On The Spot – Lingerie Football in Sydney

On 10 June 2012, the second match of the Lingerie Football (LFL) Australian tour was held at Sydney’s All Phones Arena on a night which surprised many people with its dedication and game intensity.

The venue was fully packed to see the showdown between the East and the West LFL teams, with tons of footy fans, obviously most of them male and even including some very original disguises and signs dedicated to the Australian ambassador Chloe Butler.

Around 7 pm, the gorgeous players came out to warm up in a field that is notoriously smaller than the original American AFL. There we could appreciate the very athletic condition of every single one of them, reminding us of how seriously the players take the game for. While warming up, the players greet the fans in the crowd with some kicks.

At 7:45, after a short explanation about the Us footy rules, the lights went off and the players made their official entrance to the All Phones Arena field, starting by the West (QLD) team wearing pink as their captain Chloe Butler was the last one to enter with a QLD flag. Then it was the NSW (Blue) team making their entrance whom seems shorter in height compared to their opponent.

Following was the national anthems of USA and Australia to reinforce the fact that this is a serious sport, despite its name and the clothes the players wear.

At about 8pm, the game kicked off at the joy of the crowd where the players showed such a level of commitment, energy and passion in every move, tackling each other with great force, making the non-serious public (including women!) cheer on the game as if it was a real NRL or Origin match.

The action was non-stop as some players were knocked out for a while after hard entries and the long passes were the biggest attraction of the game, full of classic American Football style, including some Touch Downs celebrations like dancing, ending the first half with a clear West dominance.

The half-time included a representative from the crowd having the chance to tackle a real LFL player (and he did it), plus the official presentation of the NSW LFL team because the Lingerie Footy League will start in Australia, too.

The second half started with the East team trying to equalize the score as coaches scream like crazy every second while the reserve players were inviting the crowd to support their teams yelling “defense”, “East” and “West”.

A highlight feature during the game was the US sport classic – “The Kiss Cam” which worked here giving the crowd some funny moments of the night.

The game ended around 10 pm as the West defeated the East where all the players were gruesomely tired, some even showing injuries, followed by LFL‘s chairman Mitch Mortaza giving a speech to the crowd (despite opposition from conservative people to the league) adding that “It’s official Australia has a new sport!” whilst presenting the trophy to the West coach, kicking off the celebration for the winning team.

Overall, the LFL was fun to see but most of all, it proved to be a serious sport with hard-working players and a lot of action, which will surely maintain and attract new followers.

Here enjoy some postcards of the venue below:

*Fan photos for display purposes only. No commercial gains.