Lingerie Football League: A complete joke
By Josh Martin, Sports Editor
In today’s society, it seems to me that the most popular sports leagues to watch are all played by men. The NHL, NBA, NFL, MLB, MLS, and the PGA. It is how it is. The only exception in my books would have to be tennis, where I could easily name off several female professional tennis players who are arguably just as popular as the top men players—without objectifying their looks.
This all leads to the Lingerie Football League, which has been introduced to the “Bible belt” community in Abbotsford.
The “BC Angels” are rocking the same colours as the Vancouver Canucks: blue, green, and white. They belong to a league where women can play football in a stadium surrounded by fans and get paid to do it. Sounds great, doesn’t it?
Finally, after all those years of dreaming of some day playing football professionally, these ladies’ dreams have come true. A Cinderella story. One with lingerie, football pads, jeering fans, hotdogs, beer, and a good ol’ time.
However, the sad thing is that the women who’re playing in this league are being completely objectified for their looks. They have to wear lingerie in order to be compared to professional athletes around the world. Is this the only way to bring fans out to watch their games? Playing football in complete lingerie; is this what our world is coming to? A world that has made significant moves forward in the rights and equality between the male and female sexes. It feels as though this league is moving everything backwards.
The girls on the team don’t seem to notice how their looks are being exploited.
“It’s bigger than what I thought it would be,” said quarterback Mary Anne Hanson. “Being in the best shape, you don’t worry so much about what’s on you, or not on you.”
“It’s nothing less than my bathing suit when I take my kids swimming,” said Darnelle Bernemann, a guard for the BC Angels. “I just want to play football, and having all of this excitement is a bonus.”
Yes, it definitely is a bonus. A bonus that’s perhaps the most attractive reason why fans actually come out to watch them play.
Tryouts for the Abbotsford squad were held last March, where potential players were told to wear “cute gym wear.” There was expected to be hundreds and maybe thousands of athletes to come and compete for a roster spot, but only 20 women showed up. Only 20! This brings up the question of whether these women are actually considered professional athletes, or are just there for pure eye candy to the public.
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The Lingerie Football League: More than meets the eye
By Eric Wilkins, Staff Writer
Males are fairly basic. We like scantily-clad women, sports, beer, and lazing around (with some variation in the order). Any fellow who tells you otherwise is merely attempting to lure you into a false sense of security until the first interest listed becomes a reality.
Anyways.
The Lingerie Football League (LFL) seems to have hit upon the magic combination: females running around in bikinis playing football. Scantily-clad women? Check. Sports? Check. Beer? It’s a football game: check. Lazing around? Well, duh.
With all this in mind, is the LFL primarily making its money off of objectifying women? While it’s possible to hem and haw around the subject as much as one wants, the plain and simple answer is a resounding yes. The sole reason that the LFL is able to exist is because a guy will pay for anything, so long as a semi-nude female is promoting it. However, this shouldn’t detract from the legitimacy of the league.
While its foremost raison d’être is to make money, the LFL has, in a slightly degrading way, given women another opportunity to take part in professional sports. After all, that’s what the LFL is: a professional sports league. While the fat slob in the first row (whether he’s a has-been or a never-was) is watching the game with about the same state of mind as he would a mud-wrestling match, like it or not, he will have to recognize at some point that the females in front of him have reached a higher level of athletic achievement than he ever did. They are getting paid to play sports. Yes, these are professional athletes.
The uniform is less than ideal for sports, but these women are playing nonetheless. Amid the shoulder pads and cleavage, it’s easy to forget that this is still football. These women can, and do, crash into each other. Getting hurt is not only a possibility, but a given. The league has already seen some serious injuries, among them ACL tears. This league is for real. These women are for real. It may be just a big joke for the drooling crowd, but down on the field, it’s anything but.
With the growth and success of the league, there may eventually be a professional football league for women that doesn’t involve beach attire. When women’s basketball first started, players had to wear skirts. Nowadays they’re in shorts and a jersey just like the men. Perhaps something similar may be in the cards one day for football.
