WOODLAND HILLS : Flag Football Tourney Could Draw 25,000

It’s being billed as a super bowl of another sort.

Couch potatoes are expected to turn out en masse for the first National Football League Air-It-Out flag football tournament at Pierce College this weekend. About 25,000 people are expected to attend the two-day competition.

Flag football is a variation of professional football played with modified rules. Instead of tackling opponents, players try to pull one of two flags attached to a belt worn by each player.

“It gives weekend couch potatoes an opportunity to get out to play ball,” said Rodger Bailey, national project director for the flag football tournament.

The competition is open to people of all ages and abilities, ranging from college football players to “armchair quarterbacks,” those who sit in front of their television set and flip the remote control, said Bailey.

However, dubbed the “super bowl of flag football,” the event is for spectators as well.

Described as a football festival, events will include a field goal kicking contest where fans can test their skills. There is the Fastest Man Challenge where spectators can measure how fast they run compared to the records of professional football players.

The prerequisite stadium food--hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries and soft drinks--will be sold.

Merchandise from one of the major sponsors, Champion, will be sold along with NFL products.

The 30-minute games will be played simultaneously on more than 20 miniature football fields. For the $100 entry fee per team, each of the five players receives a T-shirt and gets to play three games.

More than 300 teams have preregistered to compete in the tournament. The winner will play the winning team from the UC Irvine competition, scheduled for next weekend. The winner of that game will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to compete in Boca Beach Club in Florida. Proceeds will go to local charities.

“If you never had a chance to play in the NFL, you can come out and play for the NFL 4-on-4 Flag Football,” said Bailey.