Lingerie Football League

The Lingerie Football League (LFL) is a women's 7-on-7 tackle American football league, created in 2009, with games played in the fall and winter at NFL, NHL, and MLS arenas and stadiums. The league was founded by Mitchell S. "Mitch" Mortaza. The league's administrative offices are in West Hollywood, California.

Concept
The concept originated from the Super Bowl halftime alternative television special called the Lingerie Bowl. It draws millions of viewers as a pay-per-view event broadcast annually directly opposite the Super Bowl halftime show. The television show has become a staple of Super Bowl Sunday festivities for millions worldwide and is broadcast in over 85 countries.

Playing style
Playing style is full-contact and similar to other indoor football leagues. Uniforms consist of shoulder pads, elbow pads, knee pads, garters, bras, panties, and ice hockey-style helmets with clear plastic visors in lieu of face masks.

There are no field goal and no punts. There is a kickoff to start the game and second half. A team must attempt to get a first down on every fourth down. After a touchdown, a team can attempt a one-point conversion from the two yard line, or a two-point conversion from the five-yard line.

There are seven women on each side of the 50-yard field, the same as the Continental Indoor Football League, but one fewer than the eight players usually found in arena football or other indoor leagues. Teams consist of 20 players, only 14 of whom are active on game day. This means that there are usually three or four players who play both offense and defense.

The standard offensive formation features 1 quarterback, 2 running backs, 1 center, and 3 wide receivers. The standard defensive formation features 2 defensive linemen, 2 linebackers, 2 cornerbacks, and 1 safety.

The field is 50-yards between end zones, 30 yards wide, and the end zones are 8 yards deep, roughly the same as other indoor leagues.

A game consists of two 17-minute halves, separated by a 15-minute halftime. In the event of a tie, an 8-minute sudden-death overtime is played.

Media
In 2009–2010, the ten LFL inaugural season teams competed in a 20-week season with games at major arenas and stadia. The weekly games were shot in 1080i high-definition and to broadcast on some MyNetworkTV affiliate stations, international stations, and online streaming.

In 2010–2011, MTV Networks' MTV2 channel has licensed the rights to broadcast 20 regular season and two conference playoff highlight programs. LFL Presents: LFL, Friday Night Football on MTV2 is scheduled to premiere on September 10, 2010.

2009–2010

 * Main article: 2009 LFL season

The league announced it would play with ten teams in its 2009–2010 season. The league schedule ran from September 4, 2009 to January 29, 2010, with one game each Friday. Teams played one game against each other team in their conference; 2 games were at home and 2 games were on the road. The top two teams in each conference met in playoff games on February 4, 2010, in Miami, and the winners played in Lingerie Bowl VII on February 6, 2010. The Western Conference Los Angeles Temptation defeated the Eastern Conference Chicago Bliss by the score of 27–14.
 * 2009 Offensive Player of the Year – Saran Dunmore, Chicago Bliss
 * 2009 Defensive Player of the Year – Elizabeth Gorman, Tampa Breeze
 * 2009 League MVP – Gabrielle Marie, Dallas Desire
 * 2009 Coach of the Year – Antuan Edwards, Dallas Desire
 * 2009 Mortaza Award – Erin Marie Garrett, Dallas Desire
 * 2009 Most Improved Player – Riley Maddex, Los Angeles Temptation

Most of the teams are coached by former NFL players and coaches already well known in their respective cities.

A majority of the players have a background in competitive athletics. Many of the players have experience in other sports at the college and semi-pro level, such as track and field, tennis, volleyball, softball, soccer, basketball, and physical fitness-style bodybuilding. A few also have experience in tackle football from playing in semi-pro leagues.

2010–2011

 * Main article: 2010 LFL season

For the 2010–2011 season the League has granted new franchises to both Orlando (Fantasy) and Baltimore (Charm). The New York Majesty and Denver Dream have suspended operations in an effort to find a suitable arena or stadium for each team.

The 2010 LFL All-Fantasy Game was held June 10, 2010 in Monterrey, Mexico, with the Eastern Conference prevailing over the Western Conference 36–14. The All-Fantasy Game's co-MVPs were Philadelphia Passion's Tyrah Lusby and Miami Caliente's Anonka Dixon.

The 2011 Lingerie Bowl is scheduled to be played in Las Vegas, Nevada, at Thomas & Mack Arena on Sunday, February 6, 2011 venue, during halftime of Super Bowl XLV. A Las Vegas franchise is scheduled to begin play in the 2010–2011 season. . On November 10, it was announced that Oklahoma City would be receiving a expansion franchise for the 2011-12 season, only to be publicly rejected by the city's mayor, who said he would not allow the league to operate in the city.

On December 6, it was announced that Cleveland, Ohio beat out Columbus, Ohio for the newest franchise. In the 2011-2012 season the Cleveland Crush will begin play at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland.

It has also been speculated that Houston, Texas and New Orleans, Louisiana will be granted additional franchises for the 2011 season to bring the total amount of teams to 14. LFL Chairman and Commissioner Mitchell S. Mortaza announced that the league offices are in negotiations with ownership groups to bring the LFL to San Jose, Las Vegas, Houston, Phoenix, Vancouver, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Carolina, Buffalo, Columbus, Toronto, New Orleans and New Jersey in the coming seasons.

Critical reaction
The league has met with significant criticism. Critics say the league degrades female athletes through "pernicious objectification" ; others say it "simply" uses sex to sell a legitimate athletic league (observers note that men do not have to play only in underwear). The league has been accused of fining players for wearing too many clothes, and for not paying medical bills for injured players. League founder Mortaza has admitted that the league is marketed toward "mostly beer-drinking college students aged 21 and up."