The Ravens published their list of Super Bowl cheerleaders last week. But there was a problem, according to Courtney Lenz, a 5-year Ravens cheerleader veteran: she wasn't on the list. Lenz had announced in December that she would retire at the end of the season, assuming that she would be at every game until the Ravens lost in the postseason. She also weighed in two pounds over the "weight limit" and is now wondering if her weight is the reason she was asked to hand in her uniform before the Super Bowl.
The Retirement
If this was really about Lenz retiring and the Ravens organization treated everyone equally, then why wasn't Ray Lewis cut from the Super Bowl squad? I'm pretty sure people are more upset about Lewis's retirement than hers. If the team was "upset" with people who said they weren't coming back next season, then Lewis should have been cut before Lenz. I think I can say pretty safely that this isn't about her retirement announcement.
The Weight
This is interesting. Here is the link to Lenz's "cheerleader bio" on the Ravens' site. I have no idea when the photos of her in her uniform were taken (or if they've been edited to take some pounds off the sides or not), but she does not look like that anymore. She might have only gained two pounds, but her body composition has completely changed.
I've never cheered before, but I went to the University of Louisville, where our cheerleaders won 15 National Championships. I roomed with a UofL cheerleader hopeful my freshman year. They do not have a weight requirement; they have a BMI requirement. They also have a "you-need-to-look-good-in-your-uniform" requirement. Muffin tops do not a good look make.
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| Lenz cheering in too-tight pants. (Photo from Facebook) |
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| Official Ravens Photo of Lenz (Photo from BaltimoreRavens.com) |
My Verdict
I'm not saying that she should be nixed because of what she looks like (she is gorgeous, just a little plump), but it would definitely not surprise me if she was. I mean she's really pretty, but she's pudgy. Cheerleaders aren't pudgy. They're just not. This is not me having an opinion about whether pudgy girls should or should not be allowed to cheer, but I witnessed a large cheerleader at my high school being booed off the floor during a pep rally. Even high schoolers have no tolerance for big cheerleaders. Every job has requirements and if you can't maintain those requirements, you get fired. Being small is part of the requirements for the gig that she chose. If she can't look the part, she can't be a member of the squad.
I would like to take a second and just say that this is absolutely not meant to be an attack on larger women. This is simply me pointing out the facts. In all honesty, if I had my way we would completely axe professional cheerleading altogether. It's silly and a waste of money. At least in college cheering there's some measure of gymnastic ability required. Somehow in the cross from college to pro, cheerleading becomes what a college dance team does (shaking pompoms and wearing small, tight clothes while shaking your hair and ass), not what a college cheer squad does (gymnastics). *Note: The University of Louisville also has a championship dance team (The Ladybirds) that is great at what it does. I just think that it belongs in college and needs to stay there.
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi
assuming that she would be at every game until the Ravens lost in the postseason.
ReplyDeleteMaybe someone should ask her about that hmmmm
she's not plump! maybe to you, but you have always been skinny. she's not even average weight. she's thin, slender, skinny, whatever you wanna call it. she doesn't have the slightest "muffintop" or anything.
ReplyDeleteMaybe she doesn't in the photos I posted, but she's bigger than all the other girls on the squad and she's only 5'3". I'm the same height and I know what I would look like at that size...wouldn't be in front of a million people, I can promise you that. I think she's gorgeous! But if they want to have cohesion within the squad, they all have to be the same size.
ReplyDeleteI'm 5'3" too, but I'm overweight. I have a small frame, though, and look smaller than my thinner cousin who is the same height but who has a larger frame. We wear the same size, but look different. I can't believe I'm responding to this! :) I guess I'm saying that,if the cheerleaders have to be judged, it should be on how they look together. The Rockets had to be the same height (same leg length), but not the same weight--it was how they looked in line and took into account their differing frame size. Whatever! :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome comment! I agree. :-) I can't believe I actually wrote about this. lol It's kind of nuts that this is even a topic of conversation. Whatever indeed. :-)
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