Niki G & Niki C of LA Temptation Give Us the Nitty Gritty on the LFL

As you probably already know, we here at COED are big fans of the Lingerie Football League. There’s just something about seeing super hot models go at each other in their underwear that does something special for us. So when we got the chance to speak with Niki Connor and Niki Ghazian of the LA Temptations, we could barely contain ourselves. We chatted about everything from football to naked group showers. (Yes, they’re real!) Care to take a look?

COED: How did you become a member of the LFL?

NG: I was a part of the Lingerie Bowl since the 2006-2007 season, before it franchised into the Lingerie Football League.  I wasn’t automatically put on the LA team; I had to try out and beat out hundreds of girls. I was one of the few models who had a serious athletic background, so it worked out well for me.

NC: Niki G. and I became friends and started working out together because I wanted to make my New Years resolution come true (for once): To get back into fighting shape. I knew that she played for the L.A. Temptation, but I didn’t know much about the league, since most people (including myself) thought that it is still just the Lingerie Bowl. I began training with the team to prepare for tryouts, and boy was I shocked by all the hard work that the sport requires!

How much practicing and conditioning is required for the LFL?

NG: More than what an average person could commit to.  Being an LFL player takes so much commitment and dedication.  Our practices are 4 hours long, 3 times a week.  When we aren’t at practice, I train on my own almost every day.  I always ask myself, what is the other team doing today? Sitting on their butts eating bon-bons? Enjoy your day off ladies, true champions seldom rest.

What is the most difficult thing about being a football player that you didn’t expect?

NG: Football is the most difficult sport, physically and mentally, that a person can play.  The most difficult thing for me to deal with is myself.  I am really hard on myself.  I am a solid player, but everybody makes mistakes once in a while.  I just can’t tolerate messing up. I almost have to stop myself from getting on myself when I do make a mistake, so I can keep my focus and move on.  Having internal battles like this was definitely something I didn’t anticipate going into this.

NC: Being a LINGERIE football player is more complicated than being a football player! Not only do we have to be real athletes who can play full-tackle football, but we also have to look great in lingerie. There were plenty of girls who tried out and were hot, but they either weren’t athletic, didn’t want to break a nail or were afraid to hit people. I was raised to be a proper lady who never got in fights, and now I’m a lineman! If you want to play this game, you need to find your “inner bitch” and set her free!

What is your favorite NFL team? Why?

NG: The Oakland RAIDERS!  I’ve been a fan since they were the Los Angeles Raiders and I was a little girl.  My ex-boyfriend was a Raiders fanatic, and I became even more of a fan because of him.  All we did was watch football every chance we got, and I learned everything I know about football because of that relationship, something I will always be grateful for!

NC: The San Diego Chargers! I grew up in San Diego and was always a Chargers fan, though I also root for the Packers and the Raiders.

What do you like to do when you’re not playing football?

NG: When am I not playing football though?  When I’m not playing football I’m usually watching it! Aside from that, I love surfing, it calms and centers me.

NC: Hang out with my family and friends, go to the beach by my house and sleep. I can only book jobs if they fit around my football schedule, so no shopping sprees for me (haha). Unlike most people my age in L.A., I don’t like to party a lot. When I do go out, it is either to socialize with friends, listen to good music or promote my awesome team. Sorry if I seem boring, I’m just being honest! I don’t recommend going out drinking the night before playing unless you want to play terribly.

Does playing football make you think of the sport differently?

NG: It has made me fall in love with it that much more!  I know and understand every shred of every move that takes place on the field on a new level.  It makes me admire NFL players so much more, I really think Football players are the modern day Gladiators.  There is no other sport that even comes close.  The field they play on is the Colliseum the Gladiators use to throw down in back in Ancient Rome!

NC: Yes, very much so! I come from a Trojan family and went to tons of USC games growing up, but I was too distracted by the social aspect of it all to focus on the game itself. Now that I play, I have so much more respect for the sport! I watch football as much as possible and now I know what its like for a man when a woman walks in front of the TV while he’s trying to watch the game! There is just something so sexy and powerful about playing football, especially for women.

What are qualities you look for in a guy?

NG: He has to love sports, especially football! Aside from that, not gonna lie, sex appeal, swagger, guts, sincerity, honesty, smarts, and a kick ass sense of humor!

NC: My boyfriend has every quality I have ever wanted in a man and I respect him so much. He worked his butt off to get to where he is now, trust fund guys who don’t know how to work for a living are a huge turn-off. Plus, he loves that I play football! He’s the music guy, and I’m the jock!

What are some of the worst pickup lines guys have tried to use on you?

NG: “Do I know you from somewhere? I swear we’ve met before?”  If you don’t have the guts to approach me and introduce yourself and have to fabricate something like that as an excuse to talk to me, then you’re obviously too cowardly for my taste.

If we didn’t ask this, our readers would kill us: Do you and your teammates shower naked together after games?

NG: Of course!

Really?! Please, go on…

NG: After our last game in Denver, we were so happy and excited from the win that we lined it up and started running plays naked and laughing.  I’m glad nobody slipped or got hurt, running around the shower naked playing skeleton offense! It was hilarious!

NC: I wasn’t there…

Have you ever had sex in public, and if so tell us your memorable experience?

NG: At night, on the edge of a cliff 40 feet over the ocean in Malibu.  There wasn’t much room, and if we would have made one wrong move we would’ve been dead.  It was awesome.

What is your most embarrassing moment?

NG: One night, about two years ago, I had too much to drink and puked all over the inside of my friend Ethan’s Escalade.  I felt so horrible.  He was so nice about it, and still baby-sat me after that. I couldn’t believe I actually puked inside a car though.  Definitely a first, and hopefully a last!

NC: I have several because I can be quite the klutz at times, but one that my family and I still laugh about is when my Mom and I were visiting my sister in New York. I went to use the restroom and was coming down the long flight of stairs back to our table and slipped after the last step.

I did the splits in front of the ENTIRE restaurant, but instead of getting stuck, I popped right back up James Brown style. I could have hid in the corner and cried from embarrassment, but I just laughed. If I wasn’t able to laugh at myself all the time, then I’d probably never leave the house!

Niki G, it seems like you are a popular girl on the social scene in LA, you’ve been called a socialite, so how did that come about?

NG: Well honestly, I don’t even have time to go out partying the way I use to.  Back when I was in college I was out in Hollywood at least three nights a week.  It was crazy, I ended up making a ton of great friends.

Also, I grew up in LA so I already knew a ton of people to begin with, before I started getting in the scene.  I’ve been in Law School for the past two years, so I’ve definitely slowed the partying down by a lot.  I do still go out for events and openings to stay in touch with people, I don’t ever want to fall off the face of the earth like a lot of people do!

What’s your weirdest skill that people might not know you have?

NG: I played classical violin for 12 years, and I still fiddle with the fiddle once in a while.  I think anyone who doesn’t know that would be very shocked if I pulled out a violin and randomly started playing.

NC: I can make weird faces and do funny voices, but I don’t do them too often. My “game face” is pretty crazy though, I apologize if it gives you nightmares.

It’s been great interviewing you two, any last words for us?

NG: Thanks for having me, its been a pleasure!  Look for me and my team LA Temptation in Miami playing in that championship game and winning the Lingerie Bowl this year! We are a force to be reckoned with!

Don’t forget to check out Niki G & Niki C as they go up against #1 ranked Dallas Desire this Friday!