so that we can ask more of them rather than complaining about what we have now. There is an old saying, you get what you pay for. Right now we are getting what we are paying for, a volunteer cheer squad with no scholarships at a Div I institution. The only reward that they have received in the past is the chance to compete and show off their hard work in a national competition and that was taken away from them this year due to switching organizations.

Now, I do have complaints about the cheerleaders, don't get me wrong. It is impossible for me to believe that they cannot come up with a cheer that gets the crowd to chant in unison. A little bit of effort in working with the jumbotrons, the band, and the stadium/arena annoucners and we could have a signature crowd cheer within a year or even a few games. That effort never seems to be made and it flat out pisses me off. If the very best we can do is to hang out balloons to bang together than we are in bad shape. We should not have to rely on artificial noise makers alone for our crowd to become involved in the game. This is one area that the cheerleaders need desperately to address and it would not cost them a penny, just a little effort and time.

GreenBrigadeDebbie · February 14, 2004

Stebo,

There are not nearly the amount of music scholarships that people think there are. Granted there are some on scholarship, but not as many as you think. Yes, the marching band is required for music majors. Partially to get more people in the band, but mainly to help educate the music majors on having collegiate marching band experience. Yes, the spirit in the band should be higher and that more people should be in the band without having it required. But these two things have gotten A LOT better in the past few years. Trust me. I have seen the spirit in the band rise first hand and the band has more and more non music majors in the band every year. That means more people want to be in the band. More people want to express their school pride through being in the marching band. I have been a member of the Green Brigade since 1999. That year the GB was actually cheering for the opposing team. (Sad and pathetic I know) But since 2001, the GB has gotten bitten by the Mean Green bug. We cheer the Mean Green on, we start a lot of cheers in the stands, and more non majors are in the band than in 99 and the non majors are having the time of our lives supporting the Mean Green. And actually even though the basketball band is compensated for playing, there are a lot that are there because they want to. I have some friends in the band. They enjoy playing for the team (and the money is the not the only thing that gets them there either).

But the reason we have cheerleaders is to lead cheers. They are to start cheers and support the team. I don't think I am asking too much by asking to have a cheerleading squad that cares about the athletic program and having people that really want to cheer be on the squad. Yes, I agree, the cheerleaders should get compensation for what they do. Yes they should get scholarships. I think that we help the cheerleaders out with this as much as the band is getting compensated. I think it sucks that they practically get no compensation for what they do. But at the same time, whether you are paid or not (and this is going to be true with the band), you should still have enough pride to cheer for the team no matter what. Yes, the competitions are great and strong part of the squad. And having them win 3 National Championships have done great things for the school. No doubt. But cheering should be the biggest draw.

I think that with more growth we will have compensation for the cheerleaders. And the band will be there without giving the money a thought.

I hope that you aren't mad at me Stebo for my views. I pretty much agree with you on most points. I think that it sucks about the compensation for the cheerleaders. Yes, there are some music majors that would not join the marching band if it weren't required. But the willingness and the wanting to be in the band has dramatically changed for the better since I came in '99. The spirit is on the rise. But I think things are definitely looking up. I know once I graduate and have a job, I will be donating money not only for the athletic department but to help set up compensation to the cheerleaders.

I think that I have won the award for one of the longest posts. But please do not take offense to anything I have said. I wanted to clarify my views some more.

And Stebo, don't get mad at me please.

stebo · February 14, 2004

Hey Deb, you know I love ya; I would never get mad at you. But to dogpile on the cheer squad when they are a volunteer group is just taking it too far. Where were all of those "spirited" band members during the non-paid games over the break? What about the one tv game from last year where the pep band didn't show up because they weren't being paid. That was last year, not in 1999. And Debbie, you told me that you were the exception when it comes tot he band. You told me that yourself just last summer.

Is the band getting into the games more? Heck yeah! Why? Because we are winning. They were just as much into the games in 1994 when we were winning. It is not because there is some new philosophy being preached, it is because the band, like the whole student body, likes to cheer for a winner. So whether they are on scholarship, getting class credit for it, or being paid cold hard cash; most members of the band are getting "something" for being there. That is more than can be said for the cheerleaders. Even those non-music majors enroll in the class and get elective credits towards graduation. Part of getting your grade is showing up to stuff. If we had an all volunteer band, I bet it would be just as sporadic at the basketball games as it is with cheerleaders. In fact, it would probably be worse... well, in fact, it flat out is worse... they have shown that they simply will not show up at basketball games if they are not required to and not getting paid to be there. They have shown it this year, not in 1999. So let's cut the cheer squad some slack on the participation thing; but go after them on their everything else. I totally agree that they need to get a clue as to how to get the crowd into the game.

UNT_92_Fan · February 14, 2004

can we kill this topic yet???? The whole Cheerleader bashing is getting boring.... Lets talk about how we can support our basketball team...and let other org. or groups take care of themselves

untangel4 · February 14, 2004

can we kill this topic yet???? The whole Cheerleader bashing is getting boring.... Lets talk about how we can support our basketball team...and let other org. or groups take care of themselves

I agree!

TX Green · February 14, 2004

I think it is great that people are starting to realize that the cheerleaders are a volunteer organization and that bashing them is not helping the situation. Yes there are more important things to cheering I agree firsthand that supporting your school first is more important than competitions but when these people have been competing for years on end they may see the light a little differently. I believe that school spirit should be at the top of the list of priorities and hopefully the cheerleaders will be somehow rewarded for their cheering next year and we won't have this problem. Let's just hope that there will be money coming from somewhere to encourage them to do a better job of supporting the school. GMG!!!

February 14, 2004

Does the dance team get scholarships or are they paid to go to games?

greenjoe · February 14, 2004

last word, I promise... If cheerleading is a volunteer organization, what did they VOLUNTEER to do?

untchick · February 20, 2004

hey guys! just to let you guys know...only 6 to 8 cheerleaders are suppossed to be at each game so there is no way 10 are gonna show up so make sure your bets are reasonable also, the people that do show up when they are suppossed to are dedicated and should be shown respect. just because some of them dont care to support unt some of them do.

thanks

Zeke · February 20, 2004

Thank you to the cheerleaders that make it to the games. The others I am not so thankful for. Perhaps it is time to look elsewhere for those particular cheerleaders positions.

untchick · February 20, 2004

This paragraph says SO MUCH. CO, I try to respect the cheerleaders as much as I can, but to tell the truth, if the cheerleaders dropped competition completely and just got people who wanted to be at games it would be fine with me (and probably many others)

i agree with this!! i cheer to support my school and our teams and i did not care about us not competing this year. i think we have a few people on our team this yr that are the same but us being such a small number we cant be at every game. i am at every game i am signed up for and enjoy being there. There just arent enough people like us that are not there just to compete to form a full squad.