Future of Division III

[WUPHF]

I've been assiduously studying women's flag football games on YouTube in preparation for North Park's WFF debut this spring, trying to learn the lingo and see how the sport-specific rules shake out in actual game play so that I can call the games without stumbling around and looking like a tyro.

What I've mostly learned is that the Mexicans are really, really good at women's flag football, and Diana Flores is the Tom Brady of this sport.

I just assumed that flag football was mostly driven by the American suburbs, but that is interesting.

Mexico has a surprisingly long and proud history of men's college football, but I really had no idea that they were so dominant in flag football.

Apparently, flag football is also coming to the Olympics or maybe has already been an Olympic sport.

I love that North Park has a Norwegian on the squad.

Yes, Aurora Drangevag is NPU flag football's version of what I call the "Random Scandinavian Factor" of North Park athletics. Seemingly every sport on campus that doesn't involve bats and gloves has to have at least one Norwegian or Swede on the roster, regardless of whether or not the sport is popular in Scandinavia -- and at one point a few years ago we did indeed have a Swedish baseball player.

Because Aurora's high school was named after Edvard Grieg, I'm hoping to talk NPU's flag football head coach Ramon Palma into having the Vikings run out onto the field before games with "In the Hall of the Mountain King" blaring over the P.A.

That is awesome!

[Gregory Sager]

I've been assiduously studying women's flag football games on YouTube in preparation for North Park's WFF debut this spring, trying to learn the lingo and see how the sport-specific rules shake out in actual game play so that I can call the games without stumbling around and looking like a tyro.

What I've mostly learned is that the Mexicans are really, really good at women's flag football, and Diana Flores is the Tom Brady of this sport.

I just assumed that flag football was mostly driven by the American suburbs, but that is interesting.

Mexico has a surprisingly long and proud history of men's college football, but I really had no idea that they were so dominant in flag football.

Apparently, flag football is also coming to the Olympics or maybe has already been an Olympic sport.

I love that North Park has a Norwegian on the squad.

Yes, Aurora Drangevag is NPU flag football's version of what I call the "Random Scandinavian Factor" of North Park athletics. Seemingly every sport on campus that doesn't involve bats and gloves has to have at least one Norwegian or Swede on the roster, regardless of whether or not the sport is popular in Scandinavia -- and at one point a few years ago we did indeed have a Swedish baseball player.

Because Aurora's high school was named after Edvard Grieg, I'm hoping to talk NPU's flag football head coach Ramon Palma into having the Vikings run out onto the field before games with "In the Hall of the Mountain King" blaring over the P.A.

What about team handball?

Alas, it's only a club sport for now. No American college or university has a team handball varsity program.