There’s one thing unmistakable in the way in which Bijan Robinson talks about flag soccer — like a child remembering the primary time he touched the ball, and the primary time the world slowed down round him. And now, as he readies for one more NFL season in Atlanta, his goals stretch even additional — to 5 rings, an American flag stitched to his chest, and a recreation he’s identified since childhood performed on the largest stage on the earth.
On Monday, Robinson stood on the Falcons’ apply discipline, sweat on his forehead and risk in his voice. “You at all times wish to play to your nation,” he mentioned, smiling as he glanced towards a future not but written. “And I’d love to point out my talent set on that kind of stage.” That stage is the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and flag soccer — a sport that when stuffed offseason afternoons — could now supply a brand new, golden chapter.
From Yard to Olympic Highlight
Flag soccer isn’t new to Robinson. Lengthy earlier than he bulldozed SEC defenders or danced previous NFL linebackers, he was ducking and dodging in Arizona parks, chasing daylight with a Velcro belt swaying at his hips. The sport, in some ways, raised him.
BIJAN ROBINSON IS THE MOST TALENTED RUNNING BACK IN THE #NFL.
🤯
Particular-athlete.pic.twitter.com/CNzxMZTcig
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) June 3, 2025
And now, with NFL homeowners greenlighting participant participation within the Olympic model of the game, Robinson’s creativeness has firm. Hypothesis has already bloomed. May Justin Jefferson moss a complete nation? Would Tyreek Hill even be seen to defenders from Denmark? Most NFL stars have smiled and waved off the concept — Mahomes, Stafford, and others citing timing and threat. However Robinson? He’s leaning in.
“It’s going to return all the way down to our schedule and the place it lies,” he admitted. “However I’d like to play in that recreation if given the chance.” For him, it’s greater than a gimmick. It’s an opportunity to be a part of one thing greater — to be a bridge between the sport he loves and the world watching.
Respecting the Roots, Reaching for the Sky
Nonetheless, Robinson understands the burden of getting into another person’s area. For years, flag soccer has thrived as its personal self-discipline, nurtured by athletes like Darrell Doucette III — a four-time world champion who lately voiced concern about NFL gamers overshadowing the group that constructed the sport’s basis.
Robinson doesn’t shrug that off. He listens. “Clearly, there’s loads of nice flag soccer gamers out right here, and that’s all they play,” he mentioned. Then, crouching low to the turf, he demonstrated the uncanny agility of flag specialists. “They’ll get this low to the bottom… simply not get touched. No NFL participant is doing that.”
Atlanta #Falcons operating again Bijan Robinson says he would like to play flag soccer within the Olympics for the USA. @3ptcnvrsn #NFL #RiseUp #3ptcnvrsn pic.twitter.com/3SkcXurU19
— Raphael Haynes (@rahaynes_) June 2, 2025
It was each a praise and a confession — that whereas he brings energy, velocity, and imaginative and prescient, there’s a magnificence in flag soccer that belongs to those that made it their very own. His hope is to be a part of it, not take it over. And if he does get the nod, Robinson desires to earn it — not simply with identify recognition, however with respect.
Eyes on LA, Toes in Atlanta
Simply days in the past, Robinson was abroad, taking within the Champions League ultimate and watching a flag soccer camp unfold in Germany. He noticed children flying down the sector, eyes vast with pleasure, flags fluttering at their sides. He even joined in.
“They had been taking part in effectively,” he mentioned with a smile. “It made me completely happy to see how enthusiastic they had been.” His admiration was actual — and so was his aggressive spark. Requested if he bought juked, Robinson merely smiled, like a person who is aware of higher than to reply a query he doesn’t like.
There’s an extended street forward. Seasons to play. Video games to win. And someplace, down that winding path, the Olympic torch glints on the horizon. “I’m simply excited to see how a lot it grows as much as that time,” he mentioned. “If Coach Raheem lets me go, I’ll do it.”
For now, Bijan Robinson remains to be a Falcon. However in his coronary heart, he’s already chasing one thing extra — chasing flags, chasing moments, chasing the celebs.