View source for Legends Cup (LFL)

{{short description|American football championship game}}

The '''Legends Cup''', originally known as the '''Lingerie Bowl''', was the championship game of the LFL—originally the Lingerie Football League and later the [[Legends Football League]]—which operated from 2009 to 2019. It was a game of full-contact [[American football]] with female athletes playing seven-on-seven tackle football.<ref name="suntime6"/> The players in the game wore helmets, shoulder pads, elbow pads, knee pads, bras and underwear. The LFL ceased operation following its 2019 season, with its assets sold to [[Mike Ditka]] and used as the basis for his [[X League (women's football)|X League]], which to date has played one season, in 2022, and has repeatedly postponed subsequent seasons. The X League's championship game is branded as the "X Cup".

==History==
Originally played as an annual [[Super Bowl]] [[Super Bowl counterprogramming|halftime alternative]] shown on [[pay-per-view TV]], Lingerie Bowl I aired during [[Super Bowl XXXVIII]] in 2004 with Team Euphoria losing to the Team Dream by a score of 6–0.  Two more games were subsequently played (Lingerie Bowl II in 2005 and Lingerie Bowl III in 2006) however the next three (Lingerie Bowl IV (2007), Lingerie Bowl V (2008) and Lingerie Bowl VI (2009)) were for various reasons cancelled. In 2010 Producer Horizon Productions expanded the concept into a ten team league called the [[Lingerie Football League]] (LFL), playing its [[2010 LFL season|first season]] from September 2009 to January 2010 on Friday nights in major arenas and stadiums.<ref name="cbs1"/> Lingerie Bowl VII (2010) served as the championship match for the season. Since then the Lingerie Bowl has been contested between the Eastern and Western Conference champions of the LFL. For the 2012 Lingerie Bowl, the game was moved to kickoff before the Super Bowl, rather than be played as an alternative halftime entertainment option. In 2012, the LFL underwent a re-branding, changing its name to the Legends Football League and the championship game to the Legends Cup.

For the first three games the halftime special included celebrities such as [[Jenny McCarthy]], [[Dennis Rodman]], [[Chingy]], [[Eric Dickerson]], [[Lawrence Taylor]], [[Cindy Margolis]], [[Traci Bingham]], [[Michael Buffer]] and [[Jim McMahon]]. Previous Lingerie Bowls have taken place at the [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]].

==Lingerie Bowls==

===Lingerie Bowl (2004)===
The first Lingerie Bowl between two teams of models and actresses—[[Los Angeles Temptation|Team Dream]] and [[New York Euphoria|Team Euphoria]], captained by [[Nikki Ziering]] and [[Angie Everhart]]. Team Dream shut-out Euphoria with a single touchdown, winning the inaugural game 6–0.<ref name=chitrib-lingeriebowl>{{cite news|title=Lingerie bowl full of . . . surprises|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2004/02/02/lingerie-bowl-full-of-surprises/|access-date=27 January 2016|work=Chicago Tribune|date=February 2, 2004}}</ref><ref name=espnp2-lingeriebowl>{{cite web|last1=Caple|first1=Jim|title=Are you ready for some football?|url=https://www.espn.com/page2/s/caple/031204.html|website=Page 2|publisher=ESPN|access-date=27 January 2016}}</ref>

===Lingerie Bowl II (2005)===
[[Los Angeles Temptation]] defeated [[New York Euphoria]]

===Lingerie Bowl III (2006)===
[[New York Euphoria]] 13-12 [[Los Angeles Temptation]]

===Lingerie Bowl IV (2007)===
Lingerie Bowl IV was to air opposite [[Super Bowl XLI]]'s halftime show, but the PPV broadcast was cancelled. Horizon had announced that the cancellation was due to having reached a deal with an unspecified [[cable network]] to broadcast the following year's game.<ref name=evt-no2008/><ref name=evt-lingeriecoincide>{{cite news|title='Lingerie Bowl' to coincide with Super Bowl week|url=http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/article_00c68494-bb37-59ce-9d46-c9363cf23207.html|access-date=27 January 2016|work=East Valley Tribune}}</ref>

===Lingerie Bowl V (2008)===
The game was announced to be held at a downtown golf course in [[Scottsdale, Arizona]] (a neighbor to [[Super Bowl XLII]] host city [[Glendale, Arizona]]) as the first Lingerie Bowl to be held outside of Los Angeles. Organizers had planned a three-day "Experience Village" in downtown Scottsdale, including activities, live music, autograph sessions, and a "Football After Dark" party on the eve of the game, but no formal applications had been approved as of February 2007. Residents of Scottsdale also displayed opposition towards the hosting of the event in the city.<ref name=evt-lingeriecoincide /> After withdrawing formal applications with the city in October 2007, Horizon continued to promote that the game would be held somewhere around Phoenix, but these plans never materialized. A Horizon spokesperson eventually reported that the game had been cancelled, as the time spent on attempting to obtain permits to organize the events in Scottsdale had "[limited] our possibilities in neighboring cities."<ref name=evt-no2008>{{cite web|title=Lingerie Bowl a no-show|url=http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/107628/|website=East Valley Tribune|access-date=27 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080201110709/http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/107628|archive-date=February 1, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> Additionally, Horizon did not elaborate on the previously announced broadcasting deal it had allegedly reached for Lingerie Bowl V.<ref name=evt-no2008/><ref name=evt-lingeriecoincide />

===Lingerie Bowl VI (2009)===
Lingerie Bowl VI, between the [[Miami Caliente]] and the [[Tampa Breeze]], was scheduled for January 31, 2009 to be played at Caliente Resorts, a [[nudist resort]] in [[Pasco County, Florida]] (near [[Super Bowl XLIII]] host city [[Tampa Bay]]). The game was cancelled due to conflicts between the organizers and the resort over clothing requirements; a spokesperson for the resort stated that the organizers were "wanting more areas of our resort restricted to clothing required than we could accommodate."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.tampabay.com/sports/football/bucs/lingerie-bowl-canceled-over-dispute-with-caliente-nudist-resort/970537 | title=Lingerie Bowl canceled over dispute with Caliente nudist resort | publisher=Tampa Bay Times | date=January 27, 2009 | access-date=February 11, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141130171134/http://www.tampabay.com/sports/football/bucs/lingerie-bowl-canceled-over-dispute-with-caliente-nudist-resort/970537 | archive-date=November 30, 2014 | url-status=dead | df=mdy-all }}</ref>

===Lingerie Bowl VII (2010)===
{{see also|2009–10 LFL season}}
Lingerie Bowl VII featured the winners of the LFL's Western and Eastern Conference in a game played on February 6, 2010, at the [[Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood|Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino]] in [[Hollywood, Florida]].<ref name="nbc2"/> The game was intended to be webcast opposite [[Super Bowl XLIV]]'s halftime show in [[Miami Gardens, Florida]], on February 7, 2010.<ref name="cbs1"/> The Western Conference [[Los Angeles Temptation]] defeated the Eastern Conference [[Chicago Bliss]] by the score of 27–14.<ref name="blerep3"/><ref name="nbc4"/> Server problems and "overwhelming internet demand" kept fans from streaming the Lingerie Bowl game video until more than an hour after the conclusion of the Super Bowl.<ref name="blerep3"/>

===Lingerie Bowl VIII (2011)===
{{see also|2010–11 LFL season}}
Lingerie Bowl VIII featured the defending champion [[Los Angeles Temptation]], winners of the Western Conference, against the Eastern Conference winning [[Philadelphia Passion]]. The Temptation defeated the Passion, 26–25, at the [[Thomas & Mack Center]] in [[Las Vegas, Nevada]]. Approximately 3,000 fans attended the game.<ref>Kantowski, Ron. [http://www.reviewjournal.com/ron-kantowski/lingerie-bowl-outfits-little-substance-style-play-serious Lingerie Bowl: Outfits of little substance, but style of play serious], ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'', February 7, 2011. Accessed December 12, 2013.</ref> The game returned to traditional pay-per-view television instead of the failed Internet broadcast from the previous year.

===Lingerie Bowl IX (2012)===
{{see also|2011–12 LFL season}}
The Orleans Arena was selected as the host venue for Lingerie Bowl IX played on February 5, 2012.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.lfl360.com/articles/breaking-news-lingerie-bowl-ix-host-arena-hotel-announced/ | title=Home }}</ref> The game moved to before the Super Bowl, instead of its usual halftime, to allow a full game to be played instead of the abbreviated games of previous years; the game also aired on [[MTV2]] instead of on pay-per-view.

===Lingerie Bowl Canada I (2012)===
{{see also|2012 LFL Canada season}}
With the creation of [[Legends Football League#LFL Canada|LFL Canada]] the first Canadian Lingerie Bowl was played on November 17, 2012, between the [[Saskatoon Sirens]] and the [[BC Angels]] at the [[Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre]] in [[Abbotsford, British Columbia]], one week before the [[Canadian Football League|CFL's]] [[100th Grey Cup|Grey Cup]].<ref>[http://www.lfl360.com/articles/toronto-triumph/fan-alert-lingerie-bowl-canada-date-change-saturday-november-17/ Fan Alert: Lingerie Bowl I Canada date change to Saturday, November 17]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The BC Angels won the inaugural championship game 25–12 with BC Angels' quarterback Mary Ann Hanson the game's MVP.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theprovince.com/sports/football/bc-lions/Angels+defeat+Saskatoon+Sirens+first+Lingerie/7565973/story.html|title=B.C. win the Lingerie Bowl|access-date=2012-11-20}}{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

===Legends Cup (2013)===
{{see also|2013 LFL US season}}
In 2012, the league decided to officially move the next LFL United States season to a spring league, beginning in April 2013. Along with the re-branding of the league, the now Legends Cup was to be played at [[Highmark Stadium (Pennsylvania)|Highmark Stadium]] in [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]] on September 1, 2013. However, due to ticket sales exceeding the 3,000 seat capacity of Highmark, an announcement was made on June 1, 2013, that the game would be moved to Philadelphia's [[PPL Park]], the 2013 home of the [[Philadelphia Passion]]. On July 5, 2013, LFL once again moved the game, this time back to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, citing an agreement having been made to have the publicized game played there for the next 3 years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lfl360.com/articles/legends-football-league-announces-city-venue-2013-championship-game-lfl360-com/|title=LFL announces new name & city for the 2013 championship game|author=LFL360.com|access-date=2013-04-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lfl360.com/articles/legends-cup-2013-moves-ppl-park-philadelphia-lfl360-com/|title=Legends Cup 2013 moves to PPL Park in Philadelphia|publisher=LFL360.com|date=7 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lfl360.com/articles/legends-cup-2013-returns-home-las-vegas/|title=Legends Cup 2013 returns to its home, Las Vegas|publisher=LFL360.com|date=5 July 2013}}</ref>

===LFL Canada Legends Cup 2013===
{{see also|2013 LFL Canada season}}
The 2013 LFL Canada Legends Cup was scheduled to be played on Saturday, 16 November 2013 at [[Stampede Corral]] in [[Calgary, Alberta]] between the first and second placed teams of the 2013 LFL Canada season.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lfl360.com/articles/2013-lfl-canada-schedule-released/|title=LFL Canada Schedule Released|publisher=LFL360.com|access-date=2013-07-09}}</ref>

===LFL Australian Legends Cup 2013–14===
{{see also|2013–14 LFL Australia season}}
With the creation of [[LFL Australia]] the first 2013–14 LFL Australian Legends Cup was scheduled to be played on Saturday, 8 February 2014 at [[nib Stadium]] in [[Perth (suburb)|Perth]] between the first and second placed teams of the 2013–14 LFL Australia season.

==Results==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Game
! Winner
! Final score
! Loser
! Venue
! City
! Date
|-
| Lingerie Bowl I
| [[Los Angeles Temptation|Team Dream]]
| 6–0
| [[New York Euphoria|Team Euphoria]]
| [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]]
| [[Los Angeles]]
| 2/1/2004
|-
| Lingerie Bowl II
| [[Los Angeles Temptation]]
| 
| [[New York Euphoria|Team Euphoria]]
| [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]]
| [[Los Angeles]]
| 2/6/2005
|-
| Lingerie Bowl III
| [[New York Euphoria]]
| 13–12
| [[Los Angeles Temptation]]
| [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]]
| [[Los Angeles]]
| 2/5/2006
|-
| Lingerie Bowl IV
| colspan=6 style="text-align:center;" |''Cancelled''
|-
| Lingerie Bowl V
| colspan=6 style="text-align:center;" |''Cancelled''
|-
| Lingerie Bowl VI
| colspan=3 style="text-align:center;" |''Cancelled''
| Caliente Resorts
| [[Pasco County, Florida]]
| 1/31/2009
|-
| Lingerie Bowl VII
| [[Los Angeles Temptation]]
| 27–14
| [[Chicago Bliss]]
| [[Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood|Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino]]
| [[Hollywood, Florida]]
| 2/6/2010
|-
| Lingerie Bowl VIII
| [[Los Angeles Temptation]]
| 26–25
| [[Philadelphia Passion]]
| [[Thomas & Mack Center]]
| [[Paradise, Nevada]]
| 2/6/2011
|-
| Lingerie Bowl IX
| [[Los Angeles Temptation]]
| 28–6
| [[Philadelphia Passion]]
| [[Orleans Arena]]
| [[Paradise, Nevada]]
| 2/5/2012
|-
| Lingerie Bowl Canada I
| [[BC Angels]]
| 25–12
| [[Saskatoon Sirens]]
| [[Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre]]
| [[Abbotsford, British Columbia]]
| 11/17/2012
|-
| LFL US Legends Cup 2013
| [[Chicago Bliss]]
| 34–18
| [[Philadelphia Passion]]
| [[Orleans Arena]]
| [[Paradise, Nevada]]
| 9/1/2013
|-
| LFL Canada Legends Cup 2013
| colspan=3 style="text-align:center;" |''Cancelled''
| [[Stampede Corral]]
| [[Calgary, Alberta]]
| 11/16/2013
|-
| LFL Australia Legends Cup 2013–14
| New South Wales Surge
| 36–15
| Western Australia Angels
| [[nib Stadium]]
| [[Perth, Western Australia]]
| 2/8/2014
|-
| LFL US Legends Cup 2014
| [[Chicago Bliss]]
| 24–18
| [[Atlanta Steam]]
| [[Citizens Business Bank Arena]]
| [[Ontario, California]]
| 9/6/2014
|-
| LFL US Legends Cup 2015
| [[Seattle Mist]]
| 27–21
| [[Chicago Bliss]]
| [[ShoWare Center]]
| [[Kent, Washington]]
| 8/23/2015
|-
| LFL US Legends Cup 2016
| [[Chicago Bliss]]
| 31–26
| [[Seattle Mist]]
| [[WestWorld]]
| [[Scottsdale, Arizona]]
| 8/28/2016
|-
| LFL US Legends Cup 2017
| [[Seattle Mist]]
| 38–28
| [[Atlanta Steam]]
| [[Citizens Business Bank Arena]]
| [[Ontario, California]]
| 9/3/2017 
|- 
| LFL US Legends Cup 2018
| [[Chicago Bliss]]
| 28–20
| [[Austin Acoustic]]
| [[H-E-B Center at Cedar Park|H-E-B Center]]
| [[Cedar Park, Texas]]
| 9/8/2018
|- 
| LFL US Legends Cup 2019
| [[Seattle Mist]] 
| 56–20
| [[Los Angeles Temptation]]
| [[accesso ShoWare Center]]
| [[Kent, Washington]]
| 9/7/2019
|- 
|}

==References==
{{reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="blerep3">{{cite news |first=Jo-Ryan |last=Salazar |work=Bleacher Report |title=The Biggest Loser of Super Bowl Sunday: The Lingerie Bowl |url=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/341722-the-biggest-loser-of-super-bowl-sunday-the-lingerie-bowl |date=February 7, 2010 |access-date=February 23, 2010}}</ref>
<ref name="cbs1">{{cite news |first=Bill |last=Geist |work=[[CBS Sunday Morning]] |title=Lacing Up for the Lingerie Bowl; Bill Geist Learns LFL Players Really Love Football, and Don't Mind Playing in Their Underwear |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lacing-up-for-the-lingerie-bowl/ |date=February 7, 2010 |access-date=February 23, 2010}}</ref>
<ref name="nbc2">{{cite news |first=Todd |last=Wright |work=[[NBC Miami]] |title=Hard Rock to Host Lingerie Bowl VII |url=http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local-beat/Lingerie-Bowl-to-Stimulate-the-Hard-Rock-80639057.html |date=January 4, 2010 |access-date=February 23, 2010}}</ref>
<ref name="nbc4">{{cite news |first=Eddie |last=Perlas |work=[[NBC Chicago]] |title=Chicago Bliss Fall in Lingerie Bowl |url=http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/sports/Chicago-Bliss-Fall-in-Lingerie-Bowl-football-los-angeles-temptation-83829572.html |date=February 8, 2010 |access-date=February 23, 2010}}</ref>
<ref name="suntime6">{{cite news |first=Elliott |last=Harris |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |title=Bliss reaches Lingerie Bowl |url=http://www.suntimes.com/sports/quickhits/2031255,chicago-bliss-lingerie-bowl05.article |date=February 5, 2010 |access-date=February 23, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100215193441/http://www.suntimes.com/sports/quickhits/2031255,chicago-bliss-lingerie-bowl05.article |archive-date=February 15, 2010 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
}}

==External links==
*[http://www.lflus.com/ Legends Football League and Legends Cup official website]

{{Extreme Football League}}

[[Category:Legends Football League]]
[[Category:American football competitions]]
[[Category:Recurring events established in 2004]]
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[[Category:Super Bowl-related television programming]]
[[Category:American football bowls]]