Whoo Hoo!! American football is coming to Aus!!!

[Gob]

AMERICAN football was never meant to be a single entendre form of sport but the US, the land that gave the world pole dancing, has turned the game into a sort of azure joke.



Lingerie football, a half-time diversion at Super Bowl Sunday, was made for television but the flesh and blood version arrives in Sydney next weekend.

Widespread protests have greeted an exhibition match to be played by 32 women from the US Lingerie Football League at Allphones Arena on Saturday.

Canberra's Chloe Butler will captain an all-stars Lingerie Football League team when the sport debuts in Australia this June.

A fight has begun on Twitter between advocates and opponents. Nearly 1500 people have signed an online petition, ''Stop the Lingerie Football League in Australia'', and the Minister for Sport, Kate Lundy, warned the league was an assault on sport.

''Our daughters deserve more,'' she said. ''The LFL is about giving viewers an opportunity to perve on women in gear that looks like it's come from an adult shop. It's called the Lingerie Football League because it's almost exclusively about the underwear.

''In sexualising the game of gridiron, they're undermining any future for broader inclusion in the sport, inevitably making it harder for women to … receive equitable treatment.''

Mitch Mortaza, who founded the league in 2009, attacked Ms Lundy on Twitter: ''Rather unfortunate you could not pick up a phone and explore the sport prior to making your statements. Disappointing.

''The arrogance of certain people leads them to believe their views should be those of millions of others. Let's allow people to choose.''

The game is a contact sport that requires bras, panties, shoulder pads, garters, and helmets. Players are reportedly contractually obliged to accept ''accidental nudity'' and, like pole dancing, Playboy magazine and Hooters restaurants, it is an American export aimed at prurient interest.

The Allphones Arena general manager, Paul Sergeant, said about half the 10,000 tickets had been sold. ''We're tracking where we expected. LFL is the fastest-growing female sport in the world. It's a hard hitting, explosive sport and we invite the people of Sydney to get amongst it.''

Queenslander Chloe Butler, a 25-year-old former hurdler and bikini model who plays in the US LFL with the Los Angeles Temptation, is the face of the LFL in its push to colonise Australia.

''I lost my pants in a touchdown in my first game,'' she says.

Daryl Adair, an associate professor of sport management at the University of Technology, said the sport partly showed how difficult it was for women to be regarded as serious athletes. ''The best opportunity for women to be taken seriously as athletes of calibre is not to sexualise their performance but to operate in tandem with, or as an auxiliary to, men's programs,'' he said.

''Our daughters deserve more,'' yeah, but what about the sons?

[Lord Jim]

''The LFL is about giving viewers an opportunity to perve on women in gear that looks like it's come from an adult shop.

Gee, she says that like it's a bad thing....

[dales]

Will they have babies strapped to their backs?

[Lord Jim]

Actually Strop, Australia has been blessed with Real Football for more than 20 years:

http://www.gridironaustralia.org.au

And helpful fellow that I am, here's the link to Face book page for your very own Canberra Gladiators!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/GLADIATOR ... 8393027015

The season doesn't start till August, so if you act very quickly you still might be able to pick up some tickets....(you don't want to have to paying those scalper prices.)

Oh, and MAJOR respect for this dude:

HE's tried basketball, rugby union and now Penrith's Hayden Smith is on the verge of making it in the NFL.

Neil Cordy The Daily Telegraph
April 03, 2012 12:00AM

And no, he's not a punter.

Smith, a former basketballer and rugby union international for the US, is close to winning a spot on the roster of the New York Jets, one of American football's most famous franchises.

He'd play in the team's offence as a tight end, where, should he make the grade, he'll be a target for two of the sport's hottest quarterbacks, Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow. It's a remarkable step in one of the most amazing journeys in Australian sport.

The 202cm, 116kg giant was set to join the Sydney Kings in 2008 after a successful stint in US college basketball. But a potential NBL career stalled when the Kings folded, sitting out the next two seasons. Smith, who'd completed a financial degree on a basketball scholarship at Denver's Metropolitan State University, returned to the US and kept fit playing rugby union.

The powerful athlete was soon chosen to play for the US Eagles in last year's Rugby World Cup.

Former Wallabies assistant coach Scott Johnson, then coaching the US Eagles, spotted him playing college rugby for fun and invited him to join the US team.

From there, the 26-year-old carved out a career playing professional rugby in England's Aviva premiership for Saracens.

It wasn't long before NFL scouts noticed his rare mix of agility, handling skills and size. He has trialled with NFL franchises, including Philadelphia, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints and finally the New York Jets.

Tim Brewster, the former head coach of the University of Minnesota, is regarded as a tight end guru. He backs Smith to make the transition. "A lot of coaches shy away from guys who haven't played the game because it is an exhausting process," Brewster said.

"To me, that's the exciting part. Taking a piece of clay like that.

"And I am going to tell you Hayden Smith is one beautiful piece of clay. Just mould him into what you want him to be."

AUSSIES IN THE NFL: Punters: Sav Rocca (Washington), Ben Graham (Detroit), Matt McBriar (Dallas), Darren Bennett (San Diego), Colin Ridgway (Dallas); DEFENSIVE END: Colin Scotts (St Louis Cardinals)[yeah, they're mostly those clean jersey rarely see contact punter types, but it's better than nothing....]

What a dream come true it must be for a boy from Penrith to grow up to actually have a shot at playing in The National Football League...I can only imagine the pride his parents must feel.

Obviously it's not many Rugby players who have the skills to make it at the level of physical excellence demanded to play in the NFL...(which is probably a good thing for Rugby; if there were, there'd be no one left playing Rugby; they'd all leave to earn real paychecks playing Football) but it looks like this fellow just maybe can make the cut....

Congratulations Hayden! It won't be easy in such a fiercely competitive environment, with so many highly talented athletes, (very different from what you're used to) but if you really apply yourself, and you have a bit of luck, you just might make the squad.

[Gob]

And helpful fellow that I am, here's the link to Face book page for your very own Canberra Gladiators!

Wow! Ten years of living in the city, and this is the first I've heard of them, must be popular.

Oh, and MAJOR respect for this dude:

Congratulations Hayden! It won't be easy in such a fiercely competitive environment, with so many highly talented athletes, (very different from what you're used to) but if you really apply yourself, and you have a bit of luck, you just might make the squad.

Well seeing as he's failed at other sports, he's to be commended for trying, even if that does mean he's sinking to these levels.

[Lord Jim]

Here's another site I'm sure you're going to want to bookmark Strop

http://nfldownunder.com/category/aussies-in-the-nfl

There you can get the 411 on the latest about all the Aussies playing in the NFL and much more....

(Just be sure that when you click on the link, you have at least a couple of hours set aside...you won't be able to pull yourself away...)

Here's a really heartwarming article from that website:

Aussie Fan Spotlight: A.J. Green’s Biggest Fan



Welcome to our new series celebrating some of the best NFL fans in the world, Australian ones! Today we have a Bengals fanatic from Melbourne.

Firstly, who are you, what do you do, where do you live and who do you support?

I’m Vivek Velaga, and I’m currently a high school student in Melbourne. I’m a mad and proud supporter of the Cincinnati Bengals! WHODEY!

How did you come to support that team?

On my first trip to America back in 2006, my cousin in US introduced me to NFL. On my birthday, he took me to a Patriots v Bengals. I was in awe of the sport. After that match, it was all Bengals for me. Even though they didn’t win, they played their hearts out and I absolutely loved it!

Who is your favorite player currently on the roster? Who is your all time favorite player?

My favourite player currently on the roster is none other than A.J. Green! The guy’s an amazing athlete! He deserved Rookie of the Year last year, haha. He’ll also probably have to be my favourite all-time player too, I honestly doubt there’s going to be anyone as great as him in decades to come.

What was your best moment as a NFL or Bengals fan?

My best moment as a Bengals fan was when Dalton headed into the 2011/12 season with everyone claiming that the Bengals would ditch him the next season and take Luck with the first overall pick. Well, the 9-7 record was more than I could’ve asked for and that would definitely have to be one of my favourite moment as a fan.

As an NFL fan last year I participated in this activity at my school called Operation Intrepid. As part of the Operation, I sent an email to the Commissioner of the NFL – Roger Goodell – enquiring about the possibility of playing one or two NFL games, or even just training camp, here in Melbourne.

My email was received and redirected from the commissioner’s office to the vice-president’s – Mr Chris Parsons. He replied to my email telling me that he would the idea into consideration in future discussions but it’s unlikely due to the time difference. I was extremely excited when I got the email and to my surprise, he sent me some Bengals apparel; an AJ Green Home jersey (one of my three however the old ones or both Ochocinco’s so no real significance anymore, haha), a Bengals hoodie and a pair of Bengals shorts. I was amazed that Mr Parsons, being such a busy man, would send me all these things. I still wear my shorts and jersey as much as possible today.

How do you follow the sport as an Aussie?

In the holidays, I wake up at 4am or depending on the match time and watch the Bengals play on my computer since they don’t show all their matches on TV but when they do, I love it. I’ve also started up multiple fantasy football leagues within my friendship groups and even with family members around the world. Always great to have a bit of rivalry between all of us.

Is there anything about the NFL you wish was in Australian sport?

NFL is just such an amazing sport, much better than AFL in my opinion, there should be an Australian league. The intensity of the game is amazing and there cannot be any other sport greater than football as we know it today. I reckon the AFL should format their off-season a lot more around that of the NFL.

Are you aware that there is a Gridiron league in Victoria (and in other States too)? It has juniors. I apologise to your parents in advance. Look here.

I am extremely aware that there is a league in Victoria however lots of clubs are situated quite far away from where I live so it’s gonna take a lot of trouble getting places for matches if I join one. hopefully they could branch out a bit more within the city of Melbourne. I started a little American football program at my old school where boys would get together for a lunchtime game which was always a heap of fun. Now at my new school, I’ve started playing American football regularly with my friends and I’ve gotta say, it’s become a hit with all of them. Hopefully there’ll be more clubs in Victoria and the whole of Australia in the near future.

Is there anything about Australian sport you wish was in the NFL?

In my opinion, NFL’s amazing the way it is, and nothing from AFL or any Australian sport should change it!

Which of your friends/family members have suffered the most due to your fandom?

Haha, brilliant question. Well obviously my parents and my sister. They’ve gone through a lot of frustration with me hogging the TV for hours at length watching NFL and watching Madden. But you know, the Bengals are a vital part of my life.

Also my friends, I’ve disappointed them with my lack of AFL knowledge. It’s always NFL, NFL, NFL and not much time for any AFL. Sorry guys, but it’s NFL all day, every day for me.

Thanks Vivek for sharing your fandom with us. It’s great that you’re doing your part to make sure the NFL knows they have a fanbase Down Under!

[MajGenl.Meade]

Ignore the a-ho at the beginning (and sporadically), these ladies play rough!

[Gob]

Ignore the a-ho at the beginning (and sporadically), these ladies play rough!

Just the way you like it Meade?

[MajGenl.Meade]

The shoulder pads get me every time.