The second season of Cheer brought back Navarro’s cheerleading squad and their determination to win the championship in Daytona, Florida. Unlike season 1, Cheer season 2 brought a rivalry component, introducing Trinity Valley Community College (TVCC) — a nearby community college — in Navarro’s division.
Outside of learning about the backstories of the cheerleaders and coaches, viewers learned a lot about the sport, guidelines, and what it takes to take home the title of champion.
Mat Selection Day
Navarro and TVCC spend most of their season training for the Daytona Championships. Different squads compete against each other in their division to take home the title.
However, just because a cheerleader is on Navarro or TVCC’s team doesn’t mean they’re lucky enough to compete in Daytona. As noted in the first episode of season 2, there’s a mat selection day. On this day, the coaches gather and watch their athletes compete against each other for a spot on the mat during Daytona. Coach Monica noted there are about 40 student-athletes on the team and only 20 of those athletes make the mat for Daytona.
Competition Floors
Viewers that love TV shows or movies based on competitions would enjoy season 2 of Cheer. With the rivalry aspect of TVCC and the big showdown at Daytona, there’s a lot to unpack between both schools.
Monica told the cameras that the stage at Daytona is completely different than the mats on the gym floor. The stage floor has more bounce, allowing the athletes to get full volume during the routine. It’s also safer on their joints during stunts. The downfall to this, however, is that the cheerleaders aren’t used to the amount of give the stage has and can fumble their stunts because of it.
Differences In Funding
Being two small community colleges in the middle of rural Texas, it’s pointed out that Navarro College and TVCC don’t have the funds that larger universities do. Since the show’s premiere and becoming one of Netflix’s best docuseries, Navarro’s cheerleaders have become minor celebrities and appeared on myriad TV shows, daytime talk shows, commercials, etc…
Navarro’s funding is now drastically different than TVCC’s. An example of this was in the first episode when Monica shared that The Ellen Degeneres Show donated upwards of $20,000 to the program. She also built a Daytona-like stage in the parking lot after being quoted that the stage was going to be around $100,000.
Junior Colleges And Beyond
Cheer is a great sports documentary because it shares an inside look at what it takes to be a student-athlete. With Navarro and TVCC being junior colleges, most of the cheerleaders shown get their associate’s degree and then move on to larger universities for their bachelor’s. According to OhMyAshleyy on Reddit, “College Nationals (between UCA and NCA) has 5 years of eligibility.” This means that athletes can compete five times.
Navarro’s Gabi Butler is a topic of discussion because she’s 24 years old, still in college, and still cheering, but it’s because she’s using up her eligibility before it’s gone.
“Stumblers”
Viewers were introduced to Vontae Johnson, one of the most inspiring coaches on TV and the coach of Navarro’s rival, TVCC. Vontae and Coach Monica were similar in dedication but different coaches when it came to the method and culture of the team.
In the second episode, Vontae gave his “stumbler” praise and noted that a stumbler was a person that could both tumble and stunt, making them a jack of all trades.
Male Vs. Female Pyramids
Fans of The Playbook would appreciate Cheer for its authenticity in sports and coaching throughout the docuseries. Coach Monica, Vontae, and their teams had nothing to hide when it came to backstories and work ethics.
In the third episode of season 2, Maddy Brum noted that it’s been a transition for her to do pyramids with men versus women. On non-coed teams, Maddy had three women supporting her foot/feet while she was in the air. But in co-ed cheerleading, she has one or two men holding her. The difference in structure was hard for Maddy to get used to, but it was informational for viewers.
Here’s What The Judges Look For
For viewers not in the cheerleading world, Daytona Championships can be confusing because it’s unknown what the judges are actually looking for and voting on for each team.
However, Coach Franklin read off some of the things that the judges look for during each team’s performance. Partner stunts, pyramids, tosses, running tumbling, and more are all things that the teams are judged on. Choreography and the collective image of the team are also voted on, which is why it was so important for both teams to hire choreographers.
And Here’s How Daytona Is Scored
Thanks to Cheer, viewers know that cheerleading is not as easy as Disney portrays it in their movies. These cheerleaders are incredible athletes who dedicate their lives to the sport.
In the final episode of Cheer, the coaches break down that the lowest they can earn for a skill is a two and the highest score they can earn is a five. In total, the highest score the team can get is a 90 for each round. In the end, Navarro’s collective score was 98.0708 while TVCC’s was 98.2292.
The Meaning Behind FIOFMU
Cheer is one of Netflix’s best original docuseries to watch right now because it introduces viewers to a new world of cheerleading that’s otherwise been depicted poorly in TV and movies.
One of the things that fans noticed is that some of the cheerleaders had FIOFMU on their gear. It was said that the letters are an acronym for a secret message/motto that the team has with one another. As much as the series has grown, the team has yet to release what FIOFMU means but it’s still a motto.
Daytona Divisions
One of the biggest questions on fans’ minds was, how many teams were in their division? Unlike Bring It On, there are not a plethora of teams in each pool.
In a shocking twist, Navarro and TVCC are the only two teams in their division and only compete against each other in Daytona. This is due to the size of their school and squad.
