Winning the Legends Cup in front of the home crowd on Sunday would be an ideal way for Danika Brace of the Seattle Mist to wrap up her sixth season in the Legends Football League.
The Mist (5-1) take on the Chicago Bliss (6-0) at 3 p.m. Sunday at Kent’s ShoWare Center in the women’s indoor championship game.
Brace, who plays tight end and linebacker, said playing a championship game at home will be a first in the LFL.
“It (the championship) has always been down in Las Vegas,” Brace said. “Vegas (the Las Vegas Sin) never played in it, so there has never been a home team in a home arena.”
Sunday’s game will be the first appearance in the Legends Cup for Brace and the Mist.
Brace said knowing that the championship game would be played at the ShoWare gave the team extra motivation to win in their Western Conference playoff game against the Los Angeles Temptation last Saturday. The Mist beat the Temptation 28-24 in Bridgeview, Ill., near Chicago.
“We are either going to be in these stands watching or playing,” Brace said. “Playing was obviously the idea and we made it happen.”
Brace, a Seattle-area native, grew up on Queen Anne Hill and graduated from Inglemoor High School in Kenmore before receiving a degree from the University of Washington. She lives in Renton.
Brace joined the Mist in 2009 when the league formed and played two seasons for Seattle before playing three seasons with Las Vegas. She returned to Seattle this year.
She was excited to play again under coach Chris Michaelson.
“He truly does believe in us as football players,” she said.
Brace said it also was nice to come back to the support of the fans.
“The football atmosphere in Seattle is like none other,” she said.
Brace didn’t have much experience playing football before trying out for the LFL, aside from the occasional backyard game with her father, but has always loved the sport. She played basketball growing up and said she has always been competitive.
“I used to get in trouble in my basketball games because I would run people over for a loose ball,” she said. “I never shied away from contact.”
But it still took Brace time to get used to full contact tackling in the LFL. She said after being tackled for the first time she was shocked but quickly got over it.
“My adrenaline just took over,” she said. “That is when I knew I was going to be in the sport for a long time.”
Brace, known as one of the hardest hitters in the league, considered not playing this year.
“I was thinking it was maybe time to hang up the cleats,” the 27-year-old said.
During the off-season, Brace played football in Australia with KK Matheny, who became the Mist’s quarterback this season.
Matheny, who had played for the Jacksonville Breeze, which suspended operations this year, wanted to play another season, Brace said. The two became friends while playing in Australia and agreed to play together for the Mist.
Brace credits a lot of the team’s success this season to Matheny’s leadership.
“She is just a natural born leader,” Brace said. “She came into this organization, new to the organization, and provided that leadership role.”
The Mist also had a handful of all-fantasy team players return this season, the league’s version of an all-star team.
“I knew we really had an opportunity to be a contender for the championship this year,” Brace said.
Brace said she and her teammates are confident they can deliver the Bliss their first loss of the season on Sunday.
“We are not worried about them being undefeated,” she said. “Their conference is a lot easier than the western conference. They played one good team and they barely beat them.”
Brace said whether she will come back for another season will depend on the outcome of Sunday’s game.
Playing football, on top of having a full-time job, is time consuming, Brace said.
“I train two to three hours a day outside of everything else we do,” she said.
Winning the Legends Cup would be a great way to leave a long-lasting legacy, Brace said.
“I would liked to be remember in this league,” she said. “Having a championship is one of the key elements. It does define your greatness in your sport.”
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For Legend Cup tickets, visit www.showarecenter.com.
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