Love it or hate it, just don't say it's not real. The Cleveland Crush, the city's new lingerie football team, kicked off its season at Quicken Loans Arena last month, and you can catch it in action again when the Philadelphia Passion come to town Oct. 29. We caught up with middle linebacker and running back, Marija Condric (above), to talk about the league, its critics and, of course, those uniforms.
OK, so what do you think of the uniforms? The lingerie attracts a crowd and grabs attention, but once you watch it, it's about football. It's pretty girls and football. What else can you ask for?
Any concerns about injuries? We have shoulder pads, helmets, chin straps, elbow pads and kneepads. We are protected, but a lot of our body is exposed. Turf burn is going to be bad, but other than that, • I'm not too concerned. We're tough girls, or we wouldn't be playing football.
How do you respond to critics of the league? Everyone's entitled to his or her own opinion. I suggest coming out and watching a game. Once you get there, it's all about the athletes. No one has a problem with girls being professional cheerleaders in the NFL, and our uniforms aren't anything less than that.
How did your family and friends react to the news you were playing? Everyone is supportive and excited. I was a little bit worried to tell my grandpa, just for the fact that it is lingerie football, but he's the most excited. He's thrilled. After we told him about it, he watched it on TV and wanted to come to the tryouts. He's wanted to be a huge part of it.
