It's Not About the Pom Poms

A forty-year-oldcheerleader? When Laura Vikmanis, a single mom in Ohio, told friends that shewanted to be an NFL cheerleader, they said it would never happen. But sheproved them all wrong. . . .

Laura Vikmanis has got spirit . . . and pom-poms, too! But before she steppedonto the field as the oldest cheerleader in the National Football League, shewas sidelined by a bad marriage and the many responsibilities of stay-at-homemotherhood. She finally got the courage to leave her husband and to ask herselfsomething she had never asked before: What do I want to do? Remembering herteenage love of dance, she signed up for a pole-dancing fitness class, whereshe met a former cheerleader for the Cincinnati Bengals. When the womansuggested that Laura audition to be a “Ben-Gal,” Laura laughed her off but soonrealized that the audition process could be a way of healing herself—andregaining her confidence. Her boots were made for walking—but also for stompingon a football field.

She tried out for the team next to girls young enough to be her daughters.Girls with tighter abs, fuller hair, no kids, and no crow’s-feet. After muchadversity and multiple auditions, she finally made the team, becoming theoldest cheerleader in the League.

It’s Not About the Pom-Poms follows Laura’s inspiring, funny, andeye-opening journey from demoralized divorcée to high-kicking CincinnatiBen-Gal. Readers will cheer her on as she rediscovers her passion for dancing,takes hip-hop classes with twelve-year-olds, loses twenty-five pounds,discovers her abs, finds love again, and becomes a new kind of role model toher daughters. Laura also provides an inside look into the fascinating world ofNFL cheerleaders—the grueling workouts, bad pay, twice-weekly weigh-ins, but,most important, the lifelong bond between the women, who do it all for theglory.

Leading with her heart, Laura Vikmanis faces adversity with her head held highas she learns in mid-life to take a flying leap. Powerful and uplifting, It’sNot About the Pom-Poms shows that, no matter your age, it’s never too lateto go, fight, and win!

LauraVikmanis was born in 1968. Shejoined the Cincinnati Ben-Gals in 2009 and is the oldest cheerleader in theNFL. A registered dietitian and certified personal trainer, she is a graduateof California State University, Long Beach. New Line Cinema has optioned herlife story for a feature film. She lives in Dayton, Ohio, with her twodaughters.

Amy Sohn is the New York Times bestselling author ofthe novels Run Catch Kiss, My Old Man,Prospect Park West, and its upcoming sequel. She has been a columnistfor the New York Post and New York magazine, writing aboutrelationships, marriage, and parenting. She lives in Brooklyn with her husbandand daughter.