Poland native makes NFL cheerleading squad

By Christine Keeling
Vindy.com
July 9, 2010

There were no million dollar contracts or big-time endorsement deals, but Poland native Carla Lopez is going pro.

After cheering for the Poland Bulldogs as a young girl and doing handsprings at the University of Cincinnati, Lopez will take her spirit to the NFL sidelines as a member of the Cincinnati Ben-Gals this fall.

“Eighty girls tried out and they took 30,” said Lopez. “Twenty were veterans. I was very impressed with the talent and success of the girls who tried out,” said Lopez. “There were lawyers, chemical engineers and doctors.”

The semifinals of the tryouts focused on a lot of technique but the bathing suit portion in the finals was the hardest and most uncomfortable part for Lopez.

“I was never a pageant girl,” said Lopez.

Donna Lopez, Carla’s mom, watched a portion of the tryouts and said she liked that the focus wasn’t on glamour but rather what the girls do for the community. She thought her daughter’s opportunity with the Ben-gals was wonderful.

“It will give her the opportunity to meet a lot of nice people,” Donna said. “I’m really proud of her.”

Since making the squad, Lopez has been balancing her sales position at Ikon Office Solutions and three times a week practices. She said it’s time consuming and exhausting at times but she isn’t worried because she is really good at time management.

Lopez began cheering at 6-years-old for the Poland Little Bulldogs. She performed for two years at Poland Middle School, four years at Poland Seminary High School and three years at the University of Cincinnati.

She helped younger cheerleaders hone their skills at Universal Cheerleading Association camps and has now reached the summit of cheerleading.

Lopez said that she loves being in front of a crowd and that cheerleading has been a positive experience that has helped keep her in shape, made her outgoing and allowed her to meet a lot of new people.

She said that trying out for the Ben-gals was just the next step after college.

The Cincinnati Bengals are scheduled to start the preseason Aug. 8 during Hall of Fame Week against Dallas. Lopez said she would definitely be prepared for that and all home games.

She’ll be cheering close to home Oct. 3 when the Bengals visit the Browns at 1 p.m.

“Don’t let anybody stop you,” Lopez offered to girls who want to pursue cheerleading. “Here I am now, on the Bengals.”