Newest New Orleans Saints Cheerleader is 40, Basically the Female Rudy

Kriste Lewis beat out a stable of able-bodied women aged 18-30 to snag a spot on the New Orleans Saints cheerleading squad, which calls itself the Saintsations.

ABC News | ABC Sports News

And she’s 40.

This is the most important thing any 40-year-old has done since Mike Gundy lost his shit during a press conference.

Lewis wasted no time in capturing the judges’ attention. After three rounds of tryouts, Lewis found out she was one of 36 women selected for the 2014-2015 Saintsations team.

“The day I got the news I was really beside myself,” Lewis said. “It was really exciting.”

Lewis is now looking forward to making her NFL debut at the Saints’ home opener at the Superdome in September.

“I cannot wait for us to run out for the first time and we run out on that field,” Lewis said.

Lewis, who has two children (11 and 14) is old enough to the mother of some of her squadmates.

Oh, also:

“Fourteen years ago I was diagnosed with polysistic kidney disease,” Lewis said. “Eventually my kidneys will shut down [and] I will be in need of dialysis and in need of a transplant … That had a lot to do with me auditioning as well. I didn’t want to waste a day.”

So much human interest here.

Anyone think she”s too old? Too young?

Anyone even aware the Saints had cheerleaders?

[H/T: New York Post]