What is flag football and why is it a thriving sport in Cebu?

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Flag football, a booming sport that is starting to be recognized by Cebuanos.

On August 10, 2023 in an interview for CDN Digital’s Sportstalk, a group of notable players explained how the thriving sport works.

John Carmel Esquierdo from Cebu City, who is a veteran player since 2012 and the current commissioner at Cebu Flag Football League (CFFL) and owns the team RAMS and Cebu Niños, describes flag football as a variant of American football.

“The difference between the two is that flag football and American football does follow the same rules, flag football only lacks the physicality of the sport”, said Esquierdo.

“Instead of having helmets, pads, and tackling of players, in flag football, attacking the players is not allowed”, he added.

Instead of taking down the player, an opponent must aim to remove flags strapped on a ball carrier’s waist.

But since we Cebuanos love to play around and like to have a little bit of physical contact, they tweaked the rules a little bit, he explained.

The sport that is now being played on schools also consists of 9 players on both teams, however it can also consist of 8 or 7 players on both teams.

Esquierdo looked back at his grade school years when flag football was still starting and flourishing.

“Since I’ve been playing since pag 2012, ang flag football g’yud diri sa Cebu kay kato’ng maski siguro grade school pako gasugod na g’yud na diri, pero dili g’yud siya ing-ana ka famous pa”, he stated.

The commissioner confessed that he did not have any idea what he was getting in to.

“Wa man ko kaybaw unsa akong apilan sa Intramurals di man ko ganahan ma spectator, mag-basket ‘ta ko nya grabeha luto naman daan, so unsa man ako apilan? so nisud ko ani nga sport,” said Esquierdo.

“Until such time nga ga sige ko’g duwa, na inlove ko sa game kay nakita man gud nako ang game nga grabe kay siya mo value sa camaraderie,” he added.

Commit all the way

Esquierdo emphasized how important consistency is in team practices, saying that if you start to commit to the sport, then you should commit all the way.

Another flag football veteran player since 2013, Katrina San Ramon, whose position in the sport is the wide receiver, D-line/ O-line, also shared with CDN Digital her experience and how she learned about the sport.

San Ramon stated that she learned flag football because of her classmate, who was also her crush, and gave the sport a try.

“But then, I started to love the sport more than my crush so that’s why I continued playing”, said San Ramon.

Moreover, as a sport that is dominated by male, San Ramon doesn’t feel intimidated by the community since it is very inclusive for women.

“You don’t see people looking down at women playing the sport, actually a lot of the players would look up to the women who play the sport” she added.

Another guest, Hilde Rosales, a rookie flag football player who has been playing the sport for almost a year for the teams Benny’s Bulls, Chargers, and Cebu Niños, was awarded as best cornerback for the Rookie Cup recently this year.

Rosales revealed that he has been a fan of American football since junior highschool and wasn’t aware that flag football was already present in Cebu. 

“Wala ko kahibalo nga naa’y flag sa Cebu, nya sukad ato is feel nako ang katong pag fan nako sa football is diha rajud kutob ba, fan lang jud,” said Rosales.

Friendly community

The rookie player said that he found out that Cebu already partakes in playing flag football through a mutual friend’s Instagram story from the University of San Carlos (USC) which led him to join the Intercollege competition who then competed for the Rookie Cup competition.

The CFFL encourages anyone who wishes to learn more about the sport and possibly join the team to never hesitate to reach out to their group since it’s for free and assures that they have a friendly community. 

Esquierdo also advised those who are interested to join to bring extra clothes and water because the CFFL is currently conducting an “open play” for beginners who are willing to be trained. 

Furthermore, there will be a 2-day event for all women’s competition this upcoming September 16 and 17 that will be held at Dynamic Herb Sports Incorporated at Cebu South Coastal Road.

Meanwhile, the all men’s competition will be on October this year with no specific dates yet.

/bmjo

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