“The thing I like about this team, is that without football these women would in all likelihood not socialize. Now they’re best friends.” – Falconz coach Rick Rasmussen
SALT LAKE CITY — When Rick Rasmussen returned a call Monday afternoon, he and his grandson were just getting out of the movie “Star Trek Beyond.”
How appropriate. Rasmussen knows all about boldly going where no one has gone before. In that sense, he earned the relaxation. A former high school coach, he now heads the Utah Falconz, a semipro women’s tackle football team that is, well, exploring strange new worlds. Last Saturday, the Falconz won the Independent Women’s Football League championship by defeating the Minnesota Vixen, 49-6.
Team members, all unpaid, come from diverse backgrounds. Many were high school athletes who wanted to continue competing at a high level.
“The thing I like about this team,” Rasmussen said, “is that without football these women would in all likelihood not socialize. Now they’re best friends.”
A 10-0 season is a great mixer.
There is no biographical sketch on Rasmussen, or his players, on the team’s website, mainly because there’s no money to hire a publicist. The athletes pay their own expenses or get sponsors. Peripheral staffers volunteer.
The IWFL website says the league is “dedicated to making the sport a household name” as well as to “provide women’s tackle football teams the opportunity to play at the top competition tier of their sport, while fostering an environment of goodwill and sportsmanship.”
The part about becoming a household name is doubtful. Even the WNBA — with the NBA’s constant backing — is 20 years old, yet struggles for footing. That reality prompted NBA commissioner Adam Silver to admit last year that the women’s league is still “not where we hoped it would be.”
Fostering goodwill is a high goal, too, especially when you’re winning the way the Falconz do. Using a veer triple option to counteract size deficits, the Falconz dominated their 2016 schedule. Minnesota had a 240-pound defensive tackle, while the Falconz had players that weighed 140 and 160 on their offensive line.
“Definitely we’re the smallest team,” Rasmussen said.
Yet the Falconz won all their games, outscoring opponents by an average of 58 points. Five games were shutouts, with two ending in scores of 81-0. The most points anyone scored against Utah was 12.
The wide victory margins in part illustrates differing philosophies among teams. One variation fulfills a need for those who consider the sport a recreational endeavor. Then there’s the Falconz, who are all business.
High point totals aside, this isn’t a flamboyant league. It is neither the sexist Lingerie Football League nor the brash-but-defunct XFL. But if players want true competition for the sake of competition — or maybe fun for the sake of fun — this is it. Last Saturday at a high school field in Charlotte, the Falconz avenged last year’s championship game loss.
It’s not like the IWFL is new. The league began in 2000. Its website says it has “assisted countless women’s teams to begin operations and pursue the highest level of achievement.”
The current team count is 34, with four others listed as “inactive.” Utah has 50 players on its roster, 48 on the travel squad.
Opinions vary among players and coaches as to what the IWFL will become.
“I think you’d get 50 different opinions, depending on who you ask,” Rasmussen said. He notes, though, that it’s not a Saturday morning pickup league.
“This,” he said, “is not the Turkey Bowl.”
Rasmussen — an Air Force Academy alumnus — considers the Falconz a perfect nickname. He and his staff added the “z” in honor of other Utah sports teams, most notably the Jazz, but also such former and current entities as the Buzz, Catzz, Freezz, Blitzz, Starzz, Salt Ratz, Pioneerzz and Owlz.
This year’s conference title game at Cottonwood High drew 900 fans, but the championship matchup in North Carolina only attracted an estimated 200. So don’t plan on the IWFL becoming the next NFL anytime soon. As “Star Trek’s” Spock would say, that would be “highly illogical.”
“If it does,” Rasmussen said, “I won’t be around.”
Still, Rasmussen says, catching the NFL isn’t the goal. For the IWFL, the best scenario is simply to live long and prosper.
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