Lee esta historia en español aquí.
It may have been Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts battling it out for their respective teams during Sunday’s Super Bowl, but another quarterback is also capturing the hearts and minds of football fans: the evasive, lightning-quick Diana Flores.
She may have been relatively unknown beforehand, but Flores’ profile is only continuing to grow, as evidenced by her starring role in the National Football League’s “Run With It” commercial.
The spot is meant to highlight women driving the sport forward, focusing on flag football and highlighting Flores’ silky moves. It features NFL players Sauce Gardner, Cam Hayward, Jalen Ramsey, Aidan Hutchinson, Devante Adams and Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelley chasing Flores and attempting to take one of her flags. At one point, Billie Jean King helps her get away.
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Flag football continues to grow in popularity (California recently approved a plan to make it a girls' high school sport), and at only 24 years old, Flores will likely be a fixture in the sport for years to come. Here are four facts to know about her:
Diana Flores is a World Games gold medalist
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The 2022 World Games, held in Birmingham, Alabama, for the first time featured flag football. The gold medal game saw host United States facing off against Mexico, with Flores leading her team to a dominant victory.
In that championship game, Flores completed 20 of her 28 passes for 210 yards and four touchdowns as Mexico trounced the U.S. by a score of 39-6.
She has been a mainstay for Mexico’s team since she was a teen
She may still be in her 20s, but Flores is nearly a 10-year veteran of her national team.
Flores was first called up as a 16-year-old in 2014 and has featured for the Mexico Women's Flag National Team at international competitions in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021 and 2022.
She started playing at 8 years old
Flores began playing the sport as an 8-year-old in her hometown of Ciudad de Mexico, she told NFL en Espanñol.
“My dad was the one that brought me to my first flag football practice. And my dad used to play football when he was young, so he always connected with me with this dream of being better and better,” she told the NFL.
At the time, Flores said, there weren’t many age groups, meaning she played alongside and against 16 and 17-year-olds. There’s video of the diminutive 8-year-old competing against girls not just twice her age but also twice her size.
Flores is trying to bring flag football to the 2028 Olympics
The NFL and International Federation of American Football are actively campaigning for flag football to be played at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Part of that strategy involves Flores, who has been chosen as an ambassador in the effort.
Besides the aforementioned commercial, Flores was also named as an offensive coordinator for this year’s NFL Pro Bowl Games, so it’s safe to say she will continue to feature prominently in the charm offensive to make flag football an Olympic sport.
