New Video: Minnesota's Lingerie Football Team Huddles in Long Lake

As the Minnesota Lynx wind down their WNBA championship celebration, another all-women sports team is looking to build a similar following and establish itself as a flagship franchise.

But are the Minnesota Valkyrie a legitimate player on the field of professional athletics or just a passing fad?

The Valkyrie are the newest addition to the Lingerie Football League, which has 12 franchises in major cities from coast to coast. The league’s growing popularity has fueled further expansion talks, including into Mexico.

In addition to The10 Dome in Long Lake being the site of several practices and team events, Lake Minnetonka also has a local connection to the team’s starting lineup.

Kelli Gillispie owns a business on the shores of Lake Minnetonka and recently moved from Spring Park to Mound—where she is a member of the city council. Gillispie scored a touchdown in the Valkyrie’s opening day victory over the Green Bay Chill and says lingerie football is a demanding sport requiring strength, practice and teamwork.

“It’s the real deal,” she said.

So how do Gillispie’s friends and family feel about her decision to play lingerie football?

“My boyfriend loves it and has been super supportive,” Gillispie said. “I think he’s more excited than anyone out there. My parents were very skeptical at first because, one, they don’t want to see their daughter getting hurt and, two, are very old fashioned. They’ve come a long way though, especially after the last game.”

Lingerie football has rules similar to traditional football, except it's played on a 50-yard field and doesn't include a kicking game. The sport is full contact and the action fast-paced, but the uniforms are anything but traditional. Strapping on helmets resembling more hockey than NFL, players in bikinis (garter belts included) and thin shoulder pads chase, tackle and block each other as they attempt to advance the football.

“It’s really physical. I come home with bruises covering my body,” Whitney Meieretto said. “It’s not a joke. We are out there hitting. It’s not just a bunch of girls running around in their underwear.”

But it’s the attire and marketing that has drawn fire from women’s rights groups who say the league is objectifying women and the Lingerie Football League is more a gimmick than a serious organization.

Those who take the field, however, disagree.

“I went to college in Florida and played a lot of beach volleyball down there wearing less than this,” Jana Skritc said. “It’s just another sport—another way to get our name out. There are hundreds of women’s football leagues around the country. This is just the niche that put us out there.”

Most players echoed Skritc’s thoughts, saying their boyfriends, husbands and fathers have been convinced that lingerie football is a real sport and deserves to be recognized as a legitimate professional sports league.

“When you they first hear about it everyone’s eyebrows kind of go up,” Meieretto said. “Everyone always thinks it’s just girls running around in their underwear—not playing football—but I think we’ve made believers out of all our families after our first game against Green Bay when we were hitting the crap out of each other.”

Several women’s rights organizations, including Gender Justice, the National Organization for Women and the Minnesota Women’s Consortium, were invited to contribute to this story. None have responded.

None of the team’s players are being paid salaries this season, but that hasn't culled motivation or committment.

“Hopefully in future years that will change, but you can’t get this opportunity anywhere else,” Cydney Froelich said. “Hopefully it pays off in other ways.”

The 20-woman Valkyrie squad plays four regular season games. The team’s home opener is tonight at the Target Center against the L.A. Temptation. Click here for ticket information.

MINNESOTA VALKYRIE SCHEDULE

Aug. 26 @ Green Bay Chill (W, 28-25)

Oct. 14 vs. LA Temptation

Nov. 19 vs. Chicago Bliss

Jan. 6 @ Seatle Mist

Feb. 5: Lingerie Bowl IX in Las Vegas