2x Gold Medalist Laneah Bryan on USA Flag Football’s Olympic Debut in LA Olympics 2028

Summary

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Stay Tranquilo Podcast

Episode: 2x Gold Medalist Laneah Bryan on USA Flag Football’s Olympic Debut in LA Olympics 2028
Date: February 23, 2026
Host: Stay Tranquilo Network
Guest: Laneah Bryan

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Episode Overview

This episode features a vibrant conversation with Laneah Bryan, a two-time gold medalist and defensive back (DB) for Team USA Women’s Flag Football. With the sport’s upcoming Olympic debut in the 2028 LA Games, Bryan shares her journey from basketball to flag football, the rapid growth and rising visibility of women’s flag football, and her excitement about representing on home soil. The episode radiates positivity and is packed with insights into competing at the highest level while celebrating the expanding opportunities for female athletes.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Laneah’s Athletic Journey & Transition to Flag Football

• Basketball Roots: Laneah grew up loving football, but with limited opportunities for girls, she pursued basketball, playing at the collegiate level for the University of New Mexico.
  • “I loved football…there wasn’t space and opportunity for girls to play flag football. So I played basketball…then after that is when I transitioned to flag football.” (01:47)
• How Basketball Helped: Her basketball background supported her development as a flag football player through transferable skills like lateral movement and hand-eye coordination.
  • “A lot of it does translate...I do think that background for sure helped me.” (01:47)

The Rise of Women’s Flag Football

• Sport’s Explosive Growth: Over four years with Team USA, Laneah has seen the sport skyrocket in popularity, visibility, and opportunity.
  • “It’s insane. Like, it’s skyrocketed. I don’t know if you guys know, but me and a couple of my teammates are signed with Under Armour and we actually just had a commercial come out today.” (02:45)
  • Marked growth: representation deals (with Under Armour), media opportunities (Super Bowl Media Row), and new avenues for female athletes.

Olympic Debut & Representation

• Historic 2028 LA Olympics: Laneah expresses immense excitement about competing when women’s flag football debuts at the Summer Games — especially since it will be on U.S. soil.
  • “A million and one [on the excitement scale]...flag football making its debut in LA. It’s poetic.” (03:31–03:39)
• Facing International Competition: Team USA regularly competes against strong international teams including Mexico, Canada, Austria, Spain, and China.
  • “Mexico’s a really good team. Canada is really good. They have an amazing quarterback. Austria is really good...China, they’ve gotten to where they’re training, like, full year.” (04:05)
• Sport’s Global Expansion: Almost every country now has a women’s flag football team, and more are joining rapidly.
  • “It’s just growing at an insane rate right now.” (04:29)

Advice to Young Girls & Her Younger Self

• Inspiration & Representation: Laneah reflects on what her younger self would think of her achievements and encourages young girls to pursue their dreams, even if opportunities aren’t immediately available.
  • “Younger me, I think if she could see where I’m at now, oh, my gosh, she would be over the moon...it’s a dream come true that I didn’t know was possible...Now, the sky’s the limit.” (06:24)
  • “I just hope that they see that and they embrace that and they know that they belong in this space.” (07:01)

DB Life: Defense, Strategy, and Mindset

• Defensive Back Tactics:
  • QB: “What’s the strategy in flag football? Locking down? Is it more zone man?”
  • Laneah: “You can do some zones, but you man a lot of the time or it’s a zone to a man very quickly...You got to have fast feet...Defense is a challenge for flag football.” (07:14–07:34)
• Celebrations: Plans to celebrate with a gritty if she gets a pick-six in the Olympics.
  • “Pick six in the Olympics?...I gritty a lot, so that’s usually my [celebration].” (07:47)
• Competitive Edge & ‘Chirping’: The DB mindset includes some good-natured trash talk.
  • “You gotta have an edge too...You gotta have a little bit of a dog in you...Yes, I do chirp. Practice, I’ll chirp with my teammates...On the field, we’re gonna talk a little bit. I will. Not too much.” (08:48–09:09)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Dreams Realized:
  “It’s a dream come true that I didn’t know was possible...just keep that dream in your heart. And now, the sky’s the limit.” — Laneah Bryan (06:24)
• On Girls’ Representation:
  “I just hope...they know that they belong in this space.” — Laneah Bryan (07:01)
• Olympic Anticipation:
  “A million and one.” [On excitement level for the Olympics] — Laneah Bryan (03:34)
• Strategy Talk:
  “You got to have fast feet...Defense is a challenge for flag football.” — Laneah Bryan (07:34)
• Chirping:
  “You gotta have an edge too...You gotta have a little bit of a dog in you.” — Laneah Bryan (08:49)

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Key Timestamps

• 01:28 – Laneah introduces herself and discusses her background in basketball and transition to flag football
• 02:45 – Conversation about the growth of women’s flag football and Under Armour commercial
• 03:34 – Laneah rates her Olympic excitement “a million and one”
• 04:05 – Discussing international competition and standout teams
• 06:24 – Reflections and advice for her younger self and aspiring young girls
• 07:14 – Breakdown of DB strategy in flag football
• 07:47 – Celebrations after a pick-six: “I gritty a lot”
• 08:48 – The art of ‘chirping’ and maintaining a competitive edge

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Tone & Takeaway

The conversation is upbeat, affirming, and laced with Laneah’s humility and passion for her sport. The hosts foster a laid-back yet motivating atmosphere perfectly in line with the Stay Tranquilo philosophy. Listeners come away inspired by Laneah’s journey, the explosion of opportunity in women’s flag football, and the promise of historic moments to come at the Olympics.

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Transcript

[Linnea Bryan]

So good, so good, so good.

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[Linnea Bryan]

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[Interviewer 1]

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[Interviewer 1]

All right, what is going on? We are here in super bowl week on Meteor Media Row Radio. But we got a great conversation today. We got Lanaya. Brian, right, pronouncing. Appreciate you for coming on.

[Linnea Bryan]

Thank you for having me.

[Interviewer 1]

Yeah, fun, fun conversation today. So tell us a little bit about yourself, where you're from, what you do.

[Linnea Bryan]

So my name is Linnea Bryan. I am a Team USA flag football player. So I play db. I'm from El Paso and I have been on the team for four years now and it's been, it's been a whirlwind.

[Interviewer 1]

Oh yeah, talk to us because I know you play, you played basketball too, right? Talk to us about that transition from being a Hooper to now playing flag football.

[Linnea Bryan]

Yeah, it's been great. So when I was little, I loved football. Like I had a football with me all the time. Got anyone who would play catch with me to play catch. But there wasn't space and opportunity for girls to play flag football. So I played basketball, loved basketball. I went on to play college basketball at the University of New Mexico. And then after that is when I transitioned to flag football. Now I will say a lot of it does translate, I think lateral movement, hand, eye coordination. So I do think that background for sure helped me. But now I'm getting to live out a dream, so. So I love football. Rider, die football.

[Interviewer 1]

Oh yeah, that's awesome. Are you still playing at all any basketball or is it just strictly football now?

[Linnea Bryan]

Somebody asked me this question yesterday and I actually thought about it. I haven't played basketball for, like, three, four years now. Oh, wow.

[Interviewer 2]

That part of a move?

[Linnea Bryan]

Like, no pickup, nothing.

[Interviewer 1]

Damn.

[Linnea Bryan]

So I've been locked in on football.

[Interviewer 1]

That's awesome. That's awesome. So talk to us about that whole experience. You said you've been doing it for four years now. Like, how has the growth of only flag football but women's flag football bin?

[Linnea Bryan]

Yeah, it's insane. Like, it's skyrocketed. I don't know if you guys know, but me and a couple of my teammates are signed with Under Armour and we actually just had a commercial come out today. Oh, yeah, it's the Click Clack. They're bringing it back. And so we did a Click Clack commercial. So it's insane. Like, it's like every single day I do something. I'm here at Media Row at Super bowl and I'm like, this is the coolest thing I've ever done.

[Interviewer 1]

Yeah.

[Linnea Bryan]

Coolest thing. I never thought flag football would bring me here, but it has. And so it's. It's skyrocketing and I feel like 20, 28. It's going to be insane.

[Interviewer 1]

Yeah. When does.

[Interviewer 2]

When does that commercial come out?

[Linnea Bryan]

It actually came out today.

[Interviewer 1]

Came out this morning.

[Linnea Bryan]

It's National Women's and Girls in Sports Day.

[Interviewer 2]

Hell, yeah.

[Interviewer 1]

Hell, yeah.

[Linnea Bryan]

So, yeah.

[Interviewer 2]

Oh, let's go.

[Interviewer 1]

Congrats.

[Linnea Bryan]

That's why I came out today.

[Interviewer 2]

That's awesome.

[Interviewer 1]

That's awesome.

[Interviewer 2]

So, so the.

[Linnea Bryan]

How.

[Interviewer 2]

On a scale from one to a million, how excited are you to play? Because that's huge.

[Linnea Bryan]

A million and one. Yeah.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah. That is awesome.

[Interviewer 1]

The Olympics is in la, right?

[Linnea Bryan]

Louisiana. That's what's so cool about it. Home soil, so. And it's so historical, Right. Coliseum, all that stuff. So flag football making its debut in la. It's poetic.

[Interviewer 2]

So have you played like, like, other. Like, other countries already?

[Linnea Bryan]

Like, in terms, like, been on the team four years, so we played against. I mean, you name a country, probably bet against them.

[Interviewer 2]

Who's the hardest opponent or your toughest matchup?

[Linnea Bryan]

Mexico's a really good team. Canada is really good. They have an amazing quarterback. Austria is really good. They play a certain style that's pretty hard. Spain's getting really good. China, they've gotten to where they're training, like, full year with flag football, so they're. They're on the come up. There's a lot of really good talent out there.

[Interviewer 1]

So does every. Pretty much every country at this point has a woman's flag football team.

[Linnea Bryan]

Almost every country. I don't know the number, but There's a lot. And there's a lot of emerging countries that are creating teams, and so it's just growing at an insane rate right now. That's.

[Interviewer 1]

That's impressive. That's sick.

[Linnea Bryan]

That's sick.

[Interviewer 1]

It is crazy. I grew up playing flag football, and then, you know, it kind of went into Pop Warner tackle football and then high school football. But flag football is such, like, a. A great sport overall. Like, my best childhood memories, I played with this guy, actually. We had an undefeated season one year.

[Linnea Bryan]

Okay.

[Interviewer 1]

But we were, like, defensive lockdown.

[Interviewer 2]

Reggie, I just. Sol. Let's go, grandpa. Wait, you did. Yep. On Carvana. Just put in the license plate, answered a few questions, got an offer in minutes. Easier than setting up that new digital picture frame. You don't say. Yeah, they're even picking it up tomorrow. Talk about fast. Wow. Way to go. So, about that picture frame. Ah, forget about it. Until Carvana makes one, I'm not interested.

[Linnea Bryan]

Car selling made easy on Carvana. Pickup fees may apply.

[Interviewer 1]

Team, I swear to God. Because it was. It was too hot. It's two hives, right? We, I think, went. I don't know how many games where we didn't give up a point.

[Linnea Bryan]

Okay. Hear that? USA Football.

[Interviewer 1]

Yeah.

[Linnea Bryan]

There's a pipeline. Maybe we'll both be there. Yeah.

[Interviewer 1]

Yeah. No, it's sick. It's. It's awesome. For you, obviously, like, you mentioned, like, being able to ride the momentum of. Of the growth of the game, but not only the game, but females. Right. And women in the sport, obviously, there's been a big movement around just females in sports overall. And being able to now have this platform, I think, is huge. And you. Like you said you get to do stuff like this, right? Yeah. So my question to you off of that is, like, what would you, 1. Tell your youngest self? Like, and being able to say, like, hey, look at me now. And a similar girl at the same age now, like, aspiring to be someone like yourself.

[Linnea Bryan]

Yeah. So great question. Younger me, I think if she could see where I'm at now, oh, my gosh, she would be over the moon. Like, I was obsessed with football. So, like, I always tell people, it's like it's a dream come true that I didn't know was possible, you know, and so I would just tell her to stay with that passion, you know, there might not be space, there might not be opportunity for it now, but just keep that dream in your heart. And now, I mean, the sky's the limit. And now for the generation of girls coming up, you know, I Hope they see the representation now. I mean, we had a commercial with Under Armour come out today.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah.

[Interviewer 1]

That's epic.

[Linnea Bryan]

So the representation and the opportunities are there for them. So I just hope that they see that and they embrace that and they know that they belong in this space and they belong in the space.

[Interviewer 1]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. You're db, right?

[Linnea Bryan]

Db. Yes.

[Interviewer 1]

So what's the strategy in flag football? Locking down? Is it more zone man? Like.

[Linnea Bryan]

So that's a great question. I'm glad you asked. Yeah. Because it's funny, when people come to tackle, they're like, how do you guard in flag? Because, like, you can't touch them, you can't press them. There's no contact.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah.

[Linnea Bryan]

So it is. You can do some zones, but you man a lot of the time or it's a zone to a man very quickly.

[Interviewer 1]

Okay.

[Linnea Bryan]

So you got to have fast feet. You got to be able to move with them. And it's. Defense is a challenge for flag football.

[Interviewer 2]

If you have a pick six in the Olympics, what's your. What's going to be your go to

[Linnea Bryan]

celebration six in the Olympics? I mean, I. I gritty a lot, so that's usually my.

[Interviewer 1]

Go to gritty. Solid.

[Linnea Bryan]

I'll probably, you know, do a little spin with the ball or something and then get into a gritty. That's usually what I do. But who knows, by then I might have a different ce, but pick six in the Olympics, that's.

[Interviewer 2]

Come on, that's.

[Interviewer 1]

That's like

[Interviewer 2]

what dreams are made of out.

[Interviewer 1]

It is, yeah. Anybody in specific that you're looking forward to guarding in the Olympics?

[Linnea Bryan]

Who knows? I mean, we're two years out, so it's not too far out. But, I mean, there's great receivers everywhere and great quarterbacks everywhere. Diana's great. Canada. Sarah's great. So it's going to be a dog fight, and it's going to be. I'm really excited for the world to get to watch our sport.

[Interviewer 1]

Yeah, I'm excited to.

[Linnea Bryan]

After Olympics. After they see it. After they see. See the talent to see the plays that are happening.

[Interviewer 1]

Yeah.

[Linnea Bryan]

Like, everyone's gonna be so bodied. Yeah, it's gonna be awesome.

[Interviewer 1]

You guys chirping, too?

[Linnea Bryan]

Oh, that was my next question.

[Interviewer 2]

I was like, as a DB, like, DBs are synonymous with chirping.

[Linnea Bryan]

Like, you have to.

[Interviewer 2]

How's your chirp game?

[Linnea Bryan]

Like, DB's like, you gotta have an edge, too. I was still doing that. Like, you gotta have. You gotta have a little bit of a dog in you. Of course, different. So Yes, I do. Chirp practice. I'll chirp with my teammates. It's all fun and fun friendly on the. Off the field, but, you know, on the field. We're gonna talk a little bit. I will. Not too much.

[Commercial Announcer 1]

Yeah.

[Linnea Bryan]

A little something here.

[Interviewer 1]

Oh, man, you gotta do it.

[Linnea Bryan]

Yeah.

[Interviewer 1]

Part of the game.

[Linnea Bryan]

Gotta have that mindset.

[Interviewer 1]

Yeah. Well, appreciate you for jumping on. Super pumped for you. It's been awesome. It's a great ride. Like Diana we got to interview a couple months ago, I want to say, which was pretty cool. And she's obviously been a great advocate for the game as well. So we're hyped for you guys and rooting for you guys and excited to see the Olympics. Bring it home.

[Interviewer 2]

Bring home that gold.

[Linnea Bryan]

Yes. That's the plan. Thank you guys so much for having.

[Interviewer 1]

Appreciate it.