A Tour de Chicago Force

Football season goes on, and all eyes here in the Windy City are on the Chicago Bears. But there’s another football team in town you should be on the lookout for.

If you catch a football game at North Park University’s Holmgren Athletic Complex, you’d never guess that there was anything abnormal about it. But underneath all those helmets and shoulder pads are tough, athletic women. The Chicago Force is Illinois’ Independent Women’s Football team, and in their six-year history, they have put together a 45-14 record.

The team consists of over 50 women, ranging in ages from 18 to mid-40s and from all different backgrounds and experience levels. The passion on the field is palpable, as many of the women finally have the opportunity to play the game they may have been restricted from for many years.

And don’t think that just because they’re girls, they don’t know how to knock you down. These ladies are a formidable Force, and they are just as tough—if not tougher—as any male player.

Their season is over for the year, but you can still hang out with them this weekend at their Pub Crawl