by Ashley Mateo

Everyone has that stereotypical[陳規(guī)的] idea of a cheerleader： cute， peppy[活潑的]， bows in her hair. And that was me， from kindergarten to eighth grade. I loved being on the squad[小隊]， from the girly parts like curling[使卷曲] each others hair for competitions to trying new stunts[驚人表演，絕技] at practice. But I also loved watching the football games as we cheered—sometimes I was more focused on the plays than our routines[常規(guī)，日常事務]！ Every time someone scored， I wished I was the one in the end zone[（球門線到底線的）球門區(qū)].

A Long Shot[很少機會成功的嘗試]

I grew up tossing[投，擲] a football and going to games with my dad. Once while waiting to cheer in my middle school game， my dad and I were watching the high school team play—they were losing—and he said，“I bet you could do better than that.” His words stuck with me， and right before my freshman year， I started to feel bored with cheerleading—and more excited about football. I thought， maybe I should be on the field[運動場].

I decided to go to a preseason[活躍季節(jié)前的] meeting to see about joining the team， even though theyd never had a girl on the roster[花名冊] before. When I walked into the school gym， packed with guys and parents waiting for info， everyone turned and stared， like， what is she doing here？ I saw guys I had cheered for—guys I considered friends—and I wondered what they thought about me playing alongside them. My school is small， so there arent tryouts[選拔賽]—you just sign up for the team. But I still had to officially sign up in front of the whole crowd， with all eyes on me. I could feel the tension[緊張狀態(tài)] in the room， and as I walked up to hand in my forms， I almost felt like I was doing something wrong. I worried—are the coaches going to laugh at me？ Will they tell me I cant play？ Instead， they looked at me like I was pulling a joke on them， but they finally took my papers and told me to show up for training camp the week before school. I was officially a football player！

每個人都對“啦啦隊隊長”有一種固定印象——她們總是活潑可愛，頭上系著蝴蝶結。從幼兒園到八年級，我都是這副模樣。我喜歡在啦啦隊的感覺，從賽前女生之間互相盤頭發(fā)，到練習新的特技等等。不過，在為球隊打氣之余，我也喜歡看橄欖球比賽——有時球賽甚至比我們自己的啦啦隊環(huán)節(jié)更讓我投入！每當有人進球，我總是希望自己是球門區(qū)的一員。

孤注一擲

我是玩著橄欖球長大的，從小就跟著爸爸去看球賽。有一次，我和爸爸在我的中學看球賽，在等待給初中隊加油助威的空當，我們看到高中隊出師不利，勝利無望。爸爸說：“我敢打賭，你肯定比他們踢得好?！彼倪@句話烙在了我的心上。就在我升上高一之前，我開始厭倦當啦啦隊隊長給球隊助威，轉而對球賽更感興奮。我想，也許我應該站在球場上。

我決定去參加一次季前賽集會，看看我能不能加入球隊——即使他們的名冊上從未出現(xiàn)過女生。我走進學校的體育館時，那里擠滿了在等消息的男生和家長。一時間，所有人都轉過身盯著我，好像在說：“她來這里做什么呀？”我看到了以前在啦啦隊時為其助威過的男生，我把他們當做朋友，不知道他們會怎么看我和他們一起踢球的事呢？我的學校不大，所以沒有選拔賽，只要報名就能入選。但我還是不得不在所有人的注視之下正式報名。我能感覺到房間里的緊張感。在走上去提交報名表時，我感覺自己好像在做什么錯事似的。我擔心教練會不會笑我？他們會對我說我踢不了球嗎？其實剛好反過來，他們覺得是我和他們開了個玩笑，要看他們鬧笑話。不過他們最后還是收下了我的報名表，并叫我開學前一周到訓練營報到。我成為了一名正式的橄欖球隊員！

Tumbles[翻倒] to Tackles[抓住，揪住]

Making the team might have been easy， but earning my spot among the guys was harder. I changed alone in the girls locker room[衣帽間]， and I wasnt allowed in with the guys until everyone was dressed. The first time I walked into their space， most of the guys fell totally silent， and a few even huddled up[擠在一堆] laughing at me. They never said anything mean to my face， but that almost made it worse—the guys were often loud and goofy[愚笨的]， teasing[取笑] each other. But the fact that they talked about me in whispers[私語，密談] made me feel like they were talking trash. I knew I was where I wanted to be， but I also felt like an outsider.

I missed my cheer squad and thought maybe I had made a mistake—the high school cheerleaders even told me girls shouldnt be allowed to play， which hurt. But I knew I belonged on the field. And my friends had my back—they thought I was a bad-ass[（俚）頑強的]！

摸爬滾打

成為球隊的一員可能還算簡單，但要在一堆男生之中找到自己的一席之地可就沒有那么容易了。我獨自一人在女更衣室換衣服，而且我必須等大家都換好衣服才能進入他們的更衣室。當我第一次走進他們的地盤，大多數(shù)男生一下子安靜下來，一言不發(fā)，有幾個男生還擠在一起笑我。雖然他們從來沒有當著我的面說過什么難聽的話，但那相當于雪上加霜，因為男生之間通常吵吵鬧鬧、大大咧咧地互相取笑，而他們竊竊私語地議論我，讓我覺得他們是在說些什么壞話。雖然我知道這里就是我想來的地方，但又覺得自己像個局外人。

我想念我的啦啦隊，心想也許我犯了一個錯誤。高中的啦啦隊隊長甚至對我說，女生本來就不應該被允許加入球隊。這讓我很難過。但我知道，我是屬于橄欖球場的。我的朋友們都支持我——他們認為我是一頭犟驢！

So instead of dwelling on[細想] the fact that I felt left out， I gave myself pep talks[鼓舞士氣的講話] and I decided I just had to prove my value to the team. Every practice， I gave it my all， running plays[指策略]， jumping hurdles[跨欄]， and pushing sandbags until my body hurt. After a month， the guys became more welcoming—cheering me on at games and practice， and including me in conversations off the field. One even told me， “Youve got guts[膽量] to be here！”

I felt tougher when my coach made me a defensive tackle[防守截鋒]. That position is no joke； my whole role is to take people down！ I get hit a lot and it hurts—once， my shoulder popped out[突出]！ The first time a player charged[猛攻] at me was scary， but the first time I tackled someone was a rush[一陣激動]！ I felt empowered[使能夠] that I could hold my own.

Breaking the Mold[打破常規(guī)]

Last September， I got my big moment： Coach put me in a varsity[大學運動代表隊] game…and we won！ Finally， I felt like I was a real part of the team—not because I was accepted by the guys， but because I had helped us to victory.

At pep rallies[賽前動員會]， I get a standing ovation[喝彩，歡呼]， and Ive had girls tell me they want to play football now too！ It can be intimidating[使膽怯] to be so outnumbered[數(shù)目超過] by guys， but as girls， we cant let that stop us from going after our goals！

所以，我沒有繼續(xù)糾結于被當成局外人的感受，而是自己給自己鼓勁，并決定一定要證明我對球隊的價值。每次練習我都全力以赴——戰(zhàn)術練習、跨欄、推沙包，直到渾身酸痛。一個月后，男生們逐漸熱情起來，他們會在比賽和練習的時候為我加油，在場下談話時也不再把我排除在外。有人甚至對我說：“你膽子還真不小，竟敢到這里來！”

當教練讓我擔任防守截鋒，我覺得更為艱苦。那個位置非同兒戲，我的任務就是要把人撂倒！我被人撞到過很多次，很疼，有一回連肩膀都被撞脫臼了！第一次有人向我沖來的時候，場面很嚇人；但當我第一次撲倒別人，心里充滿了快感！我為自己可以守住自己的位置而感到充滿力量，信心滿滿。

打破窠臼

去年九月，我迎來了我的重要時刻——教練讓我參加大學校隊的一場比賽，最后我們贏了！我終于感到自己是球隊的一份子——不是因為我被男生們接受了，而是因為我?guī)椭蜿犣A得了勝利。

在賽前動員會上，全場起立為我鼓掌。有些女孩還對我說，她們現(xiàn)在也想踢橄欖球了！也許我們面對那么多的男生，會被寡不敵眾的氣勢嚇到，但是作為女生，我們不能因此放棄追求我們的目標！