<p>Watching a six-time NFL Pro Bowler being defended by a three-time Olympic gold medalist — and vice versa — is a matchup football fans aren’t used to seeing.</p>
<p>In the American Flag Football League, it’s possible.</p>
<p>On Saturday, the semifinals of the inaugural AFFL US Open of Football will be held at the Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl at Butler University.</p>
<p>The event brings to town, among others, Chad Ochocinco, Fred Jackson, Justin Forsett, Jason Avant, Jeremy Wariner and former NFL quarterbacks Seneca Wallace, Dennis Dixon and Jerrod Johnson.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
<p>“We were looking for a place where people love football and it’s an NFL city,” said AFFL founder and CEO Jeff Lewis of the decision to bring the tournament to Indianapolis. “The Butler stadium is a very intimate stadium, and obviously it’s a great sports town.</p>
<p>“I’ve been to the Indy 500 a couple times. It’s remarkable.”</p>
<p>Saturday’s winning teams meet at 22,000-seat BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston on July 19 in the Ultimate Final. That game will be televised on NFL Network, with the 12 members of the championship team splitting $1 million.</p>
<p>The AFFL incorporates a 7-on-7 format. Games are 60 minutes with a running clock the first 29 minutes of the first half and first 28 of the second. Touchdowns under 50 yards are worth six points; teams get seven points scoring from 50 yards or longer.</p>
<p>The first semifinal features what are considered the best amateur flag football teams in the country — Fighting Cancer, based in New Orleans, and The Money Team out of Texas. They are the final amateur squads remaining from the 128 that started tournament play in March.</p>
<p>Fighting Cancer downed Primetime, 35-14, in an AFFL amateur semifinal, while The Money Team eked out a 14-13 decision over Code Red. Both games were played at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia.</p>
<p>“As a football fan I can’t remember being this excited about a football game. It’s going to be very, very engaging,” said Lewis of the Fighting Cancer-Money Team matchup. “One of the fun things about our game is it’s a throwback. You just stay on the field.”</p>
<p>The second game features six-time Pro Bowl invitee Ochocinco captaining his team, Ocho, against Godspeed. The latter features Wariner, the former 400-meter dash runner and three-time Olympic gold winner, and Forsett, who played running back for seven different NFL teams from 2008-16.</p>
<p>Jackson, a running back who spent nearly all of his 10-year professional football career in Buffalo, is less than two years removed from being the NFL’s oldest player to make a Pro Bowl debut.</p>
<p>Other former pro stars such as quarterback Michael Vick had also been participating in the tournament, but their teams were eliminated in earlier rounds.</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="If you go" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p><p style="text-align: center"><strong>AFFL US Open of Football</strong></p>
<p>When: Saturday, 4 p.m.</p>
<p>Where: Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl, Butler University</p>
<p>Admission: $15</p>
<p>Semifinals: Fighting Cancer vs. The Money Team; Ocho vs Godspeed</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]
