[sammyg2]

No, football is not more important than the 3 Rs although both are important IMO.
Cheer, notsomuch.
I played football and baseball from the age of 6 all through high school and maintained well over a 3.5 GPA without working that hard at it.
My daughter played soccer and volleyball all through school and graduated with honors. My son plays soccer at least 2 seasons a year and gets straight A's.

It doesn't have anything to do with sports, it only has to do with parents allowing school work to be less important.

Stupid and lazy parents tend to create kids who are even more stupid and lazy.