LFL Canada looking to grow – Regina Leader
October 22, 2012 by admin
Filed under Latest Lingerie News
The Lingerie Football League is enjoying its northern exposure.
The inaugural season for LFL Canada continued to build momentum on Sunday when close to 3,000 fans watched the Saskatoon Sirens edge the Regina Rage 35-33 at the Brandt Centre, earning a berth in the inaugural Canadian Lingerie Bowl (Nov. 18 in Abbotsford against the B.C. Angels).
“This place was awesome,” declared Sirens quarterback Anne Erler. “The fans were loud, they got into it. You could tell they love it. I think the LFL is building such a great product here.”
Erler should know, having played in the U.S.-based LFL last season as a member of the expansion Green Bay Chill. Although Lingerie Football has become a phenomenon south of the border, the battle for credibility is ongoing.
“We still fight that in the States,” said Erler, a Green Bay native. “We had 2,500 show up at our first game as an expansion team and 3,500 the next game. It’s going to be a challenge until the word gets out but this is how it happens, with 3,000 fans coming from all over the place, the media (exposure). All they have to do is come and watch and they come back. It’s guaranteed.”
The Rage proved it. Despite the disappointment of Sunday’s loss, the Regina players were proud of what they accomplished in their first season.
It began with the first home game on Sept. 8, when roughly 2,000 fans watched Regina post a 40-32 comeback win over the Toronto Triumph. That contest, drawing rave reviews, created some buzz for the Rage and showed there was more to their game than revealing uniforms.
“The first game is when you prove something and we definitely proved it,” noted Rage quarterback Nikki Johnson, a Phoenix native who played for the LFL’s Las Vegas Sin last season. “We had the support. This game (on Sunday) shows they believed in us. Coming that close (to the league championship) I think it’ll bring even more fans next year. This could honestly get as big as Rider Nation.”
The jury is out on that lofty objective, but there’s no denying the first season was a step in the right direction.
“As the pioneers of this, I think we set a really good example for what’s to come in the future,” said Rage centre Janell Wiebe, a native of Regina. “The uniforms don’t show what this is all about. (The fans) see it’s real football.
“I’m proud of us for what we accomplished.”
The Rage didn’t just leave their fans wanting more. The same could be said for the players.
“If they want us back we’d be honoured to come back,” said Johnson, one of five imports on the team.
“This is a lifestyle now,” added Wiebe. “Most of the girls are so in love with this league. Hopefully we have it again next year – bigger and better.”
That’s all part of the master plan for LFL founder/ chairman Mitchell Mortaza, who is focused on signing a national TV deal in Canada for next season in addition to adding two more franchises in “prominent Canadian markets.”
With six franchises, he would look to potentially double the current schedule from four games apiece to eight, including four home games instead of two.
“In order to really develop into a mainstream sports property you need to be on national television,” noted Mortaza. “It’s the exact formula we had in the States. When we first started in 2009, (there was) little to no exposure, no national television. And the second year we signed on with MTV Networks and it has exploded. We expect the exact same thing (in Canada). It’s kind of scary how similar the two are growing together in the same path.”
Regina is a big part of Mortaza’s game plan. In fact, he noted that when you factor in attendance and merchandise sales, Regina is “the best market in Canada right now.”
“I couldn’t be more happy with the way things unfolded,” he added. “It’s always tough when the home team loses but nonetheless I thought they had a great first season in Regina. I think we planted the seed in the last game and we’re seeing the crowds grow. As long as the crowds continue to grow, it shows us all the promise we need to come back stronger.”
