League plays football atop unicycles

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SAN MARCOS, Texas, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- A football league in a Texas town is gaining attention for the main difference it has with traditional football -- players ride unicycles while they run plays.

Marcus Garland, founder of the Unicycle Football League in San Marcos, said the league has run for five seasons in a vacant farmer's market parking lot, has been featured as one of the world's dumbest sports on TruTV and made an appearance in the film "Campus Radio," the San Antonio Express-News reported Monday.

"When we first started, it was all laughs and fun," Garland said. "Now it's very competitive, and guys really want to win."

He said the rules include a joust, which replaces the traditional kickoff, with players using boxing gloves at the end of long sticks to try to remove opponents from their unicycles.

Carlton Pride, a former college football player and who referees for the league, helped Garland write the rules of the game.

"Their ability to ride unicycles and throw long bombs and make plays is amazing," he said, "as is the athleticism and the fact that most of them don't know what real football is."