Girls? I REST MY CASE!

CHECK THIS OUT GIRLS. A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN!

Sunday December 12 6:05 PM ET
Women Aim for Own Football League

AP Photo


By BETH GARDINER Associated Press Writer

UNIONDALE, N.Y (AP) - The New York Sharks donned cleats, shoulder pads and helmets, mustering all their strength in trying to pound through the Minnesota Vixens' defense.

But these players were aiming at more than just the opposing line - they hoped to knock down the barriers that have kept women out of one of the last exclusively male sports.

The exhibition game on Saturday was part of an effort to launch a professional tackle football league for women. Organizers hope to ride the wave of enthusiasm for women's sports generated by the U.S. soccer victory in the Women's World Cup, the success of the WNBA and the triumphs of American Olympic teams in women's hockey and softball.

``This is a dream come true for all of us,'' said lawyer Lynn Lewis, a Sharks offensive tackle. ``I grew up playing football with the guys. Then when you got to a certain age you couldn't play in anything organized. ... Out of all the major sports, this is the last one that brought women to its playground.''

The Women's Professional Football League, based in Edina, Minn., has two teams - the Vixens and the Lake Michigan Minx. They have played one another in a handful of games in the Midwest.

The Sharks, a Long Island flag football team that plays each year in an international tournament, trained for two months to play tackle ball against the Vixens. The Sharks won 12-6 before about 300 fans on a windy day at Mitchel Athletic Complex.

The Sharks, mostly in their 20s and 30s, include teachers, lawyers, a stockbroker and businesswomen. Most have played competitive sports and many have participated for years in a hard-hitting women's flag football league. But they wanted a game with full contact.

``To me, it's the culmination of all sports,'' said Lewis, 40. ``I've never had more adrenaline run through me. ... It's not polite for women to be aggressive, according to society, and this is a place for women to be aggressive.''

Organizers hope to have between six and eight teams for the 2000 season and at least 12 for 2001.

It won't be easy. A six-team women's football league folded after a few years of play in the 1970s. The WNBA owes much of its success to the marketing and financial support of the NBA.

The new women's football league is short of money, and without seasoned players like the college basketball stars who joined the WNBA, the level of play can sometimes be less than professional.

But the players are impassioned and willing to sacrifice. Most on the two main teams gave up jobs to move to Minnesota, where they practice at night and travel on weekends for games. The Vixens boast a Princeton graduate, a NASA engineer, a criminal prosecutor and several police officers.

``It's so much fun, it's worth it, said Vixens defensive end Christine Szaja, 26, an Ocean City, N.J., native living in Minneapolis. I was always on the sidelines of the game, going 'Oh, it'd be awesome to be out there.'''

Few of the women seem fazed by the bruises that cover their bodies after each game or the occasional broken nose or arm.

``You get such a feeling of accomplishment seeing all those big people trying to crunch each other and you get through,'' said Sharks running back Natalie Jufer, 30, who teaches middle school in Brooklyn. ``I used to say 'I want to grow up and be a center fielder for the New York Yankees.' But I never dreamed I'd play football.''

Many say the benefits carry over into other areas of life.

``You have to be strong and smart and fast, and I use those skills every day,'' said Sharks free safety Nikki Teague, 29, of Baldwin, a law firm manager. ``It's a real physical game, and you push your body to limits that you never thought you could do.''

Some players say friends and co-workers don't always know what to make of their football exploits. Teague recalled a puzzled gaze from a salesman at the sporting goods store where she bought her shoulder and leg pads.

``No questions, just a funny look,'' she said. ``I think women can do a lot of things that people aren't exactly ready to take.''

Players know the future of their league is uncertain, but they hope it will at least help put football on the radar screen for young women.

``It has to trickle down to the lower level so you have a talent pool to get your players from,'' Szaja said. ``I'd like to see youth football and have it come up that way, from the little girls on up.''