Sports
Finally, It's Time for Friday Night Lights
Thousands of local players, cheerleaders and parents will turn out tonight for the Friday Night Lights flag football league's "carnival."
Friday night is synonymous with football, and, across the country, cleats are being laced up at every level for the start of one of America’s favorite sports.
Today, players from Los Alamitos, Belmont Shore and Seal Beach will have a chance to show their stuff with the opening night of the Friday Night Lights flag football league season.
It all started six years ago, when Mark Broersma and Chris Ketcham couldn’t figure out what happened to their favorite childhood hobby: flag football. The question turned into a concept, which grew like wildfire, and now they find themselves running the most popular youth league in all of Orange County.
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Tonight is opening night, and Broersma expects more than 5,000 people on the grounds of Oak Middle School for the kickoff of a new season.
“Opening night is always the best,” he said. “Everyone is excited. There is a buzz in the air, and there is just something about the atmosphere that gets everyone amped up for the start of the season.”
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Across several towns, including Long Beach, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach and Rossmoor, there are more than 6,000 boys and girls participating in the league, Friday Night Lights, named after the 2004 movie and spinoff 2006 television series.
“Chris and I grew up playing a ton of flag football,” Broersma said. “I loved flag football, and I firmly believe it was one of the greatest parts of my childhood. We really felt that something was missing in the youth sports world, and the way the league has grown has proven us right. The love of flag football is within these communities and these kids.”
After posting signs in schools and across the community in 2006, 300 kids showed up. The second year, 600 kids showed up, and it then grew the following year to 900, then 1,200, and this year there are 1,500 kids signed up to play at Oak Field.
“We have reached our max in Los Alamitos,” he said. “We have 182 different teams, and we play on 15 fields every 50 minutes beginning every Friday at 4:30—we have six rounds of games. It is the fastest eight hours of my life.”
The age range is from kindergarten through eighth grade, and players include both boys and girls. Players, cheerleaders and thousands of community members gather every Friday night.
“This is like a really, really big carnival,” Broersma said. “We have food trucks, vendors, and the community just comes out in droves to support the kids and watch the games.”
One of Broersma’s favorite parts of opening night is the 18-wheel In-N-Out burger truck. He said it is a fan favorite.
“There is just something in the air. It is really indescribable,” he said. “Flag football is a great game, and people really love being a part of it. ... The kids are very competitive, and the community loves it.”
The community of Los Alamitos has been extremely supportive, Broersma said.
“We try to show our support for the community as much as they have for us. We donate and sponsor just about everything that goes on—it is a great working relationship,” he said. “With the success that we have had, we feel real strongly that giving back and supporting other causes in the city is something that makes this very cool.”
Though the league is male-dominated—95 percent of the players are boys—Broersma said that "some of the girls that play in the league are some of the best athletes in the league. Most have a strong soccer background, which gives them great speed and quickness, and they come out in flag football and do really well.”
Broersma and Ketcham had no idea the league would be such a hit.
“This has grown beyond our wildest imaginations,” he said. “We are very proud, and we are always looking for commissioners in other cities, as we feel strongly we have a great model that could work anywhere.”
Broersma said he doesn’t anticipate getting much sleep Thursday, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Seeing the kids in brand-new uniforms, playing with brand-new footballs and the smell of food and the feeling of excitement, it really is something special,” he said of opening night. “I can’t wait to get on the field and get the season under way.”
To get involved or find out more about the league, log on to losalfnl.com.
