Two of my favorite things, misleading headlines and sports, came together the other day and that makes me happy.

In a football game between Toledo and Central Michigan the referee felt the need to admonish the Central Michigan cheerleaders for distracting the Toledo team as they neared the Central Michigan end zone.

Both the headline and the article hope to heap ridicule on the referee for his declaration. Isn’t it the job of cheerleaders to be loud?

On its face the headline and article by Sam Cooper of the Dr. Saturday sports Yahoo blog seem to have a point. That is until you learn the facts of the situation.

The Central Michigan cheerleaders were chanting snap-counts loudly and in the direction of the field in order to simulate the quarterback’s calls. This is, in fact, against the rules. You can cheer loudly all you want but you’re not allowed to simulate the calls of the quarterback.

The referee was fully justified in the announcement and, in my opinion, could have assessed a penalty. He was kind enough to give them a warning first.

Not only was the referee correct, but I’m of the opinion that the Central Michigan cheerleaders were engaged in bad sportsmanship. Shame on them. Good for the referee.

Congratulations, Sam and Dr. Saturday, you win the misleading headline of the week contest!

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Ideology
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