September 1, 2025 • 22 mins
Diana Flores, quarterback and captain of the Mexican national flag football team, joins Sarah to talk about how she got her start in flag football, starring in a Super Bowl ad and being the face of the sport, the days when she wasn't even allowed to step on the field, and why flag football still isn’t a professional sport.
- Watch a highlight of Mexico’s World Games win over the U.S. here
- Watch the 2023 Super Bowl commercial Diana Flores starred in here
- And follow Diana on Instagram here
- Leave us a voicemail at 872-204-5070 or send us a note at goodgame@wondermedianetwork.com
- Follow Sarah on social! Bluesky: @sarahspain.com Instagram: @Spain2323
- Follow producer Misha Jones! Bluesky: @mishthejrnalist.bsky.social Instagram: @mishthejrnalist
- Follow producer Alex Azzi! Bluesky: @byalexazzi.bsky.social
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're asking
stores to please wait a few more weeks before putting
out all of the Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations. Come on,
let us celebrate summer for just a little bit longer.
It's Monday, September first, and on today's show, we're skipping
the need to know and getting straight to my conversation
with flag football star Dianna flores I caught up with
our last week to discuss Team Mexico's recent World Games
(00:21):
championship win, the who's who of flag football, and what
she's most looking forward to when the sport debuts at
the Olympics in twenty twenty eight. And just a reminder,
Good Game has taken a little falseyesta these next two weeks.
While we'll still be bringing you a couple new episodes
each week, they won't be every day. We'll get back
to our normal weekday cadence on Monday, September fifteenth, just
in time for WNBA playoffs. In the meantime, we hope
(00:43):
you enjoyed the interviews we have planned for you, including
my conversation with Deanna right after this joining us. Now
she's the quarterback and captain of the Mexican national flag
football team, a team she's led to gold at back
to back World Games, defeating the US thirty nine to
six and twenty twenty two and twenty six twenty one.
(01:06):
This year, she worked alongside me on the gate Raad
Women's Advisory Board. She commentated on the twenty twenty five
Super Bowl for Univision, and she represents a bevy of brands.
She started in a Super Bowl commercial, and she's the
first flag football player with artifacts in the Pro Football
Hall of Fame. It's Diana Flores. Hi, Deanna, Hi, Sarah.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I'm very happy and excited to be here with you,
so thank you for to invite.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Yeah, I'm so excited to chat with you. You have a
very busy day doing all sorts of media responsibilities ahead
of another big tournament, so we're so glad you could
steal away for a moment to chat with us. Before
we get into your recent success, I'd love to chat
about the very beginning. So tell us how you got
started playing flag football.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Oh yeah, so I started playing flappable at the age
of eight or sold here in Mexico City back then
when the sport was not well known, it wasn't popular.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
It was seemed to be a sport for boys only.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
So it has been an amazing journey at challenging one,
but yeah, I think that makes it more special to
see how big the sport is right now, how it
is growing, how it is just opening doors and opportunities
for more girls around the world.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Yeah, so that's that's how I started this journey.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
So you started playing with boys. At what point were
there enough girls to try to actually play alongside other girls.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Yes, so I played with a boys in an all
boys league at the age of fourteen nfl FLA football
here in Mexico City. Again, because back then we didn't
have a lot of teams or leagues for girls to
practice a game.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
It wasn't I think until.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
A year later or two where I played my first
time go girls my age in the United States NFL
Flag Football Championship with a team from Philly, which was
an amazing experience, and later on two years at the
age of sixteen, where I started playing at the National
Flavable Mexican team. So, as I said, it has been
(03:08):
amazing to see how the game has evolved and how
it changed from back then having to play with older
girls at the age of eight, who were sixteen or seventeen,
not being able to step on the football field, having
to carry a trash back to it each one of
our practices to be able to clean up the field
(03:28):
and play the sport we love to now seeing boys
and girls from six year souls having a football in
their hands, having opportunities for scholarships right now, not only
in the United States, but in Mexico as well, and
now plagg being an Olympic sport.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Yeah, it's really incredible. I read an interview where you
talked about that that you were watching the boys play
on this stadium field with grass and lighting, and it
was super fancy, but the men were only the ones
allowed there. The girls and the women had to train
on this backfield and you literally had to spend the
beginning of practice picking up rocks and cleaning up trash.
(04:06):
That's absolutely wild, because now you are the face of
flag football, not just women, but you're better known than
any men's flag football player. You're the face in Mexico,
in the US, across the world. You've had so much success.
I want to go back to what you said about
playing in Philly. How did they find you. How did
that team at North Penn High School that was trying
(04:26):
to put together a team to play, how did they
find you?
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (04:29):
So it was after a tournament we played in Boston
actually with a team from here from Mexico, so they
kind of like put together an all stars team with
different jont players. I was thirteen fourteen back then. We
went to Boston to play this Flag Global tournament and
we played the finals against this Philly team.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
We lost against them.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
I came back to Mexico and I think a month
after that, the coaches from the team connected with me
through face Book. I think it was I mean, the
beauty of sport, it creates community, right, So they contacted
me through that platform, and then that's how they invited
me to be part of the team.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
I think. I'm so grateful and blessed.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
They saw the potential in me, They trusted on me,
they took care of me of everything. They flew me
to Philly to play regional championship, later on national championship,
and that's how kind of like my journey started for
the next couple of years with them just flying back
and forth Mexico in the US, playing the sport I love.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
That's so cool. Okay, I want to ask how in
a sport that wasn't that well known in a country
that is obsessed with soccer football, not American football. Yes,
how did you even think I want to play flag football?
What teams were you watching or players were you watching
growing up that made you think you wanted to try it?
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Well, it's my dad's fault, I have to say.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
So. My dad used to play tackle football when he
was in high school and college, and he was the
one that brought me to this amazing world. When I
was young, before flag I did other activities as ballet, gymnastics, different,
very different to flag football. And one day, I remember day,
(06:18):
my dad just came back home from work and took
me to this football field to watch this group of
women throwing around the football. I didn't know what was it.
I didn't know what was going on, but what caught
me was just the passion I could see on the field.
They were loud, they were fast, they were strong, and
they were doing all of these amazing things on the
(06:40):
field and I just fell in love. I remember we
sat down for two hours full practice, and at the end,
my dad just asked me like would you like to
try it tomorrow? Yes, I had no doubts. I wanted
to be part of that. And luckily my coach, my
first coach, Julio Kanya, he when we approached him to
(07:02):
asking for a chance for me to be part of
the team. I was a youngist, right, so he he
saw I think that fire in my eyes, that just
that emotion to be part of it. He allowed me
to be part of the team. He trusted in me,
and yeah, now here we are twenty years later.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
It's remarkable. And what's so cool is how this sport
has brought you all over the world. You mentioned coming
to the States to play for the Philly team, but Boston, Miami,
you played for the Mexico national team, in Panama, in Jerusalem,
and then the World Games. So let's talk about the
World Games. Because I'm an American fan. I'm Team USA
(07:42):
all the way, and you keep beating up on my ladies.
You beat them in twenty twenty two. You completed twenty
and twenty eight pass attempts, you threw for two hundred
and ten yards and four touchdowns, beating the US thirty
nine to six. This year was closer twenty six twenty
one on a buzzer beating touchdown pass from you. So
what is it about this Mexico team that's making you
the best in the world.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
I think it's just the evolution of the game itself.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
It keeps pushing all of us Team Mexico Team us,
every team on the team, and every athlete to just
become better and better.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
We need to keep up with how the sport is
growing worldwide.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
It has been amazing to be part of that movement,
to be part of that change and alongside my team
kind of like push the sport forward. I think competitiveness
is essential for the growth of the game to become
better athletes. So that's also another reason why my self
and my team we feel so happy. I'm proud to
be able to face so many talented athletes out there,
(08:42):
so many talented teams, because it's all about that. It's
all about putting the best football on the field. It's
all about evolving as athletes and pushing the sport forward.
So it was an amazing experience being part of these
World Games two and twenty five again and to make
history alongside my team. It was a very emotional game.
(09:05):
It was very exciting it had it all. You could
see the passion, you could see the fears, you could
see the talent, and I'm just very blessed and happy
to be able to be part of a moment like that,
to put flat football in the biggest stage, to showcase
the world the greatness of it, and at the end
(09:28):
of the day, just compete against the best athletes.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Tell me about the model that your team had. Pienza
and oor pienza an auto.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Yes, that's our model. So we have been holding to
that since twenty twenty two. So it has been a
long journey and it's some mentality for us.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
It's a mantra.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
That phrase, which is think of gold, means for us
way more than thinking on a goal that winning match.
You know that it is about taking the right decisions,
taking the right steps to achieve your goal. It is
about being gold on and off the field, on the
way you carry yourself, with your teammates, with the team
(10:16):
you're playing against, with your families, with your friends. It's
about just trying to be the best version of yourself,
being gold in anything you do. And if you think
of gold and if you act like gold in anything
you do and in any decision you take in your journey,
Eventually the result is gonna come. So that gold in
(10:39):
your hands is gonna come. And that's our mantra. That's
how we move and that's kind of like the message
we want to live not only to our country, to
our people, but in general, to the world, to the
next generations of boys and girls. That's a mentality that
definitely transcends the field.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
We got to take a quick break more with Deanna
Flores right after this. A couple of years ago, you
gave an interview to NBC News talking about how the
sport of flag football isn't professional yet. You've been playing
for over a decade, representing your country not getting anything
(11:16):
for it. You know, flag football will be much bigger
after the Olympics, it will start to hopefully be more professionalized.
How has that changed in recent years? Is it still
something where you all have full time other jobs. You
don't get paid for this. You're just doing it for
the love of the sport.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
We do it for the love of the game, We
do it for the passion, we do it for the
pride to represent our countries. It's not professional yet, so
I think that's another reason why I truly admire deeply
not only to my teammates, but to all the athletes
out there who represent their countries at the highest leveling
(11:53):
flag because we're still in that part of the journey,
you know, where we need to make things happen. We
are athletes on the field, but we are students of
the field. We are professionists, We are professors, we are mothers,
We take care of our families.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
We do it all, and.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
I think that's a superpower talking about the female athlete,
to be able to be versatile and just show up
in every situation in our lives and show up in
the best way to be a high level athlete out there,
to be able to push the sport forward. It's important
now to start building the platforms, to start investing on
(12:38):
the development of the game and also on the future
of the game, you know. So I truly, I truly
believe that investing in women's sports, especially in flax football
now as the big movement it is.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
It's the way.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
To at the end of the day, help society evolve,
you know, to change the narrative for boys and girls,
especially women leaders out there, to create opportunities for us
to achieve our dreams on and off the field.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
So yes, it's.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
A time to invest in women's sports to make it professional.
I dream of being able to, you know, contribute to
for that to happen, so one day women like me
can make a living from playing the sport we love.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Do you know if the men's flag football team in
Mexico makes money or do you think it's just that
the sport itself needs to grow in order for anyone
to be seeing it as more of a professional opportunity.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Yeah, right now, No one, women or men make money
from the game. I think it's a matter of keep
pushing the sport to grow so we can create those
opportunities and that investment to come. So yeah, right now
it's a dream and the next goal for men and
(13:59):
women and in the game.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Yeah. Okay, So the twenty twenty eight Olympics are going
to be a huge part of that. What are you
focusing on as a team, as Team Mexico in the
years leading up to that.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
It's going to be a tough couple of years. As
a game keeps evolving, countries start investing more and more
in their athletes in the development of the game. So
for us, it's all about trying to keep up and
keep evolving, not only with our players, renewing the team,
getting new talent, scouting new talent, and making sure we
(14:31):
have the best of the best representing our country. But
at the same time, since we are a big reference
in the game, it's kind of like how we continue
to change the game, like the way it is played,
to be more creative on what we do on the field.
(14:52):
We know that all the teams kind of like.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
Study what we do and.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
That makes it a little bit more challenging but exciting
at the same time.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
So I think for.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
As right now as in Mexico, it's all about trying
to find the way to maintain ourselves at the highest
level and stronger the flatoforms we have in our country,
to make sure our athletes have their right support to
(15:25):
develop themselves on the field.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Yeah. Absolutely, it feels like you are representing this model
of a super successful athlete, but you also get a
lot of support because of your endorsements and the brands
you're working with. You're going to compete in the SI
Games coming up in October with a bunch of other
big names across different sports. How do you balance what
you want to do to grow the game and do
your flag football camp that you did with kids with
(15:52):
under Armor, and really spreading the word about it and
helping make it as successful as it can be in
the Olympics, versus you personally building your own brand and
figuring out your own career.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
It's a big challenge to kind of like balance preparing
myself as an athlete on the field to represent my
country and at the same time doing everything you just
mentioned of the field as well being an ambassador of
the game, trying to help to continue keep opening doors
and platforms for girls around the world. But you know,
(16:23):
I think I've been super lucky and blessed to be
able to connect with amazing people on the way, people
like you, Sara, we met at the Gatorade Advisory Board,
like villageing King that now is an amazing mentor for
me and more other amazing women in the sports and
(16:43):
on the business area.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
So kind of like I can.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Have a little bit of direction, but not only that inspiration.
At the same time, I think one reason that keeps
me motivate it and inspire is just being part of
this amazing community to see that we are very aware
nowadays that everything we do was women on and off
(17:10):
the field has a bigger impact than ourselves.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
How we all are.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
A the community, committed to change the game, to change
the narrative and just build opportunities. So yes, that's what
has been keeping me up in this journey, and I
just feel very blessed to have an amazing team around me,
my family and the people that love me.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
You're doing an excellent job. It is a lot of
weight on your shoulders, but as much as you do
the things that do benefit you, they're also telling a
story for people everywhere about the sport and about what
women can achieve in it. So I'm just really really
impressed by you. I have one last question. I'd love
for you to tell the story about the twenty twenty
three Super Bowl commercial you were in. It was called
(17:52):
Run with It promoting flag football and looking ahead to
it being an Olympic sport. You were in it with
billyje and King, Jalen Ramsey, Aiden Hutchinson, Davante Adams, all
these stars, but you had no idea that you were
the star of the ad. Oh.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
Yes, that story never gets old And it all started,
you know, the day I got a call from the
NFL pretty much like asking me if I wanted to
be part of this Super Bowl commercial.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
To be honest, at that moment.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
I didn't kind of like believed that what they were
really telling me. I couldn't believe, Like, are you asking
me to be the star of the commercial? I thought,
to be honest, I thought that I was just going
to be part of it.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
And I was like, I don't care.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
I'm gonna be happy if I have my you know,
second of fame right there.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
That's gonna be amazing.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
So that's kind of like what I told my parents
as well before flying to LA to shoot the commercial.
And when I got to LA, it was five days,
twelve hours a day shoot, so I kind of like
realized how big it was, and I realized that no, I.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
Wasn't part of the commercial. I was a star of
the commercial.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
And it was just an amazing moment, a big moment
for me and my sport to be spotlighted at a
stage like this.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Yeah, I mean, you're it, Tianna. You're it. You're walking
the sb's red carpet, You're ambassador for brands, you're you know,
going to USTA Player balls, You're doing all the things
the GQ Men of the Year Awards. It just feels
like wherever there's something going on, Dianna is there representing
herself in the sport. So just keep it up. I
(19:31):
know you probably need a nap every once in a while,
so take those naps when you need them. But it's
just been so impressive to watch you continuing to succeed.
So good luck. Even though you keep beating Team USA,
I'm still rooting for you.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Oh, thank you so much. Amazing things are dead to
Goma for this sport worldwide. I'm very excited to see
where Flappable is getting and all these next generations of
female leaders that now come dream bigger than ever. So
thank you for having me here, thank you for continuing rooting.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
For awesome the game.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
And there's a lot still that we have to do
to continue opening those doors.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
So yeah, I'm just excited for what's yet to come.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Thanks again to Deanna for the chat. We have to
take another break when we come back. Belcrow is hard.
Welcome Backslaces. We love that you're listening, but we wanted
to get in the game every day too, So here's
our good game play of the day. Follow Deanna on
social media. We've linked to our Instagram in the show notes,
(20:36):
and while you're at it, check out some of the
highlights of her playing flag football. We've linked to a
video featuring the final between Mexico and the US at
the recent World Games. We always love to hear from you,
so send us an email good game at Wondermedia neetwork
dot com or leave us a voicemail at eight seven
two two O four fifty seventy and don't forget to subscribe,
rate and review. Just scroll on down to those stars,
(20:58):
click five and write us nice little review. It's really
helpful to the show and it's super easy watch quote
unquote Playing flag football in elementary school gym class rating
five out of ten missing velcrow flags review. Now, I
didn't play much flag football in school, but producer Alex
says that her school offered it, though it never exactly
(21:19):
went to plan. The gym teacher would end up spending
most of the class tracking down the velcrow tails aka
the flags that each kid had to clip onto their belt,
But before you could get around to explaining the layout
of the field or going over the rules, all the
kids were predictably running around already playing a big game
of Velcrow Tail Keep Away, and by the time each
team had taken its place on the field, a third
of the flags were missing. The other third had been
(21:41):
shoved down Little Timmy shorts. It was a mess. So
here's hoping your flag football experience was better than Alex's.
Now it's your turn, rate and review. Thanks for listen,
See you later this week. Good Game, Deanna, Good Game,
Team Mexico. You sun for setting before eight pm. Good
Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports production
(22:03):
in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can
find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network, our
producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our executive producers
are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan, and Emily Rudder.
Our editors are Emily Rutterer, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch, and
(22:25):
Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer is Lucy Jones. Production assistance
from Avery Loftus and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain.
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're asking
stores to please wait a few more weeks before putting
out all of the Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations. Come on,
let us celebrate summer for just a little bit longer.
It's Monday, September first, and on today's show, we're skipping
the need to know and getting straight to my conversation
with flag football star Dianna flores I caught up with
our last week to discuss Team Mexico's recent World Games
(00:21):
championship win, the who's who of flag football, and what
she's most looking forward to when the sport debuts at
the Olympics in twenty twenty eight. And just a reminder,
Good Game has taken a little falseyesta these next two weeks.
While we'll still be bringing you a couple new episodes
each week, they won't be every day. We'll get back
to our normal weekday cadence on Monday, September fifteenth, just
in time for WNBA playoffs. In the meantime, we hope
(00:43):
you enjoyed the interviews we have planned for you, including
my conversation with Deanna right after this joining us. Now
she's the quarterback and captain of the Mexican national flag
football team, a team she's led to gold at back
to back World Games, defeating the US thirty nine to
six and twenty twenty two and twenty six twenty one.
(01:06):
This year, she worked alongside me on the gate Raad
Women's Advisory Board. She commentated on the twenty twenty five
Super Bowl for Univision, and she represents a bevy of brands.
She started in a Super Bowl commercial, and she's the
first flag football player with artifacts in the Pro Football
Hall of Fame. It's Diana Flores. Hi, Deanna, Hi, Sarah.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I'm very happy and excited to be here with you,
so thank you for to invite.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Yeah, I'm so excited to chat with you. You have a
very busy day doing all sorts of media responsibilities ahead
of another big tournament, so we're so glad you could
steal away for a moment to chat with us. Before
we get into your recent success, I'd love to chat
about the very beginning. So tell us how you got
started playing flag football.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Oh yeah, so I started playing flappable at the age
of eight or sold here in Mexico City back then
when the sport was not well known, it wasn't popular.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
It was seemed to be a sport for boys only.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
So it has been an amazing journey at challenging one,
but yeah, I think that makes it more special to
see how big the sport is right now, how it
is growing, how it is just opening doors and opportunities
for more girls around the world.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Yeah, so that's that's how I started this journey.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
So you started playing with boys. At what point were
there enough girls to try to actually play alongside other girls.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Yes, so I played with a boys in an all
boys league at the age of fourteen nfl FLA football
here in Mexico City. Again, because back then we didn't
have a lot of teams or leagues for girls to
practice a game.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
It wasn't I think until.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
A year later or two where I played my first
time go girls my age in the United States NFL
Flag Football Championship with a team from Philly, which was
an amazing experience, and later on two years at the
age of sixteen, where I started playing at the National
Flavable Mexican team. So, as I said, it has been
(03:08):
amazing to see how the game has evolved and how
it changed from back then having to play with older
girls at the age of eight, who were sixteen or seventeen,
not being able to step on the football field, having
to carry a trash back to it each one of
our practices to be able to clean up the field
(03:28):
and play the sport we love to now seeing boys
and girls from six year souls having a football in
their hands, having opportunities for scholarships right now, not only
in the United States, but in Mexico as well, and
now plagg being an Olympic sport.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Yeah, it's really incredible. I read an interview where you
talked about that that you were watching the boys play
on this stadium field with grass and lighting, and it
was super fancy, but the men were only the ones
allowed there. The girls and the women had to train
on this backfield and you literally had to spend the
beginning of practice picking up rocks and cleaning up trash.
(04:06):
That's absolutely wild, because now you are the face of
flag football, not just women, but you're better known than
any men's flag football player. You're the face in Mexico,
in the US, across the world. You've had so much success.
I want to go back to what you said about
playing in Philly. How did they find you. How did
that team at North Penn High School that was trying
(04:26):
to put together a team to play, how did they
find you?
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (04:29):
So it was after a tournament we played in Boston
actually with a team from here from Mexico, so they
kind of like put together an all stars team with
different jont players. I was thirteen fourteen back then. We
went to Boston to play this Flag Global tournament and
we played the finals against this Philly team.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
We lost against them.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
I came back to Mexico and I think a month
after that, the coaches from the team connected with me
through face Book. I think it was I mean, the
beauty of sport, it creates community, right, So they contacted
me through that platform, and then that's how they invited
me to be part of the team.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
I think. I'm so grateful and blessed.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
They saw the potential in me, They trusted on me,
they took care of me of everything. They flew me
to Philly to play regional championship, later on national championship,
and that's how kind of like my journey started for
the next couple of years with them just flying back
and forth Mexico in the US, playing the sport I love.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
That's so cool. Okay, I want to ask how in
a sport that wasn't that well known in a country
that is obsessed with soccer football, not American football. Yes,
how did you even think I want to play flag football?
What teams were you watching or players were you watching
growing up that made you think you wanted to try it?
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Well, it's my dad's fault, I have to say.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
So. My dad used to play tackle football when he
was in high school and college, and he was the
one that brought me to this amazing world. When I
was young, before flag I did other activities as ballet, gymnastics, different,
very different to flag football. And one day, I remember day,
(06:18):
my dad just came back home from work and took
me to this football field to watch this group of
women throwing around the football. I didn't know what was it.
I didn't know what was going on, but what caught
me was just the passion I could see on the field.
They were loud, they were fast, they were strong, and
they were doing all of these amazing things on the
(06:40):
field and I just fell in love. I remember we
sat down for two hours full practice, and at the end,
my dad just asked me like would you like to
try it tomorrow? Yes, I had no doubts. I wanted
to be part of that. And luckily my coach, my
first coach, Julio Kanya, he when we approached him to
(07:02):
asking for a chance for me to be part of
the team. I was a youngist, right, so he he
saw I think that fire in my eyes, that just
that emotion to be part of it. He allowed me
to be part of the team. He trusted in me,
and yeah, now here we are twenty years later.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
It's remarkable. And what's so cool is how this sport
has brought you all over the world. You mentioned coming
to the States to play for the Philly team, but Boston, Miami,
you played for the Mexico national team, in Panama, in Jerusalem,
and then the World Games. So let's talk about the
World Games. Because I'm an American fan. I'm Team USA
(07:42):
all the way, and you keep beating up on my ladies.
You beat them in twenty twenty two. You completed twenty
and twenty eight pass attempts, you threw for two hundred
and ten yards and four touchdowns, beating the US thirty
nine to six. This year was closer twenty six twenty
one on a buzzer beating touchdown pass from you. So
what is it about this Mexico team that's making you
the best in the world.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
I think it's just the evolution of the game itself.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
It keeps pushing all of us Team Mexico Team us,
every team on the team, and every athlete to just
become better and better.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
We need to keep up with how the sport is
growing worldwide.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
It has been amazing to be part of that movement,
to be part of that change and alongside my team
kind of like push the sport forward. I think competitiveness
is essential for the growth of the game to become
better athletes. So that's also another reason why my self
and my team we feel so happy. I'm proud to
be able to face so many talented athletes out there,
(08:42):
so many talented teams, because it's all about that. It's
all about putting the best football on the field. It's
all about evolving as athletes and pushing the sport forward.
So it was an amazing experience being part of these
World Games two and twenty five again and to make
history alongside my team. It was a very emotional game.
(09:05):
It was very exciting it had it all. You could
see the passion, you could see the fears, you could
see the talent, and I'm just very blessed and happy
to be able to be part of a moment like that,
to put flat football in the biggest stage, to showcase
the world the greatness of it, and at the end
(09:28):
of the day, just compete against the best athletes.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Tell me about the model that your team had. Pienza
and oor pienza an auto.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Yes, that's our model. So we have been holding to
that since twenty twenty two. So it has been a
long journey and it's some mentality for us.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
It's a mantra.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
That phrase, which is think of gold, means for us
way more than thinking on a goal that winning match.
You know that it is about taking the right decisions,
taking the right steps to achieve your goal. It is
about being gold on and off the field, on the
way you carry yourself, with your teammates, with the team
(10:16):
you're playing against, with your families, with your friends. It's
about just trying to be the best version of yourself,
being gold in anything you do. And if you think
of gold and if you act like gold in anything
you do and in any decision you take in your journey,
Eventually the result is gonna come. So that gold in
(10:39):
your hands is gonna come. And that's our mantra. That's
how we move and that's kind of like the message
we want to live not only to our country, to
our people, but in general, to the world, to the
next generations of boys and girls. That's a mentality that
definitely transcends the field.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
We got to take a quick break more with Deanna
Flores right after this. A couple of years ago, you
gave an interview to NBC News talking about how the
sport of flag football isn't professional yet. You've been playing
for over a decade, representing your country not getting anything
(11:16):
for it. You know, flag football will be much bigger
after the Olympics, it will start to hopefully be more professionalized.
How has that changed in recent years? Is it still
something where you all have full time other jobs. You
don't get paid for this. You're just doing it for
the love of the sport.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
We do it for the love of the game, We
do it for the passion, we do it for the
pride to represent our countries. It's not professional yet, so
I think that's another reason why I truly admire deeply
not only to my teammates, but to all the athletes
out there who represent their countries at the highest leveling
(11:53):
flag because we're still in that part of the journey,
you know, where we need to make things happen. We
are athletes on the field, but we are students of
the field. We are professionists, We are professors, we are mothers,
We take care of our families.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
We do it all, and.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
I think that's a superpower talking about the female athlete,
to be able to be versatile and just show up
in every situation in our lives and show up in
the best way to be a high level athlete out there,
to be able to push the sport forward. It's important
now to start building the platforms, to start investing on
(12:38):
the development of the game and also on the future
of the game, you know. So I truly, I truly
believe that investing in women's sports, especially in flax football
now as the big movement it is.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
It's the way.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
To at the end of the day, help society evolve,
you know, to change the narrative for boys and girls,
especially women leaders out there, to create opportunities for us
to achieve our dreams on and off the field.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
So yes, it's.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
A time to invest in women's sports to make it professional.
I dream of being able to, you know, contribute to
for that to happen, so one day women like me
can make a living from playing the sport we love.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Do you know if the men's flag football team in
Mexico makes money or do you think it's just that
the sport itself needs to grow in order for anyone
to be seeing it as more of a professional opportunity.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Yeah, right now, No one, women or men make money
from the game. I think it's a matter of keep
pushing the sport to grow so we can create those
opportunities and that investment to come. So yeah, right now
it's a dream and the next goal for men and
(13:59):
women and in the game.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Yeah. Okay, So the twenty twenty eight Olympics are going
to be a huge part of that. What are you
focusing on as a team, as Team Mexico in the
years leading up to that.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
It's going to be a tough couple of years. As
a game keeps evolving, countries start investing more and more
in their athletes in the development of the game. So
for us, it's all about trying to keep up and
keep evolving, not only with our players, renewing the team,
getting new talent, scouting new talent, and making sure we
(14:31):
have the best of the best representing our country. But
at the same time, since we are a big reference
in the game, it's kind of like how we continue
to change the game, like the way it is played,
to be more creative on what we do on the field.
(14:52):
We know that all the teams kind of like.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
Study what we do and.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
That makes it a little bit more challenging but exciting
at the same time.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
So I think for.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
As right now as in Mexico, it's all about trying
to find the way to maintain ourselves at the highest
level and stronger the flatoforms we have in our country,
to make sure our athletes have their right support to
(15:25):
develop themselves on the field.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Yeah. Absolutely, it feels like you are representing this model
of a super successful athlete, but you also get a
lot of support because of your endorsements and the brands
you're working with. You're going to compete in the SI
Games coming up in October with a bunch of other
big names across different sports. How do you balance what
you want to do to grow the game and do
your flag football camp that you did with kids with
(15:52):
under Armor, and really spreading the word about it and
helping make it as successful as it can be in
the Olympics, versus you personally building your own brand and
figuring out your own career.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
It's a big challenge to kind of like balance preparing
myself as an athlete on the field to represent my
country and at the same time doing everything you just
mentioned of the field as well being an ambassador of
the game, trying to help to continue keep opening doors
and platforms for girls around the world. But you know,
(16:23):
I think I've been super lucky and blessed to be
able to connect with amazing people on the way, people
like you, Sara, we met at the Gatorade Advisory Board,
like villageing King that now is an amazing mentor for
me and more other amazing women in the sports and
(16:43):
on the business area.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
So kind of like I can.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Have a little bit of direction, but not only that inspiration.
At the same time, I think one reason that keeps
me motivate it and inspire is just being part of
this amazing community to see that we are very aware
nowadays that everything we do was women on and off
(17:10):
the field has a bigger impact than ourselves.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
How we all are.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
A the community, committed to change the game, to change
the narrative and just build opportunities. So yes, that's what
has been keeping me up in this journey, and I
just feel very blessed to have an amazing team around me,
my family and the people that love me.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
You're doing an excellent job. It is a lot of
weight on your shoulders, but as much as you do
the things that do benefit you, they're also telling a
story for people everywhere about the sport and about what
women can achieve in it. So I'm just really really
impressed by you. I have one last question. I'd love
for you to tell the story about the twenty twenty
three Super Bowl commercial you were in. It was called
(17:52):
Run with It promoting flag football and looking ahead to
it being an Olympic sport. You were in it with
billyje and King, Jalen Ramsey, Aiden Hutchinson, Davante Adams, all
these stars, but you had no idea that you were
the star of the ad. Oh.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
Yes, that story never gets old And it all started,
you know, the day I got a call from the
NFL pretty much like asking me if I wanted to
be part of this Super Bowl commercial.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
To be honest, at that moment.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
I didn't kind of like believed that what they were
really telling me. I couldn't believe, Like, are you asking
me to be the star of the commercial? I thought,
to be honest, I thought that I was just going
to be part of it.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
And I was like, I don't care.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
I'm gonna be happy if I have my you know,
second of fame right there.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
That's gonna be amazing.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
So that's kind of like what I told my parents
as well before flying to LA to shoot the commercial.
And when I got to LA, it was five days,
twelve hours a day shoot, so I kind of like
realized how big it was, and I realized that no, I.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
Wasn't part of the commercial. I was a star of
the commercial.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
And it was just an amazing moment, a big moment
for me and my sport to be spotlighted at a
stage like this.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Yeah, I mean, you're it, Tianna. You're it. You're walking
the sb's red carpet, You're ambassador for brands, you're you know,
going to USTA Player balls, You're doing all the things
the GQ Men of the Year Awards. It just feels
like wherever there's something going on, Dianna is there representing
herself in the sport. So just keep it up. I
(19:31):
know you probably need a nap every once in a while,
so take those naps when you need them. But it's
just been so impressive to watch you continuing to succeed.
So good luck. Even though you keep beating Team USA,
I'm still rooting for you.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Oh, thank you so much. Amazing things are dead to
Goma for this sport worldwide. I'm very excited to see
where Flappable is getting and all these next generations of
female leaders that now come dream bigger than ever. So
thank you for having me here, thank you for continuing rooting.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
For awesome the game.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
And there's a lot still that we have to do
to continue opening those doors.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
So yeah, I'm just excited for what's yet to come.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Thanks again to Deanna for the chat. We have to
take another break when we come back. Belcrow is hard.
Welcome Backslaces. We love that you're listening, but we wanted
to get in the game every day too, So here's
our good game play of the day. Follow Deanna on
social media. We've linked to our Instagram in the show notes,
(20:36):
and while you're at it, check out some of the
highlights of her playing flag football. We've linked to a
video featuring the final between Mexico and the US at
the recent World Games. We always love to hear from you,
so send us an email good game at Wondermedia neetwork
dot com or leave us a voicemail at eight seven
two two O four fifty seventy and don't forget to subscribe,
rate and review. Just scroll on down to those stars,
(20:58):
click five and write us nice little review. It's really
helpful to the show and it's super easy watch quote
unquote Playing flag football in elementary school gym class rating
five out of ten missing velcrow flags review. Now, I
didn't play much flag football in school, but producer Alex
says that her school offered it, though it never exactly
(21:19):
went to plan. The gym teacher would end up spending
most of the class tracking down the velcrow tails aka
the flags that each kid had to clip onto their belt,
But before you could get around to explaining the layout
of the field or going over the rules, all the
kids were predictably running around already playing a big game
of Velcrow Tail Keep Away, and by the time each
team had taken its place on the field, a third
of the flags were missing. The other third had been
(21:41):
shoved down Little Timmy shorts. It was a mess. So
here's hoping your flag football experience was better than Alex's.
Now it's your turn, rate and review. Thanks for listen,
See you later this week. Good Game, Deanna, Good Game,
Team Mexico. You sun for setting before eight pm. Good
Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports production
(22:03):
in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can
find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network, our
producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our executive producers
are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan, and Emily Rudder.
Our editors are Emily Rutterer, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch, and
(22:25):
Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer is Lucy Jones. Production assistance
from Avery Loftus and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain.
Host
Sarah Spain
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