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(duì)]， 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(wù)]！ 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(jī)會(huì)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(yùn)動(dòng)場(chǎng)].

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(cè)] 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(gè)人都對(duì)“啦啦隊(duì)隊(duì)長(zhǎng)”有一種固定印象——她們總是活潑可愛(ài)，頭上系著蝴蝶結(jié)。從幼兒園到八年級(jí)，我都是這副模樣。我喜歡在啦啦隊(duì)的感覺(jué)，從賽前女生之間互相盤頭發(fā)，到練習(xí)新的特技等等。不過(guò)，在為球隊(duì)打氣之余，我也喜歡看橄欖球比賽——有時(shí)球賽甚至比我們自己的啦啦隊(duì)環(huán)節(jié)更讓我投入！每當(dāng)有人進(jìn)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(zhǎng)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(xué)看球賽，在等待給初中隊(duì)加油助威的空當(dāng)，我們看到高中隊(duì)出師不利，勝利無(wú)望。爸爸說(shuō)：“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(kāi)始厭倦當(dāng)啦啦隊(duì)隊(duì)長(zhǎng)給球隊(duì)助威，轉(zhuǎn)而對(duì)球賽更感興奮。我想，也許我應(yīng)該站在球場(chǎng)上。

我決定去參加一次季前賽集會(huì)，看看我能不能加入球隊(duì)——即使他們的名冊(cè)上從未出現(xiàn)過(guò)女生。我走進(jìn)學(xué)校的體育館時(shí)，那里擠滿了在等消息的男生和家長(zhǎng)。一時(shí)間，所有人都轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)身盯著我，好像在說(shuō)：“她來(lái)這里做什么呀？”我看到了以前在啦啦隊(duì)時(shí)為其助威過(guò)的男生，我把他們當(dāng)做朋友，不知道他們會(huì)怎么看我和他們一起踢球的事呢？我的學(xué)校不大，所以沒(méi)有選拔賽，只要報(bào)名就能入選。但我還是不得不在所有人的注視之下正式報(bào)名。我能感覺(jué)到房間里的緊張感。在走上去提交報(bào)名表時(shí)，我感覺(jué)自己好像在做什么錯(cuò)事似的。我擔(dān)心教練會(huì)不會(huì)笑我？他們會(huì)對(duì)我說(shuō)我踢不了球嗎？其實(shí)剛好反過(guò)來(lái)，他們覺(jué)得是我和他們開(kāi)了個(gè)玩笑，要看他們鬧笑話。不過(guò)他們最后還是收下了我的報(bào)名表，并叫我開(kāi)學(xué)前一周到訓(xùn)練營(yíng)報(bào)到。我成為了一名正式的橄欖球隊(duì)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(yǔ)，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(qiáng)的]！

摸爬滾打

成為球隊(duì)的一員可能還算簡(jiǎn)單，但要在一堆男生之中找到自己的一席之地可就沒(méi)有那么容易了。我獨(dú)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(jìn)入他們的更衣室。當(dāng)我第一次走進(jìn)他們的地盤，大多數(shù)男生一下子安靜下來(lái)，一言不發(fā)，有幾個(gè)男生還擠在一起笑我。雖然他們從來(lái)沒(méi)有當(dāng)著我的面說(shuō)過(guò)什么難聽(tīng)的話，但那相當(dāng)于雪上加霜，因?yàn)槟猩g通常吵吵鬧鬧、大大咧咧地互相取笑，而他們竊竊私語(yǔ)地議論我，讓我覺(jué)得他們是在說(shuō)些什么壞話。雖然我知道這里就是我想來(lái)的地方，但又覺(jué)得自己像個(gè)局外人。

我想念我的啦啦隊(duì)，心想也許我犯了一個(gè)錯(cuò)誤。高中的啦啦隊(duì)隊(duì)長(zhǎng)甚至對(duì)我說(shuō)，女生本來(lái)就不應(yīng)該被允許加入球隊(duì)。這讓我很難過(guò)。但我知道，我是屬于橄欖球場(chǎng)的。我的朋友們都支持我——他們認(rèn)為我是一頭犟驢！

So instead of dwelling on[細(xì)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(dòng)]！ 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(xué)運(yùn)動(dòng)代表隊(duì)] 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(dòng)員會(huì)]， 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(guò)] by guys， but as girls， we cant let that stop us from going after our goals！

所以，我沒(méi)有繼續(xù)糾結(jié)于被當(dāng)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(duì)球隊(duì)的價(jià)值。每次練習(xí)我都全力以赴——戰(zhàn)術(shù)練習(xí)、跨欄、推沙包，直到渾身酸痛。一個(gè)月后，男生們逐漸熱情起來(lái)，他們會(huì)在比賽和練習(xí)的時(shí)候?yàn)槲壹佑?，在?chǎng)下談話時(shí)也不再把我排除在外。有人甚至對(duì)我說(shuō)：“你膽子還真不小，竟敢到這里來(lái)！”

當(dāng)教練讓我擔(dān)任防守截鋒，我覺(jué)得更為艱苦。那個(gè)位置非同兒戲，我的任務(wù)就是要把人撂倒！我被人撞到過(guò)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(lái)的時(shí)候，場(chǎng)面很嚇人；但當(dāng)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(lái)了我的重要時(shí)刻——教練讓我參加大學(xué)校隊(duì)的一場(chǎng)比賽，最后我們贏了！我終于感到自己是球隊(duì)的一份子——不是因?yàn)槲冶荒猩鷤兘邮芰耍且驗(yàn)槲規(guī)椭蜿?duì)贏得了勝利。

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