Mom, cheerleader, and now, inspiration for a major motion picture.At 42 years old, Laura Vikmanis is the NFL's oldest cheerleader. A registered dietician, trainer and mom of teenagers who set her mind to making the squad and joined the Cincinnati Bengals' Ben-Gals squad in 2009, Vikmanis serves as a guide for her younger cheerleading teammates. If it sounds like a Hollywood film, well, it soon will be.
So you want to be an NFL cheerleader but you’re afraid that you might be too old. Think again. At the ripe, young age of 42, Laura Vikmanis picked up her pom-poms and lived out her dream.
While watching an NFL game a couple of years ago, the light bulb went off inside Vikmanis’ head. She watched a squad of cheerleaders give it all they had, win or lose, smiles on their faces for their team.
She first tried out for the squad at age 39 and didn’t make it, but that only made her more determined.For the next year she focused on her fitness, then she tried out again. The rest, as they say, is history.
Vikmanis, a mom of two, may be one of the oldest girls on the sidelines every time she puts on her Ben-Gals uniform, but she’s proud to serve as an inspiration for other moms who haven’t yet realized their dreams.
A registered dietician, trainer and mom of teenagers who set her mind to making the squad and joined the Cincinnati Bengals' Ben-Gals squad in 2009, Vikmanis serves as a guide for her younger cheerleading teammates. If it sounds like a Hollywood film, well, it soon will be.
New Line Cinema has picked up the rights to Vikmanis' story, The Hollywood Reporter reports, with "Gnomeo and Juliet" writers Emily Cook and Kathy Greenberg set to translate her life to a film script. It's a story that has already been documented in the national press.
“I was at a point in my life where I was like, ‘What do I really want to do? What’s something in my life that makes me happy?’ ” Vikmanis told her local Dayton Daily News in 2009.“I went to a couple games and saw the cheerleaders and thought that looked really, really fun.”
“My family, I think at first when I told them I was going to try out, were like ‘Oh yeah, that’s something fun to try,’” she said. “When I finally made it they were in tears and just so excited. They have been behind me 100 percent.
My children thought it was cool, but I don’t think they understood fully until they went to the game and actually saw me on the field. They think it’s so cool.”
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