The Toronto Triumph was a team in the

Lingerie Football League The Extreme Football League (X League) is an American women's semi-professional tackle football league. The league was originally founded in 2009 as the Lingerie Football League (LFL), and later rebranded as the Legends Football League in 2013. ...

that began play in the 2011–12 season. Based in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, they played their inaugural season at the

Ricoh Coliseum Coca-Cola Coliseum is an arena at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, used for agricultural displays, ice hockey, and trade shows. It was built for the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) and the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (the Roya ...

. When they joined LFL Canada for the 2012 season, they played their home games at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga,

. The Triumph ceased operations after the

2012 LFL Canada season The 2012 LFL Canada Season was the fourth season in the Lingerie Football League. LFL Canada features four teams in four cities across Canada. For the 2012 season the League granted three new franchises: BC Angels, Regina Rage and the Saskatoon Si ...

. The team was historically one of the worst in the league, only winning a single game, and was marred by labor disputes and behavioral issues throughout its existence.

History

The Triumph played the 2011–12 season in the United States

(LFL) as a preview for the Canadian league that was announced to begin play in 2012. Open try-outs were held at

Polson Pier Polson Pier, previously known as The Docks Waterfront Entertainment Complex (or simply The Docks), is a multi-purpose entertainment complex in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the largely industrial Port Lands area of the city along the w ...

on April 30, 2011. Among those attending was

Krista Ford Krista Ford Haynes ( Ford; born September 13, 1991) is a former Canadian professional women's American football player and conspiracy theorist. She is a daughter of Ontario Premier Doug Ford and niece of former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. She ...

, the 20-year-old daughter of Toronto City Councillor

Doug Ford Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario since June 2018 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Progressive Cons ...

and niece of Toronto mayor

Rob Ford Robert Bruce Ford (May 28, 1969 – March 22, 2016) was a Canadian politician and businessman who served as the 64th mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014. Before and after his term as mayor, Ford was a city councillor representing Ward 2 Etob ...

; she played touch football in high school. Ford was eventually accepted onto the team, becoming the team's captain. The inaugural game resulted in a 48–14 loss, with around 1800 in attendance or about 20% of the capacity in

. The half-time show was a contest to tackle one of the players. After the first game, the Triumph released four players. Shortly after, sixteen of the twenty players on the team, including captain Krista Ford, quit the team. They criticized the helmets and shoulder pads provided as unsafe, and suggested that the coaching was improper. Management suggested that " st of these women have never touched a football prior. Now they're critiquing on who's qualified to coach football. It's almost laughable." Commissioner Mitchell Mortaza accused the players of having a "lack of heart". Ford had previously publicly commented on the growing expenses not covered by the team. The league made no mention of the mass exodus in its official preview of the following week's game, which the Triumph played with ten

replacement player In professional sports, a replacement player is an athlete who is not a member of the league's players association and plays during a labor dispute such as a strike or lockout, serving as a strikebreaker. Instances of replacement players Natio ...

s in addition to the few remaining players who did not quit. The replacement players went on to engage in a

bench-clearing brawl A bench-clearing brawl is a form of fighting that occurs in sports, most notably baseball and ice hockey, in which most or all players on both teams leave their dugouts, bullpens, or benches, and charge onto the playing area in order to fight on ...

in a 74–0 shutout loss to the

Philadelphia Passion The Philadelphia Passion was a women's American football team that played in the Legends Football League and were based in the Delaware Valley. The Passion was one of the ten inaugural teams established in 2009 as part of the Lingerie Bowl's exp ...

. The team finished in last place in the league for the 2011–12 season and league chairman Mitch Mortaza fired the Triumph coaching staff, citing the coaches' inability to control the players. The Triumph was one of four teams to be included in the Lingerie Football League's new Canadian division,

LFL Canada The Extreme Football League (X League) is an American women's semi-professional tackle football league. The league was originally founded in 2009 as the Lingerie Football League (LFL), and later rebranded as the Legends Football League in 2013. ...

, along with the

BC Angels The BC Angels were a women's football team in the Lingerie Football League (LFL) and played in the 2012 LFL Canada season. Based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, (70 kilometres away from Vancouver) the Angels played their home games at the Abbots ...

Saskatoon Sirens The Saskatoon Sirens were a women's football team in the Lingerie Football League (LFL) and played in the 2012 LFL Canada season. Based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the Sirens played their home games at the Credit Union Centre. The Sirens were on ...

and

Regina Rage The Regina Rage were a women's football team in the Lingerie Football League (LFL) and played in the 2012 LFL Canada season. Based in Regina, Saskatchewan, the Rage played its home games at the Brandt Centre. The Rage were one of four charter tea ...

. Coinciding with the move, the Triumph relocated to the Hershey Centre in Mississauga. On 27 June 2013, the LFL announced that the Triumph would suspend operations for the 2013 season citing concerns with both the Hershey Centre and the

being inadequate for the league's logistical and broadcast requirements. The 2013 LFL Canada season was then postponed indefinitely due to player disputes, league office scheduling, and general preparation.

Seasons

2011–12 season

Win Loss Tie

2012 LFL Canada

References

External links

* {{Lingerie Football League Legends Football League Canada teams American football teams in Toronto American football teams established in 2011 2011 establishments in Ontario 2012 disestablishments in Ontario American football teams established in 2012 Women in Ontario