The Green Phone was created so the fans could voice their opinions. Give us a call and let us know what’s on your mind.
CALLER 1: I’m just calling to add my two cents about Damon Poeter’s cheerleading column. I think I read in last week’s Green Phone that he’s going to respond in the (Saturday, July 2) newspaper and I think the only decent response at this time would be an apology to the cheerleaders. To make blatant fun of them the way he did was uncalled for. Also, he has no idea how hard those girls work, with hours of practice in the direct sunshine and hours of conditioning and getting the timing down. I just think he had no information at all when he printed this article. P.S. There are special shoes required of cheerleaders. I ought to know. I’ve paid for a new pair every year for the past three years. So like I said, the only acceptable thing he could say in his column tomorrow is an apology.
GREEN PHONE: Looks like the cheerleading calls keep rolling in. Just for the record, cheerleading did earn points for being a sport under the “Special Shoes Rule.” It just wasn’t enough overall. Anyway, on to the next cheerleading call …
CALLER 2: My beef: I was really disappointed with the article on cheerleading not being a sport. Obviously, the author of this piece has never worked out with the Live Oak cheerleaders who combine athletics, dance and precision to provide halftime entertainment, encouragement to the team and are indeed, a sports team which does compete when necessary, if that is the definition of sports. Perhaps the author, Damon Poeter, might like to join Live Oak cheer at one of their practice sessions to just see how much of a sports team they truly are. I challenge him to attend the next cheerleading practice.
GREEN PHONE: Personally, the Green Phone would love to see Damon at a cheerleading practice. We think he would look good in a skirt.
CALLER 3: I’m calling in response to whether or not cheerleading is a sport. I think when cheerleading is competitive, it should be considered a sport because after all, you are competing against other teams. But regular cheerleading throughout the season should just be considered what it is, an activity. So that’s my opinion on the whole thing and I hope others agree. It’s a small thing to decide because if you’re cheerleading for your team that’s competing against a team, that’s totally different than when you’re a competitive cheer squad competing against another competitive cheer squad.
GREEN PHONE: Caller 3, it’s good to see what other people’s “rules” entail. Thanks for presenting your opinion.
CALLER 4: I found your five simple rules that determine what is and isn’t a sport absolutely ridiculous, especially Rule No. 4 (the “Jurisprudence Rule”). Nonetheless, as a former cheerleader I see cheerleading as an activity, not a sport … but, demeaning this activity to the extreme as you did was absolutely unnecessary. You must not deny the participants the recognition they deserve for the athleticism they possess. I have never seen the Gilroy cheerleaders in action, but if they perform the intense gymnastic routines all the best squads do, then they get to fall under a portion of the umbrella the sport of gymnastics provides. Cheerleading may not qualify as a sport, but it sure can be one hell of an athletic activity. Let’s see your sport athletes survive a competition cheerleading practice!
GREEN PHONE: Caller 4, we certainly agree that the hard work and athleticism of cheer squads is more important to recognize than whatever label we fix to what they do.
CALLER 5: My son Bailey Schipper was written up Saturday, July 2 in the All-Star minor league report on the National team and they put “Bobby Schipper” as his name. So I’m calling to make sure you can correct that next time out in the paper. He’ll be pitching again for the Gilroy All-Star 10-year-olds on Wednesday July 6. So just calling because every time he’s in the paper, they screw his name up. Thank you very much.
GREEN PHONE: Our apologies to Bailey and to you, Mom, for the repeated error. Now that we know the correct name and spelling, it won’t happen again. And we’re sorry to see the Minors National team’s run in the All-Star tournament ended Wednesday night. Best of luck next year.
CALLER 6: I think you guys could have done a better job with the article for 11-year-old All-Stars in the National division because they did a really good job on Saturday with their come-from-behind win in the sixth inning. You guys might want to do a better job next time.
GREEN PHONE: Caller 6, with all the All-Star games going on right now, it’s tough for us to give equal coverage and space to every game, every night. Our commitment, though, has been to try to feature every All-Star team in a wrap-up, and to get a writer and a photographer to all the various tournaments in all the different locations at least once. On Wednesday, we were at the 11-year-olds tournament in Santa Cruz. Our congratulations to the Gilroy Americans, who moved a step closer to the Final Four with a 7-3 win over Capitola-Soquel. And our hearts go out to the Gilroy Nationals, who were eliminated by the Santa Cruz Americans, 5-4, in a game the Gilroy squad led up to the very end, and which could easily have gone their way.
