The NFL has been a bastion of solidarity for almost 90 years, and despite numerous attempts by upstarts and fledgling leagues, has never really been challenged.  There's been the USFL, which lasted all of three seasons, and lost $163 million, then sued the NFL in an anti-trust lawsuit that saw jurors award them $1, which under anti-trust laws, was tripled to $3, forcing the league to fold officially in 1988 after all the appeals were exhausted.  Of course, the league hadn't played a down since 1985.  Typical pratfalls like overblown hopes of attendance and franchise instability plagued the USFL, just like every other league that tried to compete with the NFL. 

However, it did bring Jim Kelly, Reggie White, Herschel Walker and Marv Levy to the forefront, plus two men that would go on to be champions in professional wrestling with Ron Simmons and Lex Luger.  Even Donald Trump was in the action, and who could forget the Washington Federals?  They were the Washington Generals of the USFL for crying out loud, stealing defeat from the jaws of victory on a regular basis.  You think pro wrestling is scripted?  You should see some of the ways the Federals lost games.

Of course, there was the World League of American Football, then changed to NFL Europe, the minor leagues of the NFL.  It never really seemed to catch on, and when it folded up in 2007, five of the six remaining teams were in Germany, with the other in Amsterdam.  However, at least it lasted a few seasons.

Remember the XFL?  Vince McMahon is hoping and wishing that you didn't.  McMahon's foray into a professional football league lasted all of one season, back in 2001, before he closed up shop.  McMahon and NBC put together the project after his attempt to buy the CFL failed, and NBC was in the midst of working on a league with Time Warner Cable.  The television ratings were promising at the start, but went in the tank after the press ripped the league for playing with the leftovers of the NFL, CFL and arena football drafts, not to mention McMahon's ties to the WWE, and its "fake" storylines.  In fact, the XFL would end up #2 on ESPN's list of biggest flops in sports, behind only Ryan Leaf.

Of course, there may be no professional football league that suffered as ignominously as the WFL, or World Football League, which played one plus seasons, starting in 1974 and part of 1975 before closing.  The WFL bolted out of the gates, throwing money at established NFL stars like Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick, Paul Warfield, Daryle Lamonica, Ken Stabler, Craig Morton and others to announce that they were in the game.  However, their planning left much to be desired.

The league played a 20 game schedule with no preseason games, in a nineteen week period, playing two games the week of Labor Day.  The season started on July 10, 1974, and by September, already had two teams relocate during the season.  A third team, the Detroit Wheels, became a vagabond franchise, traveling around from city to city for another six weeks or so before the league pulled the plug on them and the Jacksonville franchise. 

Ironically, Jacksonville's Gator Bowl was supposed to host World Bowl I, which went out the window with the franchise folding.  It was also slated to host the USFL title game in 1986, but as stated above, that game never took place either. 

To show how poorly funded the league was, there were stories of the Charlotte Hornets having their uniforms impounded for failure to pay a laundry bill when the team was still in New York.  Florida players were getting by on McDonald's meal vouchers.  Rather than have a check go to the MVP of the World Bowl, the league laid out stacks of cash.  Clearly, things were not going well, yet the league claimed it would be back in 1975.  The Chicago Winds tried pursuing Joe Namath, who turned them down, and that seemed to take the wind out of their collective sails, as they folded five weeks into the season.  The league would fold up seven weeks later, with Birmingham declared the league champion with their league best 9-3 record.  After the Americans won World Bowl I, their uniforms and equipment were seized by Jefferson County law enforcement to pay against the team's debt.  The team would fold, only to resurface the next year as the Vulcans.

Gives new meaning to taking the shirt off your back or tear away jersey doesn't it?

So that brings us to the meat and potatoes of the conversation.  A new league is coming, starting in September.  However, it shouldn't be construed as a threat to the NFL, as none of the teams are going to be throwing money and lucrative contracts at any of their players to try and get them to jump ship.  However, you never know, they might try to sign some of the cheerleaders to the roster.

You see, this new league is the LFL, or Lingerie Football League.  The league is an offshoot of the Lingerie Bowl, which has been wildly popular during the halftime festivities of the past few Super Bowls.  Think football with a Victoria's Secret runway show mixed together and you've got the rough idea of it.  The league is hoping to capitalize on the fact that guys like football and beautiful women, so by combining them, it's the perfect marketing scheme.

The LFL features ten teams across the country, and will have a 20 week season starting in September.  The catch to it, you ask?  Each team will only play four games over that 20 week span, two at home, two on the road.  They also will play on a field similar to that of the Arena Football League, fifty yards long, thirty yards wide, with eight yard deep end zones.  The game will consist of two fifteen minute halves with an eight minute sudden death overtime session should there be a tie score. 

It's seven on seven action, with the active roster consisting of just twelve players, meaning you'll see some ironwoman football, players playing both ways.  No comment as to what some people will construe that statement as meaning, whether it is a viable thought process or not.  The league has ten teams for its kickoff campaign, with expansion in the works as well.  The names are rather suggestive, but what do you expect?

That said, the ten teams are as follows:

EASTERN CONFERENCE:  Philadelphia Passion, New York Majesty, Miami Caliente, Tampa Breeze, Chicago Bliss
WESTERN CONFERENCE:  Dallas Desire, Denver Dream, San Diego Seduction, Seattle Mist, Los Angeles Temptation

It's been announced that the league has struck a deal with a regional sports network to showcase its games, and Fox Mobile Distribution has also negotiated a contract with the league to offer mobile content relating to the league on Jamster.  The content that’s made accessible via mobile through thispartnership includes wallpapers, video clips and interviews as well asbehind-the-scenes footage.  New content and applications will be continuously updated on Jamster throughout the season.  Fans can also get exclusive content related to the Lingerie Football League mini-camps and practices, which began in April. 

The Lingerie Bowl will take place on February 7, 2010 at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida, home of the Florida Panthers.  No word yet on how many Panthers players are petitioning for a homestand around that date.  It will also be interesting to see how many males rush out to buy engagement rings once they fall in lust with their favorite player or players.

We wish nothing but the best of luck to the LFL and all the players, coaches and those affiliated with the league.  The majority of the red blooded male community is counting on the success of it.