NFL’s Oldest Cheerleader Gets Movie!
The life of the NFL’s oldest cheerleader is coming to the big screen. The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader Laura Vikmanis, 42, will have her life story turned into a film. New Line Cinema picked up the rights to the Vikmanis story. The film will be penned by Emily Cook and Kathy Greenberg, who co-wrote the animated film “Gnomeo and Juliet.”
Vikmanis tried out for the Bengals cheerleading squad at the age of 39 after her husband left her for a younger woman. She failed to make the team in her first attempt but trained for a year and made the Ben-Gals in 2009. Since then she’s become a mother figure to her fellow cheerleaders, many of whom are young enough to be her daughter.
The registered dietician says she felt lost after her divorce. After meeting a Ben-Gal during a dance class, she thought cheerleading could fill the void. Mainly, though, she wanted to serve as an inspiration to her two daughters, aged 15 and 13.
“I look at myself as a role model for my children to show them no matter what age or what dream you have, you can work really hard and achieve it,” she told a newspaper last year.
Hers is a compelling story that will doubtlessly play well to the right audience. You can almost picture the movie now: opening in a suburban neighborhood, some marital discord, a crackpot idea, friends telling Laura she’s crazy, a hilariously failed attempt, her daughters getting embarrassed at school, a training montage (set to a song by Pink or Kelly Clarkson) and, ultimately, success. It’ll be like “Bring It On” for the older set.
Check out our January 2011 Issue-Asian American Cheerleaders of the NFL!
There is actually no age cut-off for the NFL Cheerleaders. If you look young and are very healthy and fit, I believe you can be older than 41 and still make the team.