That’s why I’m a linebacker
by Jordyn White; TheRoot.com
In women’s pro football, color matters, but race does not.
I hate her. I’ve never seen her before, and don’t know her, but I don’t need to. I see what she looks like. I see what she’s wearing. I see who she’s with. That tells me everything I need to know. She can’t be trusted–her kind never can–and all she wants is to push her own agenda and obliviate mine. So, for the next hour, my sisters and I will do everything in our power to show her and her little girl gang how we feel about having to share our turf with them. They will leave here, battered and bruised, with their heads down and their tails between their legs. And we will remain superior.
My fervor for this sectarian battle into which I am all too eager to enter has nothing to do with race or skin color. When my opponent is in her war gear, all I can see on her is the white in her eyes. But her armor– helmet, pads, uniform, socks, gloves, cleats–makes her readily identifiable. I’m a linebacker on a women’s semi-professional full contact football team, the DC Divas. Eleven Saturdays a year, for 3 hours, my teammates and I put on our maroon, gold, and white, and go to war.
Girl’s football scores with Longshots movie
August 10, 2008 – The H-Town Cyclones, the world champions of women’s pro football, will be hosting a press conference with Keke Palmer, star of the new Dimension Film, the Longshots. Starring Ice Cube and Keke Palmer, the movie is based upon a true story of the first girl to play Pop Warner football.
Palmer will sign autographs and take questions about the movie.
The H-Town Cyclones will also announce the dates for their girl’s football camps. “This is a wonderful opportunity for little girls to come and meet one of the hottest young stars in the movies and on the Disney channel and to meet many of the top female women football players in the world. ”
The H-Town (Texas) Cyclones are the top women’s football team in the world having just won the world championship last month in Memphis. We believe this movie will really get young girls excited about playing full contact football,” states Catherine Masters, President of the National Women’s Football Association and the National Girl’s Football Association.
The press conference will be held at the YMCA (Galleria Area) 1331 Augusta Drive Houston, Texas on Tuesday, August 12th, 2008 at noon. Media and the general public are invited.
H-Town Texas Cyclones wins NWFA 2008 World Championship
July 28, 2008 – (via press release) The H-Town Cyclones beat the West Michigan Mayhem 39-10 to win the 2008 World Championship of Women’s Football. This is the first time ever the South has won the crown. Congratulations to the Cyclones who put on a simple dazzling show.
2008 MVPS: Offensive MVP Raaisen McIntosh and Defensive MVP Renee Cosby.
More on the Women’s Football Championship.
NY Sharks on NBC Sports
First of a two-part series on the IWFL’s New York Sharks and their game against the DC Divas.
Pretty Tough partners with Women’s Football
April 9, 2008 – Did you know that there are nearly 100 professional women’s football teams in the U.S.? Or that the women’s football season kicks off this month? From coast to coast, squads of young women step out of their roles as students, moms, and professionals to don full tackle gear and represent their communities. Most play for either the NWFA or the IWFL.
Pretty Tough has partnered with a number of these great teams to help raise awareness for women’s football and raise a few bucks as well. Buy a copy of “Playing with the Boys” from this site, and we’ll donate a portion of the purchase price to your favorite team. It’s a blitz you won’t want to miss. Check back often as we’re adding new teams daily.
Alabama Renegades
Arizona Wildfire
California Quake
Fort Wayne Flash
Holyoke Hurricanes
Kansas City Storm
Minnesota Vixen
Modesto Magic
New York Sharks
Phoenix Prowlers
Pittsburgh Passion
Portland Shockwave
Wisconsin Warriors
Family Ties – A Tribute to One We Lost
Feb. 12, 2008 – My football team…the DC Divas. I could fill the next 17 paragraphs with words that would barely even scrape the surface of the bonds that define our Diva family. I have never encountered as amazing a group of women who are so diverse, yet share SO much. Everything we do together is colored in love–the “Oklahoma drills,” the sprints, weddings, new births, 9 holes of golf on lazy Sunday afternoons and the Miller Lites that inevitably ensue. Our family is strong, and is woven together through our sweat, our trials, our laughter…and a few hundred rolls of athletic tape.
To say he was a trainer does about as much justice as calling the Mona Lisa a sketch or last week’s Giants’ victory a pretty good show. Nate Randolph was a great man. He had one natural daughter on the team–Natalie–and some would think we called him “Daddy Nat” to differentiate between the two of them. Those, however, are the same people who would assume that his Diva family tree stopped with Natalie. Since 2004, Daddy Nat has adopted hundreds of daughters, and looked after them as if we were his own…because we WERE his own.
To be a Renegade
February 7, 2008 by Carson - TN Valley Tigers
Filed under Football
Feb. 7, 2008 – At the end of August last year, I was reading through the local newspaper and I stumbled across a brief announcement for women’s football tryouts. I immediately got excited.
I’ve always wanted to play football. I tried in high school, but unfortunately had one of those misogynistic coaches who believed girls couldn’t play the game. He offered to let me play kicker, but only if I could kick at least a 30 yard field goal. No problem; I was a soccer player and had plenty of confidence. I worked hard and two weeks later demonstrated to the coach that I could actually hit 35 yarders. He completely reneged on his offer and wouldn’t let me play. He never thought I could do it to begin with. So, here it is, almost ten years later, and I have a chance to play full contact football – and not just at kicker.
I told everyone I was going to try out. My husband worked with me to improve basic football skills such as blocking, catching, throwing, and running the 40. I am sad to say that I was very, very out of shape. Nonetheless, on September 15, 2007, I showed up for tryouts. I was nervous and excited. I think I did ok. I didn’t have the fastest time, I wasn’t the strongest, and I didn’t catch anything thrown my way, but I tried my hardest. (I pulled a hamstring in the process, too!) It must have worked. I was asked to start coming to practices.
Move Over Boys, Women’s Football Coming Through!
January 29, 2008 by Saucy
Filed under Football, Pretty Basic
Jan. 29, 2008 – Do you think football is for boys only? Think again. Did you know there is probably a women’s professional tackle football team near you? Currently there are over 70 teams nationwide. From Maine to California, Wisconsin to Miami, teams of women of all ages are making their dreams come true.
If you are under 18, there is still an opportunity for you to play. Girls from all across the country are playing football on high school teams. Think you can’t be a lineman or a quarterback, think again. Girls all over the country are tackling football!
Did you know that it’s against the law to forbid a girl to tryout for a high school or college football team if there is no girl’s football team currently available? Passed by Congress in 1972, Title IX states “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of gender, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” This goes for any sport!!!
Currently there are three women’s professional leagues: Independent Women’s Football League (IWFL), National Women’s Football Association (NWFA), and the Women’s Professional Football League (WPFL).
