Scoop: Playing Offensive
The Lingerie Football League gives good taste the Heisman
By Seattle Mag December 31, 1969
Category: Arts + Events Articles
The Lingerie Football League gives good taste the Heisman
Two historical undergarment events occurred during the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004: Network television audiences were exposed to Janet Jackson’s infamous wardrobe malfunction, and pay-per-view audiences witnessed the first “Lingerie Bowl,” featuring women battling it out on the gridiron wearing only helmets, shoulder pads, bras and panties.
While Miss Jackson’s actions earned her fines and finger shaking, the lingerie bowl proved a hit, inspiring halftime shows every year since, as well as the nationwide Lingerie Football League (lflus.com), which will kick off its season in September 2009 (with championships scheduled to coincide with the 2010 Super Bowl in Miami). LFL teams include the San Diego Seduction, the Dallas Desire and yes, though it pains us to say it, the Seattle Mist. Tryouts for the Mist were held at Green Lake last fall, where competitors were evaluated on beauty and athletic ability. (Chris Martin, a public relations representative for the team, said of the scouting, “We have no interest in women scared to break a nail.”)
Knowledge of the sport wasn’t required at tryouts, so the Mist—whose uniforms include, um, tasteful blue-and-green garter belts—will spend the next year learning how to play football. If this is another sign of Seattle becoming a “world-class city” (note the ominous “US” in the LFL Web address), we’d like to go back to being provincial, thanks.