True enough, the sexy dance moves and seductive costuming of the typical cheerleader are merely incidental to the sport. But that's because cheerleading is a pseudo-sport, gymnastic prowess notwithstanding. Cheerleaders are but the marginalized female counterparts to male-invented, male-dominated sports like football and basketball. Girls who couldn't break the gender barrier by joining in the boys' games, despite their unquestionable athletic ability, ended up settling for a cheerleader outfit. But then came Title IX which, thankfully, forced schools to recognize the innate physical talent and competitive spirit of girl students, and mandated the funding of decent programs for the genuine female athlete. These are the programs worthy of our athletic young women, not the mock sport of cheerleading. If cheerleaders want to be respected as proper sportsmen, they should stop vamping it up and hard-selling their sexuality. I know a few high-school aged girls who would also say that cheerleaders should stop behaving as though the boys that populate the teams they cheer are their private domain when it comes to romantic conquests, and maybe they'll be able to tone down their sluttish reputation. I understand this criticism belongs less to the girls themselves than to the adults who egg them on, but with a better example, at least these young women could police themselves - or better yet, choose a more compelling sport altogether. Hasn't anyone else noticed how appalingly immodest cheerleading has become? It's overtly sexual, come-and-get it style, practically a lapdance. Until cheerleaders purge their routines of their mid-riffs, pelvic thrusts, and inner thigh flashings, don't expect me to take these girls seriously as athletes. I don't care how rigorous the physical and mental demands, it's the prurient packaging that continually repels me.