Val Deeb had an inkling it was going to be a special season for the Pensacola Power the day of the team's first intrasquad scrimmage. It was a spring day in Florida and the National Women's Football League hadn't officially kicked off, but over a thousand people still came out to watch.

"We just looked around at the stands," Deeb recalled, "and said 'Look at all the people.'"

In retrospect, Pensacola, Fla. was the ideal spot for a new football team in a new football league. In Florida, football reigns supreme and Pensacola, a city of just under 60,000 in the Florida Panhandle embraces its sports heroes.

When Pensacola native son Roy Jones Jr. steps into the boxing ring the city comes to a halt and the locals also follow the fortunes of their local high schools, but prior to the arrival of the Power the only professional team sports in town were a minor league hockey team and an Arena Football League franchise, both of which featured athletes from outside the area. So when the Power came along, with a roster filled with players with local connections the city was quick to take notice.

"It's easier to root for a team if you can say 'I know her or I played in high school with her'," Deeb said.

Deeb herself came to Florida by way of San Diego. A former Marine she played rugby for 18 years, reaching the USA Rugby All-Star Championships four times and the national club championship tournament twice. Most of that experience came in California but since moving to Florida she has played with a women's team in New Orleans. "Playing a contact sport was nothing new to me," she said.

When the Power was organized Deeb saw it as a chance to try another sport while staying close to home. She quickly found a home at linebacker, blending her skills with teammates from a variety of backgrounds. "I think women do that a little better than men do," she said.

Like the other teams in the league, the Power had to sacrifice time with family and friends to deal with practices and games. Most of the players came to evening practices after working at full-time jobs (Deeb herself works as a computer design and drafting specialist for an engineering firm) so family time was limited, to say the least during the season.

"Some of the players needed IDs when they got home," Deeb said, half jokingly and half seriously.

Some players were resourceful enough to bring their families to them. A number of them were married, some had children and a collection of toddlers could be seem on the sidelines at many of the team's practice sessions.

Some families would even join their football-playing relatives on the road, the ultimate act of support. In contrast to the Northern Division where the cities were tightly bunched in the Massachusetts-to-Washington corridor the league’s southern tier faced trips that would be politely described as arduous. The Power’s longest trip, to Tennessee, was 14 hours one-way by bus.

But in the end, all the sacrifices were worth it. The Power went through the regular season unbeaten in eight starts, including two tight wins over the Alabama Renegades, 7-6 and 3-0 in a span of four weeks in what were two of the high points of the NWFL’s inaugural season.

"They played good, tough football," Deeb said.

So did the Power, particularly on defense. Pensacola allowed just five points per game during the regular season.

But the defense didn’t hold up against Philadelphia in the Pat Windham-Harvey Bowl, the NWFL’s championship game. Playing in front of a home crowd of better than 5,000 fans the Power were swept away 40-7.

"Philadelphia was a much bigger team than we were," Deeb said. "I don’t think we were ready for that."

But she is ready for Year Two of the NWFL and is already working out. Her only regret is that the Power won’t be facing the Renegades this season because of expansion and realignment. The Power have been placed in the Southern Division with three new teams, Panama City, Biloxi and New Orleans which should cut down somewhat on travel but will increase expectations. The Power will be the veterans defending their throne against the upstarts.

But that’s a challenge Val Deeb is looking forward to.