“Cheer” on Netflix is everything that I look for in a show to binge during the virtual days: captivating, emotional, entertaining, and addicting.

This documentary series focuses on the world of competitive cheerleading at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas, and shows the mental and physical stress of the athletes when perfecting their routines.

The story begins when the cheerleading squad is preparing for the national championships, where they have a history of taking home the championship with the help of coach Monica Aldama.

Although the documentary follows the team’s journey, a few characters shared their rough backgrounds, while others explained where they would have been if they did not cheer.

A young gay black man named La’Darius suffered from intense bullying and abuse.

Another team member, Jerry, lost his mom to cancer at a young age.

Mackenzie Sherburn dislocated her elbow when no one was there to catch her. Years of hard work, prepping, and training all became worthless within 20 seconds.

Morgan’s father abandoned her and reality crept in as she was forced to be on her own and make a living by herself — she lived in a trailer in order to catch up financially.

Through the team members’ personal stories, you learn that their past allows them to be successful in cheer utilizing their perseverance and positive attitude. Thanks to this series, I have realized it wasn’t so easy to get to this level of success in cheer considering some of the squad’s backgrounds.

While other cheering movies and television shows such as “Raising the Bar,” “Going for the Gold,” and “Dance Off” have an in-depth plot, “Cheer” points the audience to each member’s background and how they got to that level.

Welcome to the ring of fire.