In the days when Joe Ortwerth was the St. Charles County executive, the Lingerie Football League might have had problems booking the St. Charles Family Arena for its new St. Louis-region franchise. Mr. Ortwerth reserved the right to veto any acts that he felt weren't suitable family entertainment.
Fortunately for the LFL, Mr. Ortwerth stepped down in 2006, three years before the birth of this love-child of the Arena Football League and the Victoria's Secret catalog. It's seven-on-seven tackle football, played by women who are selected for athletic skills and pulchritude, not necessarily in that order.
Gullibility helps, too. The players don't get paid; if they get hurt, any costs exceeding $10,000 are their problem.
According to The Toronto Star, league founder Mitch Mozanga told players in a March 2011 letter, "We will create an environment and culture that will cater to only those who love the game, while weeding out those doing it for a paycheck."
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The team starts play next April. It doesn't have a name, but "The Rip-offs" has a nice ring.
LFL players wear hockey-like helmets with clear plastic face-shields that allow fans, nearly all of whom are male, to check out their looks. They wear abbreviated shoulder pads that allow unimpeded views of push-up bras. The rest of the ensemble is limited to shoes, knee pads and bikini-bottom shorts, usually in colors reflecting those of the nearest NFL team.
The gladiatrixes are more fully clothed than beach volleyball players, and to judge from games broadcast on MTV2, have similar athletic skills. We're not saying the Las Vegas Sin or the Philadelphia Passion (subtle names are not the LFL's long suit) could compete with the Rams, or even the East St. Louis Flyers, but the women appear to take the game seriously. They must, to risk injury for free.
The LFL is what it is: An occasion for women to be exploited, at the very least financially, and for men to combine their passions for (a) women; (b) football and (c) drinking beer. Sports have a place in a community's life, but exploitation doesn't. St. Charles County should want no part of this deal.