Lifelong Panthers fan goes from rooting for Steve Smith to playing for US women’s team

Madison Fulford grew up in the Charlotte area rooting for the Carolina Panthers during the Jake Delhomme era. Now, she’s looking to create her own football legacy in the Queen City during the International Federation of American Football Americas Continental Flag Football Championship in July.

Fulford, 28, was announced as a member of USA Football’s women’s national team earlier this month. In roughly a year and a half, Fulford has gone from playing flag football on her U.S. Air Force base to competing on the biggest stage in the game.

And the Jay M. Robinson High School grad is playing wide receiver, just like her football hero.

“Steve Smith is my favorite player ever,” Fulford said. “So I kind of try and mimic him in any way that I can with his tenacity and passion — maybe not as aggressive just because with flag football — but I love everything about him.”

Fulford — who is stationed in San Antonio, Texas — was playing flag football during her downtime on base when someone suggested that she should look into playing for a women’s team. She checked out some tournaments and fell in love with the sport.

From there, Fulford started balancing her military service with her football training.

“Thankfully, my job allows me the flexibility to be able to do both,” Fulford said. “A lot of my training and stuff is after work or like before the operations start. But my commander and leadership have been super supportive and they’re all really excited. They’re going be watching the games when I’m playing.”

Fulford is known for her speed and versatility on the field. She was part of the track and field team at Limestone University in Gaffney, South Carolina, during her college days, and she’s used that experience to hone her skills in flag football.

Fulford shows off her quickness at wideout, defensive back and pass rusher.

Eric Mayes, USA Football’s managing director of high performance and national teams, says Fulford’s ability to play on both sides of the ball is helpful with roster management.

“In flag football, that’s tremendously important because our roster sizes are very small,” Mayes said. “So we’re carrying a roster of 12 athletes, and someone who can play multiple sides and be impactful in a rusher position, wide receiver position, a cornerback position, elevates themselves ahead of many of her other colleagues.”

Fulford’s movable chess piece skill set helped her earn a spot on the national team. The accomplishment was a big pay off after tryouts had her questioning her status because of her competition.

“It was honestly surreal,” Fulford said about making the team. “When I went through trials, I genuinely left with a feeling that I didn’t make the team because there are so many athletes that are there that are just elite, like you’re competing against the best of the best. So I don’t know a single person that left that place feeling confident. I can only imagine how the coaches felt during that time trying to make that decision. But when I found out, it was like a sigh of relief but then an immense amount of pressure to be like, ‘Okay, there is a lot I need to improve on.’ So it’s an everyday battle.”

Fulford’s next battle will take place July 5 through July 7, as the women’s national team — along with the men’s US national team — will compete with the top flag football teams from North America and South America at UNC Charlotte. The winners of those tournaments, which are open and free to the public, will head to 2024 IFAF Flag Football World Championships in Lahti, Finland.

For now, though, Fulford is just excited to return home and enjoy a major flag-football milestone for her and her family.

“I’m really looking forward to just being back in a comfortable area,” Fulford said. “I’ve been at UNC Charlotte a lot. I know the area, I know the atmosphere, and then having my family be there, it means a lot to me because they haven’t seen me play football at all. So this will be the first time on the biggest stage. It’s a little bit of pressure but I think I perform really good when my parents are there and when family members, and whoever else shows up.”

Mayes wants gold-medal victories for all of USA Football’s teams, but he’s also focused on the bigger picture for flag football.

“We as USA Football want to work with our other partner countries to showcase the competitiveness of this sport,” Mayes said. “Flag football is played at a competitive level, it’s played at a very high level. The athleticism on the field is comparable to what you see across other Olympic-caliber sports, and it’s only growing.”