Lambertville Woman Cheers For Cincinnati Bengals
By Caitlin VanOverberghe
Monroe News
October 28, 2013
Ashlee Bennett has always dreamed of being a cheerleader for a National Football League team.
Ever since her first pom-pommed appearance on the sidelines in Temperance when she was about 7, Ms. Bennett, 22, has been working her way up the pyramid.
Now, she can count herself among those she has so admired. Ms. Bennett recently was named to the Cincinnati Bengals’ cheerleading team.
“It’s funny to see how far I’ve come,” she said. “I love being on the field and supporting my team and feeling the energy of the team.”
Ms. Bennett cheered for her high school squads at Bedford High School and St. Ursula Academy in Toledo. She competed in baton twirling for Twirl Michigan before moving on to be a part of the dance team at St. Xavier University in Cincinnati.
She admired the pride Cincinnatians had in their team so much that she decided to audition for the cheer team, which was not an easy process.
“The tryout took a month,” she said, describing how, with each round, the group became smaller and smaller.
“They started out with 15 rookies and narrowed it down to only seven. They would send out emails telling you if you made it or not — you didn’t sleep the entire night (until you got the e-mail).”
Cheering in front of 64,000 fans is like no experience she’s ever had.
“It’s so loud; I can barely hear my captain next to me,” Ms. Bennett said.
Being an NFL cheerleader goes a lot farther than just cheering at the games. As a Bengals’ cheerleader, Ms. Bennett does a lot of charity events as well.
She is the daughter of Lee and Susan Bennett of Lambertville.
