A new reality TV show is in development that will feature gay flag football teams from across the country.

Currently called “Flags,” the show is being produced by game1 in partnership with Greenleaf Productions and Moore Street Productions.

A couple people familiar with the National Gay Flag Football League, and its annual Gay Bowl event, are heavily involved. Brenton Metzler is a longtime TV producer and has played in the Gay Bowl with Los Angeles, winning two titles. Seth Greenleaf is a theater producer in New York who plays with the New York Gay Flag Football League. He previously produced the feature-length documentary film, F(l)ag Football, about Gay Bowl X in Phoenix. It’s available on Amazon.

The partners will again be at Gay Bowl, again being hosted in Phoenix, this weekend to capture the action.

“Flags is precisely the right story at the right time with themes that are more culturally relevant than ever before and hopefully providing the ability to create an imprint on society that needs to be made right now,” said Greg Economou, founder and CEO of game1.

Given the attention Las Vegas Raiders DE Carl Nassib has brought to the issue of out gay athletes in football, telling the stories of LGBTQ weekend warriors who have helped shift perceptions in their own communities, not to mention the intense competition, could be great TV.

“Our goal with Flags is to create a piece of storytelling that is indeed universal, showing that anyone and everyone can compete at the highest levels of sport, while enduring and enjoying all that goes along with those efforts,” Economou said.

Ultimately, producers hope to transcend genders and sexual orientations and use the unifying aspects of sports to bring together an audience that bridge our differences.

“This story is bigger than flag football or even sports,” Economou said. “It is about humanity and the push to create unity and pride throughout sports and society.”

For Metzler, the series is a dream project.

“This is an absolute dream come true for me,” he said. “I’m just so happy to be able to help the league in the one way I know I can. That league saved and changed me just like it does everybody.”

It’s a big deal for the entire NGFFL.

“Having a series like this can widen the reach for LGBTQ+ communities and promote LGBTQ+ athletes across the world, and for people that don’t see themselves in a sport might find a sense of belonging and a renewed sense of connectivity in something they really love as well,” said NGFFL commissioner Shigeo Iwamiya.

We’ll be following the development of this series.

The New York Warriors huddle at Gay Bowl XI.
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