THE LINGERIE FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Americans can dream up funny things when they put their minds to it. But the weirdest I have seen in a long time is the Lingerie Football League.

The LFL is a 7-a side American Football league, played by women. Nothing wrong with that, in principle. The problem is the uniform. Players wear shoulder pads, knee and elbow pads, and ice hockey helmets, pretty much like the men. The difference is that the rest of their gear consists only of very small bikinis and garters!

When I first saw this, I couldn't work out if it was supposed to be serious sport or soft porn. Officially, it is the former; many of the players are ex-college athletes from other sports. But the league's commissioner has also said that it is marketed towards "beer-drinking college students aged 21 and up". What a surprise!

Walter Blotscher