Title/Author:
“It’s Not
About the Pom-Poms: How a 40-year-Old Mom Became the NFL’s Oldest Cheerleader –
and Found Hope, Joy and Inspiration Along the Way ” by Laura Vikmanis with Amy
Sohn
Tags:
Football
(American), Professional, Cheerleading, memior
Publish date:
March 20,
2012
Length:
304 pages
Rating:
2 of 5 stars
(disappointing)
Review:
On the
surface, this book sounds like a real inspiration to anyone who thinks his or
her dream cannot be achieved. Laura
Vikmanis divorced her husband after fourteen bad years of marriage and was a
single mother who wasn’t sure what she was going to do. She loved to dance in her younger days and became
inspired to try out for the Ben-Gals, the cheerleading squad of the NFL’s
Cincinnati Bengals. She didn’t make the cut on her first try, but that didn’t
stop Laura. She worked even harder and
made it during her second tryout and at the time of publication was on the
Ben-Gals for three years. Her story was
an Internet hit and a movie is in the works on this story.
So, this
book is a must read for everyone, right?
The message is clear, and yes, it is nice to see a woman who was so
depressed and lacking in self-confidence to achieve her dream. However, the path that Vikmanis takes the
reader while becoming a cheerleader is full of contradictions and uncomfortable
passages. On the latter point, that may not be the case for all readers. But it would have been better to know that
certain personal topics like Laura’s sex life (discussed far too often, IMO) and
her reasons for breast augmentation surgery would be discussed in such detail. Some
readers, including myself, may feel uncomfortable with such personal
information. Obviously, some of this information is needed to set the story,
such as her husband locking her in their bedroom. But I really didn’t need to know that she
didn’t achieve orgasm until she slept with the first man she met after
separation – and on their first date.
Details like that are not really necessary for understanding this story
of hope and inspiration.
I also
felt that Vikmanis contradicted herself by wondering why first her father, then
her current boyfriend would want to look at magazines like Playboy, yet she
does work as part of the Ben-Gals such as posing for calendars, getting the
breast surgery and working hard on her physical appearance beyond staying in
dancing shape. If women being portrayed as sex objects bothers her, then why
does she engage in that type of behavior or work in that field? Especially when she states that many male
fans at special events bother her because they try a “boob hug.”
I felt she
also came across as judgmental on those who may disagree with her choice of
profession or surgery decision. While
some of that criticism of those people may be justified, the story just seemed
to be filled with too many of these, when being judged by others so much,
whether her husband, father, or other women, supposedly ruined her
self-esteem. Again, it felt like one big
contradiction between the message that was sent and the message trying to be
sent.
The book
is mainly about overcoming a horrible past and working on self-esteem. For the most part, the book does that. But again, some of the details to show how
much better Vikmanis feels about herself now just make me shake my head. An example of this comes near the end of the
book. She states that one of her
daughters is embarrassed because some of her friends call her mom a “MILF.” However, Vikmanis says that the comment “makes
me secretly smile.” Really? Getting THAT kind of attention from teenagers
makes her smile? If you are not familiar
with the term “MILF”, I won’t spell it out here – type it into any search
engine and you will see what the acronym means.
There is a
big positive to the book, however, and that is her description of what goes on
at NFL cheerleading tryouts, practices and games. These ladies work just as hard as the players
and their pay is far too low for the work they do – at the time of publication,
the Ben-Gals made $750 for the season.
They have routines, need to make weight goals, and are getting less
exposure on television as networks chase advertising dollars. I thought that the writing about this issue
and the activities of an NFL cheerleader were well illustrated here, as only
one who has the experience can write.
This wasn’t enough to overcome the disappointment I had with this book, however, as I felt it was too much personal information and emotional. I felt it overshadowed the powerful message to keep pursuing your dreams no matter your age or past life.
Pace of the book:
Very quick
as I finished this in about two hours. I
admit that I did read this more quickly than most books as I just wanted to get
past all her personal woes, and concentrated on the passages about the
cheerleading itself.
Do I recommend?
I would
recommend it to anyone, especially women, who want an inspiring story of
overcoming a bad marriage and self-doubt.
If the reader is uncomfortable with very personal stories, whether about
sex, domestic abuse or eating disorders, then he or she should pass on this
book.
Book Format Read:
E-book
(Nook)
Buying links:
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