- Lingerie League - "The true fantasy football"
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Lingerie League enlivens American Football
What began as a Super Bowl half-time stunt - scantily-clad women playing American football - has proved so popular (among men, at least) it is getting its very own national "Lingerie League".
Team Euphoria pose for photographers at a news conference announcing plans for Lingerie Bowl
Billed as "true fantasy football", league will feature teams of women across the US playing American football in co-ordinated underwear, including garters, along with helmets and some token protective padding.
Members of America's existing professional women's football leagues are unlikely to be either worried or impressed by the newcomers, however, as sporting ability appears far less of a concern than looks when it comes to recruiting players.
The new league is a spin-off from the annual Lingerie Bowl, which was started five years ago as a racier alternative to the official Super Bowl half-time show.
Lingerie Bowl organisers said after the controversial Super Bowl half-time show in which Janet Jackson bared a breast, the official programme became "extraordinarily conservative with ageing rockers such as Tom Petty, Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones" that failed to wow fans or critics.
So an alternative "championship" was born, a 35-minute game featuring underwear-clad models and celebrities as well as current and former National Football League stars. Aired it on a pay-per-view television, it has become a Super Bowl staple attracting millions of viewers, organisers say.
The Lingerie League will feature 10 teams with names that sound more like deodorant brands than sports clubs: Chicago Bliss, New England Euphoria, Tampa Breeze, Dallas Desire, Los Angeles Temptation, San Diego Seduction and Seattle Mist to name a few.
Try-outs, or auditions, have so far drawn young women including models and dancers. Those attending a session in Seattle interviewed by CNN were blunt about the game's appeal - "probably half-naked women playing football would be my guess," said one - but denied they felt exploited.
Training is taken very seriously
"Obviously first and foremost it's a visually driven brand, so you have to have the beauty," league spokesman Kyle Bolin told Florida's St Petersburg Times.
"But you have to be athletic. It's a whole different breed when you're asking models to play tackle. So you have to (have) a little bit upstairs."
He also denied the league was sexist. "This is not fluff. They take it very seriously. They're not out there worrying about fingernails being broken, but they're worried about their necks being broken."
It is not clear how the league will be funded - the website contains links to "sponsor contact" and "investor relations" - but season tickets are already on sale.
The concept originated from the hugely successful Super Bowl halftime alternative television special called the Lingerie Bowl, a pay-per-view event which was broadcast at the same time as the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show. The event featured two teams of models playing an American football game while dressed in lingerie. The two original teams were Team Dream and Team Euphoria. Team Dream won the first game with a score of 6-0.
The League is an extension of this idea. The league was expanded to four teams in 2005:
- Los Angeles Temptation (formerly "Team Dream")
- New York Euphoria (formerly "Team Euphoria")
- Dallas Desire
- Chicago Bliss
- San Diego Seduction LFL
2008
The league announced it would expand to ten teams in 2008, adding:
- Atlanta Steam
- Seattle Mist
- Miami Caliente
- San Diego Seduction (originally planned for San Francisco)
- Tampa Breeze
- Phoenix Scorch
The Lingerie Football League will kick off its inaugural season in Fall 2009 with ten franchises including Los Angeles Temptation, Phoenix Scorch, Seattle Mist, San Diego Seduction, Dallas Desire, New England Euphoria, Chicago Bliss, Atlanta Steam, Miami Caliente and Tampa Breeze. LFL games are set to air on cable television in Fall 2009.
- Los Angeles Temptation (formerly "Team Dream")
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Football? You call that football when most of the game is played by hand? Utter bullshit by the amercians
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dont' care the games.. care the boobs
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knn, viewership confirm very high