CANTON, Ohio — America has had football fever for more than half a century, but the rest of the world has only caught the bug in the past decade or so.
With the NFL playing games in London, Germany, Mexico City, and other international locations, interest in the sport has grown worldwide to the point that beginning in 2028 in Los Angeles, the summer Olympics will feature flag football.
With the anticipation of a new sport opening up, America's youth are flocking to flag football tournaments, and one of the premiere sites in the nation is ForeverLawn Sports Complex in the shadow of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. On a recent weekend in July, the entire complex was buzzing with activity.
"We have 220 teams out here today, General Manager Chris Stiepock told 3News. "There are eight full-length football fields out here at ForeverLawn and we've got 'em all cranking today."
The facility in Canton actually cranks full speed six months out of the year. While flag football has been the focal point recently, soccer and lacrosse tournaments are also held here regularly.
"We want as many athletes to come through here as we can, Stiepock said. "So we've got large soccer tournaments rolling through and big lacrosse tournaments, and we pretty much go from about March all the way into November."
And it's not just the games for the athletes and their families when they come, they have the opportunity to get in touch with the history of the sport as well.
"They can go see the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which is a fantastic facility and a great museum. And then there's restaurants here. There's the 22,000-seat Tom Benson stadium right there. And then we also have a huge indoor athletic facility."
With four years to go before the Olympics, add flag football. There's a pretty good chance players from the Future US team and international teams will pass through Canton on their way to Olympic glory.
"This place is growing bigger and bigger every year," Stiepock said. "And I think more and more teams are going to figure out this is a great place to go for a tournament."