Goodbye Lingerie, Hello Legends: LFL Attempts To Be More Than A Gimmick


Rest in Peace Lingerie Football League. No, the women’s football league isn’t dead, just the name. In an attempt to gain more credibility, the league as renamed itself the Legends Football League. I’m not sure that resonates much with me. How about you? When I think of legends in football names like John Elway, Dan Marino and Walter Payton come to mind but not (and no offense ladies) but not women in tiny “performance wear”. I’ll get to that term in a bit.

legends-football

The women who participate in the LFL are athletic and out to win, there’s no debating that. Take a look at any of their events online and you can see the women are athletes. The problem is the gimmick of lingerie only worked for so long. Sure it was a hit during the Super Bowl half-time show and it drew attention in a few markets. It bombed in other markets like Denver where sports fans have many other options like the Broncos, Avalanche, Nuggets, Rockies and Rapids. Sure there’s likely more to the story of why the LFL didn’t take of in various markets but largely because fans weren’t buying into it.

New Promo for Legends Football League

To the LFL’s credit it does a tremendous job of marketing their product. Their images are crisp. The videos have high production value and intense energy. The team logos look sporty and something you’d want to wear. They have over 330,000 likes on facebook. They had the foresight to brand their website with the league initials (www.lflus.com) to avoid losing ground with the names change. The women want it to work. They want to be taken seriously and they want it to be a viable sport but how serious can people take women in lingerie? You can’t expect it and the LFL recognized it.

That problem was to be resolved in the “rebranding” of the LFL. Along with a name change was to be a uniform change. One look at the “new uniforms” and you’re likely left pondering, if those are new what were the old ones like? Still skimpy, still sexy and still not much covering up the hardbody women sporting them.

lfl-uniformsLFL Uniform Comparisons

Founder, Mitchell Mortaza informed reporters during the press conference that besides the logo there’s been “modifications to the uniform”. Mitchell says, “What used to be lingerie is now performance wear.” You have to give him props, that’s a pretty slick way of describing a pair of bra and booty shorts. He goes on to elaborate, “There’s no longer garters… there’s no longer chokers… there’s not straps on the shorts… you won’t see the lace on the uniforms… all that’s gone away.” Okie Dokie so you cut all of that off and rename it performance wear. Got it.

“We have taken away any sexy female figures in and around the branding,” explains Mortaza but he adds in “as far as the logo is concerned”. While we won’t see sexy females in the logo we can’t be too sure it won’t appear in other places.

The league partnered with Rawlings (manufacturers of competitive sports equipment) and has a new and improved pair of shoulder pads, which was desperately needed. Watching the women crush each other you wonder how more women weren’t injured. The upgrade in shoulder pads was an obvious and necessary move.

The tagline has been dropped. The previous tagline was ‘True Fantasy Football’. That tagline has “shifted” says Mortoza to ‘Women of The Gridiron’. Ok that’s cool. I can dig it.

lfl-logos

No more sexy females in the LFL logo.

LFL player Christine Moore shared at the press conference, “We’re strong, confident women playing football and I think that’s really what it comes down to.” I’d love to see this league become exactly that. Will it? Only time will tell but the league is expanding into global markets outside of the USA and that could add up to big bucks. While I’m not sold on the word “legends” as part of the brand and I’m not totally sold on the “new performance wear” it is headed in the right direction.

Why not simply call it ‘Ladies Football League’ and put actual uniforms on the women? If Danica Patrick can wear the same racing uniform as her male counterparts and sex it up if she chooses outside of the car, then why can’t the women of the LFL do the same?

What’s your take on it?

 


PRESS RELEASE:

LINGERIE FOOTBALL LEAGUE RE-BRANDS AS LEGENDS FOOTBALL LEAGUE

THE MOST SUCCESSFUL WOMEN’S SPORT HIGHLIGHTS ATHLETICS

Nation’s fastest growing sports league’ (NBC Sports), Lingerie Football League (or ‘LFL’) officials have announced a major re-branding of the successful Lingerie Football League as Legends Football League. Despite the tremendous success’ of the Lingerie Football League since premiering in 2009, LFL officials are now positioning the global brand to gain more recognition as a sport.

Since premiering in 2009, the LFL has accomplished the following:
• Named ‘Nation’s fastest growing sports league’.
• Secured the 1st ever video game deal in the history of women’s sports.
• Drawn sell-out crowds in the US as well as internationally.
• Record TV ratings for MTV Networks.
• Broadcast to nearly 85 territories around the world.
• Launched international league play in Canada (2012), Australia (2013) and Europe (2015).

“This is the next step in the maturation of our now global sport. While the Lingerie Football League name has drawn great media attention allowing us to showcase the sport to millions, we have now reached a crossroad of gaining credibility as a sport or continuing to be viewed as a gimmick. In the coming years we will further establish this sport in the US, Australia, Europe and Asia as the most known form of American football globally. In order to reach the next milestone, we feel the focus has to be the sport and our amazing athletes”, said Mitchell S. Mortaza, Founder & Chairman, Lingerie Football League, LLC.

LFL re-branding announcement also includes:
• Performance wear replaces all lingerie aspects of uniform.
• New design of logos removing any sexy female figures.
• Redesign of shoulder pads to increase protection.
• Brand tagline shifts from ‘True Fantasy Football’ to ‘Women of the Gridiron’

 

Images via LFL Facebook.

 






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