Phoenix:
Philly’s Finest

By Melissa Yerkov
Times Sports Editor

During the day, some of them are teachers and coaches, others are mothers and social workers. There are doctors and chemists too.
But on Saturday nights they’re the Philadelphia Phoenix.
And they’re fierce.
The Phoenix — composed of 43 football warriors from throughout the area who range in age from 19 to 47 — is Philadelphia’s first and only women’s professional tackle football squad. They compete with 35 teams in 23 states in the National Women’s Football Association (NWFA).
“We have a diverse group of players here with a wide range of educational backgrounds, lifestyles and careers,” said Phoenix co-owner Tawana Grayson. “We all have full-time jobs, but we just want to allow women the opportunity to play football.”
In the NWFA, games are played with the same rules, clock, field size and penalties as regulation men’s football. The only difference is that the ball’s slightly smaller. The season spans April through July, with the top six squads qualifying for postseason play.
“We meet three times a week for a couple hours each night,” said Grayson. “Then they have playbooks to study, plus we’re asking them to do this on top of their jobs and kids and everything else in their lives. It’s very hard, and it’s a big-time commitment. This is definitely not a social rec league.”
The smorgasbord of talent on the Phoenix roster hails from Philadelphia to New Jersey to Delaware and everywhere in between. This season’s squad has 27 new faces, and the players have been rigorously preparing to prove themselves on the field.
Kate Sullivan, a 19-year-old running back who recently graduated from St. Hubert High School, is the youngest of the rookies.
“There are a lot of new girls on the team this year, but they fit in quickly,” said Cynthia Corrisdeo, a veteran linebacker who has been with the squad for six years. “We’re teaching them how we do things and what’s expected of them. Some stay and some leave, but that comes with the game.
“When you first hear of it, it’s actually more intimidating than when you actually get here,” she continued. “It’s hard work, but I keep coming back. Once you become part of this, it’s hard to leave.”
The NWFA — now the largest women’s full-contact league in the country — started eight years ago with six teams, including the Phoenix.
At the time, Philadelphia’s female team was known as the Belles, and it didn’t take long for them to ring up a championship — the very first in the fledgling league.
In 2003, after a change of owners and coaches, the squad was reinvented and given a new name — the Phoenix. The following year, the Philly team had another shot at the title but lost to Detroit in the division conference championship.
Since that start in 2000, the squad has shown its drive to reach the playoffs, though it hasn’t made it back to the Promised Land of late.
“So basically what we did was we went out and started from scratch all over again,” said Grayson, referring to the team’s strategic changes after not making the playoffs last year for the first time in team history. “We got all new coaches and we have a lot of athletic rookies this year to complement some experienced veterans.”
For the past six months, the dedicated divas have committed themselves to vigorous training and conditioning for this new season.
“We’ve been practicing for a long time,” said Corrisdeo. “So we’re all ready to get out there and play.”
The big test came on Saturday, when the Phoenix opened the season against the New Jersey Titans at Northeast High School’s football field. It was a night to remember.
Final score: Phoenix, 40, Titans, 0.
“The team looks impressive,” said coach Jack McKenna, in his first season with the Phoenix. “So far it’s going very well. Every one of them has a lot of heart and is willing to step up. They’re strong.”
Megan Gerber was the star of the show on Saturday, catching an 86-yard touchdown pass and later sprinting 80 yards on a punt return for another score. Beth Speakman had two touchdowns, with Jill Ottinger and Chrystal Dean-Campbell entering the end zone as well.
Next up, the Phoenix will travel to Baltimore on Saturday for a game against the Burn.
“I love traveling with the team,” said Corrisdeo. “I would never, on my own, travel within the United States, so it’s a great opportunity. We travel up and down the East Coast, and as far as Detroit, and we see a lot of different competition.”
Corrisdeo, who lives in Holme Circle, graduated from George Washington High School in 1995 and attended Temple University, followed by nursing school at La Salle University. When the brawny beauty isn’t working as a medical coder at Pennsylvania Hospital, she can be found kicking butt on the football field.
“When you’re out here, all you think about is football. Everything else goes away,” said Corrisdeo, a former soccer player at George Washington who now kicks for the Phoenix. “I’ve always loved playing and watching football. The whole game is great. I have learned so much since I started. I look at the game a lot differently now.”
The six-season player, one of the most experienced athletes on the Phoenix squad, first heard of the team through a friend. In those earlier days, because the team was relatively new and not heavily publicized, it survived mostly by word of mouth.
Today, not a lot has changed. Although the recognition of women’s tackle football has improved, the game is still struggling, said co-owner Grayson.
“I have seen the popularity grow in the stands,” she said. “We do have some very loyal fans. But it’s not at a point where I think it should be right now.
“I really hope it gets bigger and bigger, especially when you see (the game of) darts on ESPN and you wonder why we can’t make it to ESPN,” she added. “I understand the challenges that women’s football faces — that women’s sports, period, face.”
Grayson — another Phoenix veteran — debuted with the squad as a defensive tackle before shedding her pads to become co-owner with fellow ex-player Chris Donnelly in 2005.
“The transition has been very tough, I think because I still want to play,” she said. “The reason we purchased the team was real simple — we didn’t want to see women’s football end in Philadelphia.”
And, thanks to them, it doesn’t seem that the Phoenix will be putting away their jerseys anytime soon. In fact, in a society where female competitors are constantly struggling to show they have what it takes to be called an “athlete,” the women of the Philadelphia Phoenix thrive on the opportunity to prove themselves in the world of sports.
“This is a group of talented women who just want to play football,” said Grayson. “We love football. We’re not trying to compete with the guys. But if you line us up with eleven other women, we’re going to come out strong, night in and night out. We’re playing a sport that we love.” ••
Sports editor Melissa Yerkov can be reached at 215-354-3035 or myerkov@phillynews.com