Tough enough (continued)

TEAM MEMBERS’ kids are a staple at games and practices. Dayson, 33, is a behavioral specialist at a Seekonk group home by day, and the Intensity’s nose guard by night. Her five-year-old son, Dimitrius was at World Gym with his own little football for some of the team’s practices. Julie Manfred’s daughter, Mary, 11, brings her homework to these sessions and is the water girl at games. She knows most of the team members by name, and can point out their distinct strengths. "I really can’t wait till I turn 18," Mary says wistfully. "I’m definitely playing when I grow up."

Lisa Soderlund, the Intensity’s head coach, knows the feeling. She recalls how frustrating it was to be her brothers’ "tackling dummy" at home, and then to be left behind as they went off to practice. "You grow up and watch your brothers and neighborhood friends playing Pee Wee," she says. "That would’ve been me. I would have been out there."

The thing about a group of tough women who are used to being left out is that once you’re ‘in,’ you’re in. "You know, like in high school, when you’ve got a group of friends?" asks Hampson. "Like a crew? It’s kind of like that." Maggie Koosa says that when rookies cannot afford new equipment, teammates round up used pads or practice jerseys to make sure everyone is covered.

The cooperative team spirit also relates, at least in part, to one of football’s unique aspects as a sport. Each of the players has a clearly prescribed role. The sole job of the two guards, for example, is guarding the quarterback. "In football, there are some people who never even touch the ball, who spend their entire careers in the game just tackling other people," explains coach Meyers. This means that everyone has to work together. Football, says kicker Smush Sermuksnish, is "the best team sport ever made." To score a goal in soccer, she explains, a team needs only one good player, whereas, in football, if a guard doesn’t "block for the quarterback, she can’t find her hole and get through it."

This aspect of football also makes it an ideal sport for athletes who don’t fit the image of the "stereotypical perfect woman," Cramer says. "Football needs women of all shapes and sizes. It doesn’t give [athletes] the same complex as, say, tennis, or gymnastics," where one ideal body type prevails. Assistant GM Fred Bird agrees. "You need receivers who are small and fast, and linemen who are big and strong," he says. "Some of these women have a body type where they couldn’t play any other sport." Bird motions toward one of the Intensity’s more imposing-looking players, who, although not very fast on her feet, certainly makes an intimidating tackle. "She excels here."

Keeping in mind their past exclusions, Intensity players have made an effort to reach out to younger girls. The team has offered specials on tickets for Girl Scout troops. When he’s not coaching football, Meyers is the principal of the Eldredge Elementary School in East Greenwich, and he has had the players come, suited up, to meet his students. As a result, many of the girls at the school say they want to join the Intensity when they grow up.

Despite starting the season with a four-game losing streak, the Intensity remain enthusiastic. "The team is ready to turn its record around," vows Cramer, referring to the game in East Providence this Saturday, May 7 against the Montreal Blitz. Maybe you’ll be there because you love football, no matter who plays it. Maybe, like head coach Lisa Soderlund, you’ll be there because, "You gotta love watching women play a sport."

For her part, Cramer thinks of her 13-year-old daughter when she says, "We are determined to make something work that women haven’t been allowed to do."

Beth Schwartzapfel can be reached at beth_schwartzapfel@yahoo.com.