Ava Allen at the NFL's Glow Up Game at Moscone Center 2.4.2026

Ava Allen has spent the past three years at the center of flag football’s meteoric rise in the Bay Area. Now, with the Super Bowl in town, the Menlo School standout stepped onto her biggest stage yet.

On Wednesday, Allen suited up for the Glow-Up Classic at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, just up the freeway from where the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots will meet in Super Bowl LX on Sunday. The showcase game, part of the weeklong Super Bowl festivities, brought together 20 of the Bay Area’s top female flag football players on the same field that hosted the Pro Bowl Games the day before.

Under UV lights and in glowing jerseys and gear, the players turned the exhibition into a celebration of the sport’s fast-growing profile. Allen and Team Pink were coached by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, while Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love guided Team Green. Both NFL quarterbacks were joined on the sidelines by stars Puka Nacua (Rams), Michael Pittman Jr. (Colts) and Kyle Hamilton (Ravens), who offered support, encouragement and a few dance moves of their own.

“It’s good to see all those girls​, get recognized and be able to play with them,” Allen said.

​Since her freshman year when former 49ers quarterbacks John Paye and Hall of Famer Steve Young helped launch the team to today with Young as a Menlo assistant coach, Allen has gotten guidance from plenty of NFL coaches.

“Learning from Steve during the year, and I know he’s always in my corner, always there for me, so just to be able to have that connection is great. And then being able to play under Brock Purdy and some of the other guys I watch play every weekend, that’s super awesome.”

Allen said Purdy’s message was simple: relax and enjoy the moment.

“He just wanted to see us go out there, play and have fun,” she said. “A lot of us were a little nervous — all those people there — but at the end of the day, he said this game was to highlight us as flag football players and to showcase our skills. He told us to go out there, play loose, have fun, and he was dancing with us on the sidelines. It was just really great to have him there.”

Ava Allen at the NFL's Glow Up Game at Moscone Center 2.4.2026The players never did teach Purdy how to Dougie, but there was no shortage of dancing, celebrating and laughter throughout the night. After the teams were outfitted, the lights went down and the stadium glowed with neon jerseys, the atmosphere shifted from exhibition to event.

“Once the stadium went dark it added to the fun,” Allen said. “It made the atmosphere so much cooler.”

For Allen, the night ranks alongside winning the CCS Open Division title with her Menlo teammates as one of her defining football memories.​ She trained last week with Menlo Head Coach Noah Lubarsky in preparation.

“The whole thing — this has to be my favorite experience,” she said. “Obviously it’s super special and a memory that’s going to stick with me. It was kind of like getting a glimpse into what professional football players experience, which is super cool.”

Allen said the ​e​ntire experience was unforgettable, but it was the small details that she keeps replaying.

“During the game, I think any time I caught a pass or made a pass, those little things are going to stick with me forever,” she said.

Flag football at Menlo was introduced just three seasons ago, with significant rule changes each year as the sport evolved and gained footing. In that short span, the game has gone from a new offering on campus to a rapidly growing sport nationally, highlighted most recently by Nebraska becoming the first Power Four program to add flag football as a varsity sport. The San Francisco 49ers in partnership with Young, and his Forever Young Foundation, have started “Football is Made for Girls,” an initiative to expand access to the sport in the Bay Area and beyond.

“Freshman year, I don’t think that we could have imagined the game growing so big,” Allen said. “It just shows you that anything is possible.”

Ava Allen at the NFL's Glow Up Game at Moscone Center 2.4.2026