Groton — It began as a means to be fair to a mostly overlooked endeavor, not necessarily because the GameDay viewers clamored to watch more cheerleading. And then came the unintended consequences: Cheerleading has emerged as the single most watched annual event across all our platforms by 10 miles.

And so it was with some interest, during this year’s stream of the conference championships, to have seen the struggles of Fitch High, annual contender. The Falcons finished out of the money in the ECC because of a crumbled pyramid during their routine, leaving them quite the illustration for the sport’s glaring reality:

You have one chance to perform. One routine. It lasts about 2 minutes, 30 seconds. There are no timeouts. There is no scoreboard, but discerning judges. Good luck.

“They were doing incredibly well, the best they had ever performed,” Fitch coach Melissa Robinson said recently, alluding to the opening moments of the routine before a full house at The X. “And I think their adrenaline got the best of them, because they got to their pyramid, which they have never messed up since or before. And it all just came down.

“We always say you can fall apart after, but you will walk out that door with a smile on your face. They walked out the door with a smile. Then they sobbed. It happens. It happens to some of the best teams. You can only control what you put on the mat. You can't control the outcome.”

Robinson’s recollections were a duller ache, considering what befell the Falcons a short time later. Their ensuing perfect routine in the states earned them the program’s second state championship, the first since 2005. Robinson reports “there's only one kid on this team that was born the last time Fitch won.”

A week later, they nearly added more hardware, finishing second in New England.

How did they do it?

“We’re big on holistic athletics. So we focus a lot on the mental part of it. You learn from it. You don’t fail, you learn. And when I tell you that pyramid was never an issue again, I mean, they learned from it,” Robinson said. “We got back to practice that Monday. I sent the kids the video and told them to identify three things we did well as individuals and as a team and three we could do better.

“And we journal, trying to be reflective of our shortcomings and strengths, because one doesn't happen without the other. They just kept building. It was all I could ask of them. Every practice was a competition and they went out there at states and were perfect.”

The members of the team: Gianna Butler, Nevaeha Salas, Tallulah Ghantous, Alani Farris, Tahjanae Knight, Sierra Knight, Jayla Robinson, Lauren Pelletier, Isabella Braucci, Alexis Johnson, Callie Balsley, Destinee Peña, Kaylonna General.

Fitch’s championship put a bow on the season, until prep work for next year’s GameDay stream begins. Again, more unintended consequences. This is a lot more than its name suggests, merely to “lead cheers.”

“You see basketball players and football players and they're bloody and sweaty and dirty,” Robinson said. “But for us, you have to do it, not break a sweat and look flawlessly beautiful while you're out there. Football players don't care what their hair looks like when they go out there. We have to balance athleticism and performance. They work at this for 10 months. My team practices from May to March. It's a long 10 months and then a lot of them are spring athletes playing softball and track now.”

Cheerleading’s required athleticism incorporates gymnastics, acrobatics and tumbling, among other endeavors, inviting the question: Would other athletes in other sports benefit from that skill set, too?

“It's a lot harder than it looks. If you're great, it looks easy. Effortless. And that's the goal, to make it effortless,” Robinson said. “They fight hard for what they do, also while supporting every other sport in our school. They're at wrestling matches, basketball games, football games, Unified games, too. Over the last 10 years, we've had 12 all-state athletes who have been recognized in their particular field. I wish other people would see them more than just on the sideline at the football game.”

They’ll be noticed now for the banner on the wall.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro