This Arena's Lined With Down Feathers

Chuck Norris and his World Combat League had better work on those fists of legend, because there's a new breed of no-holds-barred brawlers coming to Austin this March.

We're talking, of course, about the all-female Pillow Fight League.

These fearsome ladies are Toronto's version of the Lonestar Rollergirls, and they boast similarly frightful nicknames, like Betty Clocker, Eiffel Power, and, our favorite, Champain. As in that delicious sparkling wine, but with bubbles... that kill.

"It's not about implants, oil or spaghetti wrestling," said league founder Stacey Case to the Toronto Sun. "These girls come to fight. It's all out, and no one knows who'll win until someone's pinned or the ref stops it."

Case, who's a dude, admits that he spent two years obsessing over the entertainment-slash-sport (and not the other way around) before finally forming it sometime last summer. After it proved to be such an enormous success with our Canadian neighbors, the league has decided to expand to Austin and New York City this year. They're planning to host the first bout in town sometime around SXSW.

Austinites, as you might recall, came out in droves to last year's pillow fight flash mob at Auditorium Shores. While we're sure that this will garner considerable attention, it remains to be seen whether folks will be content to merely spectate from the sidelines.

[PFL on MySpace]
[PFL Website]

Photos from PFL myspace: "World Champion" Champain, Trashley