Curci said the thought hadn't occurred to her. She runs track for West Chester University, and she loves sports, and she thought tackling other women in their underwear might be fun. I know how she feels.
She's applying to grad school, and I asked her what that has to do with lingerie football.
"Nothing," Curci said.
Pause.
"Well, I am going for human sexuality," she added.
Perfect. Welcome to the LFL, where human sexuality isn't the name of the game, it is the game. No one involved with the league apologizes for it. Why bother? Everyone knows the deal. Complaining about chauvinism or objectification would be as phony as going to Burger King or KFC and recoiling in mock horror upon learning the food is high in fat and calories.
The LFL is the brainchild of Mitch Mortaza. Think of him as the sports version of Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis. Both are overly slick. If they had been born 150 years ago, they would have gone town to town selling Doc Wonderful's Magic Elixirs and Cleaning Solvent. Instead, both got rich by convincing young women to take off most (if not all) of their clothes so a bunch of dudes could watch and slobber. It's a great country.
"The women of the LFL need three things," Mortaza said, after telling the LFL hopefuls he's 35. (If that's the case, then I'm 32 going on 20.) "Confidence, athleticism and, finally, they have to be gorgeous. We're not looking for the best athletes. We want our league to have women like Anna Kournikova, Danica Patrick and Gabby Reece. They're not the best at what they do, but they're the most marketable. We know why men turn out."
