Women try to realize Dream Lingerie Football League tryouts held in Commerce City Friday Tad Rickman, DDN Editor Saturday, March 14, 2009
Lindsey Szvetits, center, busts through the line while participating in tacking drills during a tryout for the Denver Dream Friday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City. Denver Daily News photo by Tad Rickman.

More than 20 women showed up at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City at about 10 a.m. on Friday to try out for Denver’s newest football team, the Denver Dream.

The Dream is part of a new full-contact football league called the Lingerie Football League, which was an idea borne in 2004 when women in skimpy uniforms performed at the halftime of Super Bowl XXXVIII.

The Dream will kick off their four-game season on Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m. when the Los Angeles Temptation come to town. Their other home game is against the San Diego Seduction on Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m. Both home games will be played at Dick’s.

As you can guess from the league name, the athletes will make the team based as much on their looks as their athletic skills. But LFL founder and chairman Mitchell Mortaza put the women through their paces on Friday, having them run pass routes, play quarterback, work on their tackling, run 40-yard dashes and even run some scrimmages.

To be sure it wasn’t like a Denver Broncos training camp, but Mortaza said he wasn’t expecting that. He pointed out that football has always been a male-dominated sport and that most of the women who showed up yesterday were playing the game for the first time.

But overall Mortaza said he liked what he saw.

“It started out a little rough, as you can imagine,” Mortaza said. “Like I said, most of the girls haven’t played football before, so to get out here takes a lot of courage.

“Offensively, I thought they struggled a little more, but, as you guys know, in football championships are made on defense, and offense will come back, and obviously we’ll have a few more of these sessions and we’ll get some offensive players in here.”

A QUARTERBACK IS BORN?

But one player stood out to him — 23-year-old personal trainer and fitness model Lindsey Szvetits.

“I think we got a hell of a quarterback here (referring to Szvetits) — just very untrained, just raw skill, raw arm power,” Mortaza said. “Once she gets under a quarterbacks coach, she can probably fling it a good 40, 50 yards out here.”

Szvetits said she would welcome the opportunity to be the Dream’s inaugural quarterback.

“I’m a natural born leader, so, you know, there would be nothing that would mean more to me than being able to lead the team as quarterback,” Szvetits said. “You know, I’m not one that kind of likes to let other people win games. I want to be the one out there winning games for the team.”

As far as where the big arm came from?

“I’m an ex-basketball player, so I’m thinking that’s it,” she said.

Actually, while most if not all of the women who showed up for Friday’s tryouts have likely ever played organized football, most have played other sports, and many of the athletes were extremely fit and showed fine, if unrefined, athletic skills.

PLAYING A MALE-DOMINATED SPORT

One such athlete is 26-year-old Stacey Anderson. She has played soccer for 15 years but has at least played a little football, she said.

“Well, I always got in trouble by my parents and the teachers in elementary school for playing football at recess in my skirt with all the boys,” Anderson said. “They thought I was just being flirty, but I really liked football a lot, and I grew up watching football.”

Anderson said she hopes to make the team as a wide receiver — which may not sit well with her parents.

“It’s kind of a payback to my parents for all those years that they used to ground me, thinking I was being a trouble-maker, but really, I really did like football,” she said.

COMPETITIVE

While many will surely look at the LFL as a beauty contest — and there were no shortages of beautiful women at the Dream tryouts yesterday — the women showed a great deal of athletic competitiveness yesterday, with several hitting the tackling dummies with Brian Dawkins-like ferocity.

One of those ferocious tacklers was Kyla Blofe, 28, who said she was not happy with her offensive skills but was pleased with her defensive line skills — she excelled at charging through a line of blockers and flattening the tackling dummy.

Blofe said she was impressed with how competitive the group was.

“It was a very strong group, actually,” Blofe said. “Everybody was very athletic. A lot of them did know what they were doing. It wasn’t what people had expected. People weren’t out here just for the publicity part of it. No, there was girls out here just to play football.”

Szvetits agreed, and if anyone could make the team just on looks, it would be her.

Still, the fitness model said she practiced her football skills before the tryouts just so she would have a leg up on her competition.

 “If you want something bad enough, you can’t worry about your competition,” Szvetits said. “I want my competition to worry about me. That’s the way I live my life. I’m going to put 110 percent out for anything I do.”

DREAMING BIG

Certainly Mortaza wants that from all the players who ultimately make the team. He’s hoping for a big future for the LFL — which right now will launch with 10 teams.

The league will feature a two conference format, with five teams in each conference. The Eastern Conference includes teams from Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, New England and Tampa, while the Western Conference has teams from Dallas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle and, of course, Denver.

He hopes to add four more teams next year, four more after that and ultimately grow the league to between 26-30 cities.

Mortaza believes the league will have plenty of allure — and not just because the athletes will be scantily-clad lovely women.

As Mortaza put it, the games start at 7:30 p.m., but the parking lot is open to tailgating starting at 2 p.m., and there will be beer gardens, video gaming lounges, football challenges and more.

“It’s insane,” Mortaza said. “It’s really an adult Disney Land for football fans.”

Then, once the 30-minute-long game is over, fans will be able to meet and greet the players at an after party at a yet-to-be-determined location.

Thus, Mortaza expects packed houses at Dick’s.

“Yeah, not only in the stands, but we’re going to open up some of the seating and make it standing-room only, because I think we can bring in a good 20,000 people in here,” Mortaza said. “It’s more of a really fun party atmosphere on Friday night.”

Szvetits said she would welcome a packed house — particularly if she’s under center.

“Hell, yeah, it’d better be a packed house,” she said. “I’m so excited. It’s just a crazy adrenaline rush.”

MORE INFORMATION:

For the women who didn’t make the cut, or are just now hearing about this, there will be another tryout on April 23 at Dick’s, 6000 Victory Way. Mortaza said he did not expect to fill his entire roster after Friday’s tryouts.

If you don’t want to try out but would like to catch the games, tickets go on sale Monday at 10 a.m. and start at $15. Visit the Dick’s box office Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., call 1-866-461-6556, go online at www.TicketHorse.com or go to the kiosks inside all Colorado Dick’s Sporting Goods locations for tickets.

For more information on the league, visit www.lflus.com.

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