cheerleading is captivating the nation

People are feeling unexpectedly drawn to the new cheerleading documentary on Netflix. Here’s why I was pulled in:

  1. Kids are impossible not to root for; kids with gut-wrenching life stories doubly so.

  2. Cheerleading is way more dangerous than I'd ever imagined. I'd now rather my kid play hockey than cheer. That keeps you on the edge of your seat.

  3. You're learning about something totally new. Cheerleaders — as the show admits — are pretty isolated. Most people don't understand what's involved. People living in the same small town as the best cheerleading team in the country didn't even know they existed.

  4. That said, there's still a North Star — the familiar plotline shared by any team working towards a common goal. They lead early on with the big national competition that everyone's focused on. Will they be able to pull off another win?

I’m only a couple episodes in at this point, but if my experience is similar to others who have seen it, I’ll be wrapping the series up very soon.

jan 2020

👋, I'm Ben, a hacker, entrepreneur, and endurance athlete in SF. These days I'm building the customer infrastructure of the future with Unboxed.

Previously, I co-founded dailymile, where we built what the New York Times called "a site where runners can broadcast their miles across the Web to anyone willing to listen."

I'm passionate about giving a hand up to athletes, and helping startups with product and their Web APIs. The best way to get in touch is @bweiner