Evanston senior living residents join Northwestern cheerleaders
EVANSTON, Ill. (CBS) -- As the resurgent Wildcats look to make a push for their second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, some special guests will turn back the clock on Thursday.
A group of seniors from Evanston will help the Northwestern cheerleaders perform at Thursday's game against Michigan.
They practiced their routine on Wednesday at Merion Senior Living in Evanston.
For one special performance each year since 2016, the Northwestern cheerleading squad gains a few extra members.
"It's so much fun. I really love dancing with them, and everyone's so happy," said cheerleader Natalie Chirinos De Leon.
The Wildcats cheerleaders are joined by the Senior Wildcat Dance Team, which is made up of residents of Merion Senior Living. This year, there will be 18 of them shaking their pom poms like they're back in school again.
Lila Friedman said she never imagined she'd be cheerleading at age 88.
"Never thought about that. I wasn't ever a cheerleader," she said.
When she first heard about it, Senior Wildcat Leigh Bailey said she thought the whole idea was ridiculous.
"I never cheerleaded in my whole life. I was a runner. So running marathons, you just put one foot in front of the other, and take it to the finish line. Cheerleading is an entirely different thing," she said.
The Senior Wildcats put in the work, practicing with a group of Northwestern cheerleaders to get ready to perform in front of the crowd.
"They are so patient, and so nice," Senior Wildcat Barbara Gerrish said. "I think what I like the best is to see what nice young people are, because all you hear are negatives, and it's nice to see that that's not true."
It will be awesome to see all their work pay off when they perform in front of the crowd at Welsh Ryan Arena.
"The actual performance, that's my favorite part. I just love to watch the cheerleaders, and to learn the routine. It's just a break in the routine, let's put it that way," Luba Ames said.
Bailey said it's "just a hoot."
"An absolute hoot. It's so much fun. It really is. It brings everybody together, and the music is wonderful, and then the actual performance is just amazing, with all those thousands and thousands of people," she said.
How good are they?
"We're okay," Ames said. "We'll get the rhythm."
Even if they might not pull off any fancy tricks, just being out there is awesome for everyone involved.
"Just keeping us participating, and we're in the twilight of our lives. Not everybody. Some of these gals are in their 70s. And I just think it's nice to be active," Gerrish said.
"It warms our heart seeing them kind of bring their youth back, have fun, get their pom poms," Northwestern cheerleader Ashley Brobbey said. "Being able to show it off to this crowd at the games, it's really fun."
As Ames put it, if you make a mistake, just shake your pom poms, and you're fine.
It gives The Big Dance a whole new meaning when you see these ladies turning back the hands of time.
The Senior Wildcat Dancer members range in age from 70 to 89 years old.