When he first started Go Girl Flag Football, longtime Rosemount football coach Jeff Erdmann was simply trying to grow the sport at a grassroots level.
Not in his wildest dreams did he imagine that summer league would result in the Rosemount girls flag football team getting to represent Minnesota on the national stage.
That’s the reality for Rosemount this week as it will compete at the NFL Flag Football Championships in Canton, Ohio. The competition will take place from Thursday to Sunday with coverage on ESPN.
“There are going to be some great teams here,” Erdmann said. “We’re excited to see how we do against them.”
It’s fitting that Rosemount will be the representative from Minnesota considering it was a part of a pilot program put on by the Vikings last year that also featured Minnesota teams La Crescent-Hokah, Pine Island and Houston.
The smashing success of that pilot program paved the way for more than 50 teams to compete this year, with Mahtomedi defeating La Crescent-Hokah to win the state championship last month at TCO Stadium.
“Honestly, seeing the growth of the sport at such an exponential level has been more than we could’ve hoped for,” said Emily Weinberg, coordinator of youth and high school football for the Vikings. “It’s been really inspiring to see how much passion there is for it across the state. I can’t even predict what next year is going to look like. We’re so excited about where we’re at, and where we’ll continue to go.”
It’s a good bet Rosemount will be smack dab in the middle of the conversation as the sport continues to make strides in Minnesota. The group earned the opportunity to compete at the NFL Flag Football Championships by winning the Vikings Regional Tournament in Blaine on May 10.
“That was a great experience for us,” Erdmann said. “We lost our first game, and it was fun to see how we responded to that. We knew we were the underdogs, and we ended up coming back and beating the No. 2 seed and the No. 1 seed to get here. Those are the moments that they are going to remember forever.”
As she reflected on her journey through the sport, Rosemount quarterback Talia Vescio brought up how it all started back in middle school when she decided to sign up for the Go Girl Flag Football. Now she and her teammates are preparing to step into the spotlight.
“We’re ecstatic,” Vescio said. “This is probably the most excited I’ve ever been for something. It’s unbelievable to me how much growth there’s been in such a short amount of time. We’re glad we get to be a part of it.”
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