Cheaters Generally DO Prosper, Just Not This Time

Obviously A Bigger Deal Than I Imagined



The cheerleading world was rocked today with a disclosure that a national championship-caliber team had to forfeit a recently-won title when it was discovered that the team cheated at a recent "national" championship.
Huh? I would actively deny there is a misogynistic bone in my body, but I have to admit surprise at this announcement. First of all, I was unaware of any such event, and secondly, I was dumbfounded at the cheating aspect...in cheerleading. I must admit that I never, ever, under any circumstances (even while watching a Dallas Cowboys' game) pay attention to cheerleaders or dance teams. It's not that I consider them females in a male-dominated world, it's that I consider the idea of "entertaining" or leading cheers at an athletic event extraneous. I've paid (usually) to watch a game not anything else...well, there IS the snack bar as well...
As a result, I see the activity as something disconnected to the actual sporting event. What with the overdue passage of Title IX, women have ample opportunity to engage in any kind of sporting activity...and they should...I just see dance and cheer as separate entities from the others. So, anyway...
It appears that Cal State-Long Beach recently won an NCA national championship in the Small Co-Ed Division I National Cheerleading competition. Who knew? As one of the advisors for the activity at Long Beach watched the replay, a male student appeared in the routine who had graduated in December...making him ineligible since he was not attending graduate school or taking the requisite 9 hours of class. CSLB subsequently informed the NCA and relinquished its hard-won title. The team's coach of ten years was fired. Some thoughts:

This is NOT Florida State or big-time college football/basketball. (which begs the question: does it matter?)
The team is overseen by a group called The Associated Students, Inc. making it something of a club activity, not associated with varsity sports at CSLB.
The coach had won 30 national titles while working both as a high school coach and at various universities prior to his stint at CSLB.
Is competition THIS dog-eat-dog in cheerleading that a person feels the need to cheat? If so, what is WRONG with us?
Did something like this occur to the Greeks and Romans before their civilizations collapsed?