Quarterback Row
Hamlin’s Quarterback days started nine years ago in the National Women’s Flag Football Association (NWFFA), a competitive amateur league on the East Coast. To this day Allyson, and many of her DC Divas teammates, stay tuned up by playing in the NWFFA when pro football is in its off season.
Hamlin has been the signal caller for the Divas for three full seasons. The street that Allyson grew up on could be called “Quarterback Row.” Boomer Esiason grew up down the street. Like Boomer, Allyson is a graduate of the University of Maryland.
“I grew up watching Boomer”, says Allyson, who was nine years old when Esiason was a rookie quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals. “I was a little kid looking up to him.”
Boroyan of the Bay State Warriors, like Hamlin, was very athletic while growing up. She participated in several sports in high school playing basketball, soccer, and softball. At Bentley College, she played soccer and softball.
When she tried out for the Warriors, her coaches saw those special person abilities and tapped her for the quarterback job. She has been the team’s QB for three years, and also serves as the team's General Manager.
At 5-3, she is small in size for a quarterback in this league. Boroyan is quick on her feet, and tough, though. The Warriors offense is designed for her quickness. Kimberley will often call for the option play.
Hamlin notes that one of the offensive formations in her DC Divas playbook is the wishbone. Most teams in the NWFL will use formations best suited for the run, such as the Power I, or a two tight end offense.
The Learning Game
Professional womens’ football is still in its infancy. Flag football leagues and other informal organizations have been contributing the bulk of the players who become pros. The rules are the same but in the women’s game it is the ground, not the air, where the ball moves down the field most often.
“Most teams run the ball because they are learning,” says Allison, noting that there will be a need to throw the ball more often as the Women’s side of the game matures.
“Football Fans want to see a passing game,” she says. More passing would make the games more exciting, and would draw more fans.
The fans come. More and more each year discover women’s professional football, and dream of a day that they will be eligible to try out.
A New Football Audience
Boroyan points out a growing number of girls playing in Pop Warner Football Leagues.
Hamlin knows of one thrilled eighteen year old who is now the eligible age to try out for her favorite team, the Divas.
The leagues invest a lot of time and effort in community outreach and establishing girls football programs. Some lobby the NCAA for football parity under Title IX.
It is a long way to the kind of respect and financial power that the men who occupy their positions hold today. High pay and endorsements are goal-line stands that women like Hamlin and Boroyan are pushing their sport towards, one touchdown drive at a time.
They play for the love of the game in a time when most professional athletes seem to care more about money than sport. That makes them giants in Lombardi’s book, or anyone else who understands the burning passion for football as they do.
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