Lingerie Football brings touchdowns, garter belts to Toronto
September 14, 2012 by admin
Filed under Latest Lingerie News
TORONTO -
Toronto sports fans, get ready for touchdowns and garter belts.
The Lingerie Football League — the sport with female football players wearing lingerie as they play football — is set to kickoff Saturday with the Toronto Triumph’a season-opener against the Saskatoon Sirens.
“Toronto is ready for any league thrown at it,” said Triumph head coach Steve Moore at a media preview Thursday.
“If you’re behind your city, the city is going to be behind you. But you’ve got to go out and play hard and win. Toronto Triumph will do that.”
The controversial league debuted in 2009 in the U.S., but this is Canada’s first inaugural season.
There are four teams, including the B.C. Angels, Saskatoon Sirens, Regina Rage and Toronto Triumph.
Mayor Rob Ford’s niece Krista joined the league as the Triumph’s captain an marketing manager, whose responsibility included seeking sponsorships.
Ford subsequently quit over the firing of a member of the coaching staff following the team’s first loss in a non-exhibition game in 2011.
Moore emphasizes this is his first year a the team’s coach and despite a poor track record last year when the Triumph piggybacked onto the U.S. league.
“I don’t compare last year with this year at all because we have a lot of new players,” he said. “The team is very hungry and they want to win…and to earn their spot on the team.”
There are 20 women on the team, with the majority from the GTA.
Ravine Burton, a thirty-something safety linebacker on the team, said she understands there is still a stigma attached to the league.
But she assure spectators it’s not “a powderpuff sport.”
“Don’t judge,” she said. “Many of us are lawyers and engineers. We have careers off the field. I played rugby for 20 years. Full contact is where it’s at.”
“The uniform may bring them but it’s the football that will keep then interested,” Burton added.
Alysha Emerson, 24, from Mississauga, signed up for the position of safety/wide receiver because it was a physical challenge. She’s ready to create a fan base for lingerie and football.
“No matter what, Toronto always supports their teams,” she said. “That’s all you really need.”
