The Pitters' Place

I don't give a crap about competitive cheer-leading and never will, so I only gave this Netflix documentary series a chance because I was super bored and I noticed a rave review somewhere.

Wow, was this ever good. I vaguely knew that at this level, it was a genuine sport requiring serious athleticism, but I had never understood how much skill was actually required and how intense the training is. Fun fact: this sport is the number one source of serious injuries to female athletes, and you see exactly why. On just one training day alone, the crew the show follows had three girls taken out of rotations because of concussions from falls.

Smartly, the documentary focuses on a handful of personalities so you get a personal connection to how things develop as the team heads for the biggest competition the sport offers. You really end up emotionally invested in their fates. By the time their final performance came, the two minutes and 15 seconds I had been watching them train for over the course of a year and five episodes, I could not watch it sitting down and could barely stand to watch it at all, having seen so many heartbreaking falls, pyramid collapses, and injuries even later in training when you'd think they had it down pat.

Can't stop thinking about it and will certainly watch it again. Seriously, give it a try, even if you don't care about any sport at all. It really is about the people, which is what makes it work.

Actually sounds quite interesting. I remember watching a bit of Cheerleading competitions back in the day on ESPN (or some offshoot channel) and thinking even then that what they did was every bit as much a sport as the more popular sports. I'll make it a point to check this out.

OK, I actually saw this. I agree with everything you said. Great docu-series. It starts off slow (the entire point of the first episode seems to be a basic introduction to what competitive cheer even IS), but by about ep. 3 and 4 it really gets interesting with the personal stories of those involved and the competition to "make mat." By the time the final ep. rolls around I was literally holding my breath and felt physical anxiety about their performance at Daytona. I can't remember the last time a documentary or film had me that nervous!

Don't know if I'll watch it again (I rarely rewatch stuff like this) but I'll definitely be recommending it others!

Eva Yojimbo wrote:By the time the final ep. rolls around I was literally holding my breath and felt physical anxiety about their performance at Daytona. I can't remember the last time a documentary or film had me that nervous!

I was watching their performance standing up, breath held, through the fingers of hands clutched around my face. It was like a horror movie.

Glad you liked it. Amazing the way they've become over night celebrities. I mean, Jerry on the red carpet of the Oscar's interviewing Brad Pitt and Laura Dern. . .!!!?? A Colbert sketch. . .!!!??

Damn, Jerry, the guy everyone loved from this show, was earlier this week accused of sexual harassment of a minor, and just yesterday was arrested for child porn.

2020, you suck and you can't be over with fast enough.

I just saw that scrolling through YouTube yesterday from a news station. It especially sucks because he was such a likable guy with a great story.

Season two begins, and I'm already loving it. Glad that they are giving more focus to the rival team this time. Their coach is amazing.

It will be fascinating to see how the show handles the double tragedy which struck the team since the first season back in late 2019: COVID, which cancelled the competition the first few episodes show them prepping for, and then Jerry Harris' arrest for soliciting sex from underage boys and possession of underage porn. As season 2 begins neither have happened yet, but knowing what's coming gives you a sense of dread. It's going to be painful to watch both events hit.