01/20/26 08:42:00
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01/20 08:41 CST QB Diana Flores hypes flag football ahead of its 2028 LA
Olympics debut, now an open book on subject
QB Diana Flores hypes flag football ahead of its 2028 LA Olympics debut, now an
open book on subject
By PAT GRAHAM
AP Sports Writer
Quarterback Diana Flores has won world titles and MVPs on the flag football
field. She's starred in Super Bowl commercials to promote her sport, too.
This, though, confirmed just how far-reaching women's flag football has become
--- Kansas City Chiefs standout Patrick Mahomes once referred to her by name
and mentioned her being a QB.
Game simply respects game, especially one on the rise.
Flores, the signal caller for the reigning world champion Mexico squad, is
doing all she can these days to build up the sport ahead of flag football
making its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. It's quickly catching
on, too, with the NCAA recently adding flag football to its Emerging Sports for
Women program. Nebraska announced it would be the first power conference school
to add flag football as a varsity women's sport, with competition beginning in
the spring of 2028.
The 28-year-old Flores is an open book on the subject. She just authored "Flag
Football For Dummies," which breaks down everything from the rules of the game
to her involvement (she started at 8 against much older players) to what it
takes to be elite ("leadership is the backbone of a successful quarterback,"
she wrote).
"I just want to grow awareness of the sport, the importance of the sport for
boys and girls, and how it can change lives, help open those doors and
opportunities," Flores said in an interview as she prepares to cover the Super
Bowl on Feb. 8 for TUDN, a Spanish-language sports network. "(The book)
challenged me in ways I've never experienced before. It's just a huge
opportunity for me to pour all the love and passion I have for the game to
others."
The stats reflect the growth of an NFL-backed sport: There were 267,000 girls
aged 6 to 17 in the U.S. that participated in organized flag football in 2024,
according to USA Football. It's an increase of 39% since 2020.
Flores is one of the most decorated players to take the flag-football field,
guiding Team Mexico to back-to-back World Games gold medals and winning the MVP
in 2022. She was recently honored as the 2025 Game Changer Award recipient by
the Women's Sports Foundation.
Her commercial during the 2023 Super Bowl, titled "Run with it," was a popular
hit.
It starts out with reporter Erin Andrews talking to Flores, in uniform, and
suddenly reaching for her attached flags. Flores looked surprised and juked to
avoid the maneuver before bolting out of the stadium. Flores runs through
parking lots, down sidewalks, over rooftops and through a hotel, with NFL
players such as Sauce Gardner, Jalen Ramsey, Cam Heyward, Aidan Hutchinson and
Davante Adams in pursuit. Tennis great and women's sports advocate Billie Jean
King played a role in throwing a key block with a car door.
It was all part of promoting the game, with the end of the commercial featuring
USA Football quarterback Vanita Krouch running alongside Flores in the street.
Both were offensive coordinators of the 2023 Pro Bowl game.
So, how many times has Flores seen that commercial?
"I don't even have the count," Flores said with a laugh. "That's been one of
the most amazing moments of my life. It was the first time flag football was
showcased in a big platform like that."
Flores patterns her QB style after an array of players, ranging from Peyton
Manning to Lamar Jackson to Joe Burrow and Mahomes. And it was meeting Mahomes
a little while back that opened her eyes to her sport's soaring popularity.
"I was doing an interview with (Mahomes) and introducing myself and before I
even finished my sentence he was like, ?Oh, yeah, Diana, you play flag football
and you're a quarterback, too,'" Flores recounted. "I didn't expect that to
happen."
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