Do any of these teams sound familiar? War Angels, Fighting Fillies, Sting, Shreveport Aftershock, Carolina Queens, Connecticut Crushers, Tampa Bay Pirates, or Bay Area Bandits?
If you follow sports of all kinds, you’ll realize these team names belong to women’s pro football teams. Yes, Virginia, they exist. Female athletes in every sport have struggled to gain recognition from the media and the public. Today, women are stepping up their game in the pro football world and gaining huge strides, one yard at a time.
American football has traditionally been driven by men; they coach, play, commentate, and referee the games. Only in the past decade or so have a fair amount of women really come on the scene as far as on-field and ESPN commentators. Women’s sports, especially football, have not been mentioned in the same sentence with “real” sports but two organizations are attempting to change that image.
WFA (Women’s Football Alliance) is seeking to change the perception and exposure of this sport. Just as the men we see on the field exchange their ‘title’ of sons, husbands, and fathers, to professional football player, so do the women. Mothers, daughters, teachers, wives, and coaches turn in their ‘title’ for a uniform and a helmet, and are transformed into a professional football team.
The WFA is comprised of two conferences; National and American, with each league broken up into six regions. The season has 11 weeks of regular season play, three post-season weeks, and yes, a national championship game – the Super Bowl of women’s pro football.
Different from WFA, the IWFL, (Independent Women’s Football League), a non-profit women’s pro football league, is described as “a full tackle women’s football league focused on creating a 
positive, safe and fun environment for the women who play the game and fans that come out to watch them.”
The IWFL was founded in 2000 by a group of women dedicated to making the sport a household name. The IWFL currently has over 1600 women playing the sport for 51 teams across North America from Southern California to Montreal and Washington to Florida with consistent expansion into new markets.” The IWFL is the only recognized professional women’s tackle football league.
IWFL’s mission is to enable women to play tackle football by supporting the member owners of the IWFL with a stable organization that can draw on and combine the resources of the IWFL to promote the women athletes who play football. They recently partnered with Offense-Defense Football Camps to provide top-notch training and skills for the league’s players. According to a recent press release, “These new IWFL endorsed camps will provide attendees top-notch training with highly qualified NFL and collegiate level coaches as well as opportunities to learn from current and former NFL players.”
Although doubtful ESPN will ever televise women’s pro football games, it’s a growing movement of women athletes, seeking to excel in their sport. I also highly doubt that make-up, curlers, or flat-irons are a part of the locker room experience. But adorn these powerful women in uniforms, padding, and helmets, and they’re truly a force to be reckoned with.
###
We invite everyone in the St. Louis metro area to check out the St. Louis SLAM, 2009 WFA champions, play this spring. All information can be found at http://www.stlslam.com
Michelle Marcus
St. Louis SLAM
Asst General Manager
Michelle
I love the spirit that shines through this post!
In India, active women athletes are still sniggered/ jeered at, but also admired by a growing number.
For e.g. A world champion boxer from India, Mary Kom was called 'boxer babe' by some so-called fans & media – which prompted a virtual karate chop from me 🙂
Oh well!
Cheers
Anita Lobo
@sportsnetworker Terrific #IWFL Pro Football article Michelle H.. Positive comments by Anita from India & Michelle M. of St Louis SLAM help!
@sportsnetworker Terrific #IWFL Pro Football article Michelle H.. Positive comments by Anita from India & Michelle M. of St Louis SLAM help!
Nice job covering the women. I have met the ladies of the Lone Star Mustangs in the DFW area. They run a really good organization and their most famous alum is Ebony Jones who won “I Want to Work for Diddy.”
I can definitely relate to this article because I am currently a rookie of the New York Sharks, based in Brooklyn, NY. I only recently found out there was such a strong showing and support for Women's Tackle Football. This has always been my dream and I am thankful to the IWFL and the NY Sharks for the opportunity.
The Sharks is an amazing organization (http://www.nysharksfootball.com), from management, coaches, players all the way to the fans, it's been a great experience. I have only started my football career and look forward many years and championships to follow with the NY Sharks!
you forgot about the LFL Lingerie Football League! http://www.lflus.com
Ebony Jones is now with the New York Sharks. She relocated to New York after she won the job to work for Diddy. See her on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fRYYHsLPYI
I’m not sure where you are getting your information,
but good topic. I needs to spend some time learning much more or understanding more.
Thanks for great info I was looking for this info
for my mission.
Its been a fantastic year.need more games.64 .years dont stop the strong weman in life.just go for it).
Revolutionizing leg-focused care, the groundbreaking Smith method transforms lymphedema treatment. https://casleysmithinternational.org/ Our evidence-based approach prioritizes patient comfort and efficacy, advancing multidisciplinary solutions to elevate quality of life for those with lymphedema.