Football savvy secondary at lingerie football tryouts

Dressed in skimpy boy shorts and see-through mesh tops, about 50 women tried out Friday for the area's newest football team — the Seattle Mist.

The Mist is one of 10 proposed teams in the Lingerie Football League, an expansion of the popular 35-minute Lingerie Bowl games played on pay-per-view during Super Bowl halftime the past three years.

The league format will be an eight-game season, with the East and West champions meeting for the famed Bowl during the 2010 Super Bowl in Miami.

League play won't start until next September, partly because football skill isn't a requirement. The tryout at Green Lake Field was more about testing athletic ability and gauging beauty.

But the women, whose backgrounds ranged from go-go dancing to personal training, were whipped through offensive and defensive drills, ending with seven-on-seven full-contact scrimmages.

Twelve women will be named to the initial squad tonight. The remaining members will be named later. They'll be thrown into Football 101, given a massive book of terms to learn the game, then hit training camp in June.

"Yeah, it's sexy, but that just draws the viewers," said founder Mitchell Mortaza, 34, of West Hollywood. "You've got to keep them, and the fan base has to respect it. Because of that, you're going to see girls that are beautiful, but athletic, and take it seriously."

Although Mortaza hasn't secured an arena, sponsorship or front-office staff, he said former Seahawks have contacted him about coaching. And season tickets are on sale via the league's Web site, www.lingeriebowl.com.

"I'm willing to show some skin in the name of football," said Alicia McLaughlin, 23, of Tacoma. "I feel like it's my true calling. And there's going to be haters, people scoffing at it, but there's a big enough demographic that it shouldn't have any problems creating a fan base."

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com