Chicago Force - 4/09/11

I recently had dream where I found myself the starting quarterback for my high school football team, coached by Mike Ditka. Just before the game started I was gripped with terror as I realized I had no idea how to play football and remembered that Mike Ditka sent at least one quarterback into psychotherapy during his coaching career. Then I woke up.

You can see women who actually know how to play football at a Chicago Force game. Since its inception in 2003 the Force has been Chicago's only women's tackle football team. They have never had a losing season with an overall record of 59-19. Yet somehow this great team lurks below the average Chicago sports fan's radar. I decided to attend their opening game at the charming Winnemac Stadium.

My Force experience began when I found myself stopped at the intersection of Damen and Foster next to the bus of their rival team, the Minnesota Machine. I managed to communicate to one of the players that I was attending the game later, which provoked enthusiastic cheering and waving from other team members.

That may have been one of the highlights of their time in Chicago, as the Machine was badly outmatched by the Force to the tune of a 69-0 beating. Fifty points were scored in the first half, with many of the Force starting players watching the second half from the bench.

The audience appears to be mostly friends and family of the players. A group of Hispanic kids screamed, "Tia, tia" at their auntie on the bench until their grandma shut them up with sandwiches. I was a little surprised by how many parents were very enthusiastic about seeing their daughters beat up on other women, including a gray-haired pair who banged on garbage can lids with sticks to show their support.

The Force's star quarterback, Sami Grisafe, has a sweet arm, and more quarterback swagger than some of the gentlemen who played the postition for the Bears in recent years. Better hair too. She also sang the National Anthem before kick-off, accompanying herself on the ukelele.

http://www.chicagoforce.com/