# Giant flags at football games. Weight? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 17, 2026, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765 "2026-01-17T02:52:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765/1 "2026-01-17T02:52:48Z")
Those flags that span the entire field before the game must be very heavy and difficult to control, even if made of light weight material. How do they keep the center of the mass from hitting the ground?. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765/2 "2026-01-17T02:55:54Z")
According to this: > **[Those Humungous American Flags at Football Stadiums Weigh 1,100 Pounds and...](https://gizmodo.com/those-humungous-american-flags-at-football-stadiums-wei-5839995)** > > If you watched football this past weekend, you probably noticed the gigantic, humungous, out of this world American flag that covered the entire football > 1,100 pounds of freedom fabric and $50,000 of red white and blue, the oversized flags typically takes an entire month to make. When presented on the field, around 150 people are needed to hold the thing. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765/3 "2026-01-17T03:01:19Z")
Freedom fabric?! LOL That’s a good one. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765/4 "2026-01-17T04:20:36Z")
1100lbs ÷ 150ppl = ~73lbs per person. That’s a fair amount of weight for the average person to support for the time that display lasts. Are they holding it up with their hands, or do they have some kind of strap or harness to spread the weight to their neck or back? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765/5 "2026-01-17T04:48:49Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > 1100lbs ÷ 150ppl = ~73lbs per person. I’m getting 7.3 pounds per person. Not too bad. For comparison a gallon of water weighs around 8.3 pounds. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765/6 "2026-01-17T05:00:54Z")
Oops, fat finger error. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765/7 "2026-01-17T05:04:44Z")
So, how _do_ they keep it from falling in the middle? Aren’t the people all on the outside? ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765/8 "2026-01-17T05:15:33Z")
When I was in the military I held a couple of those flags at halftime. There were people inside, underneath it, holding it up at regular intervals. Along the perimeter, we stretched it tight and then waved it up and down. This was back in the 80s and 90s. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765/9 "2026-01-17T07:26:25Z")
I figured there had to be something under there to keep the bulk of the center from dropping to the ground. I was thinking maybe blowers. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765/10 "2026-01-17T13:25:48Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > So, how _do_ they keep it from falling in the middle? Maybe they don’t? For a flag the size of a football field, would you notice if it was sagging three or four feet in the middle? ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765/11 "2026-01-17T17:59:18Z")
I’m going to attach another, adjacent question on this thread. At games where they play that other kind of football ⚽, what do the tifos weigh? Are they made of paper or something? ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765/12 "2026-01-17T19:00:05Z")
Protocol. If a flag hits the ground you have to burn it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765/13 "2026-01-17T19:06:18Z")
Protocol says a lot of things about flags that are ignored in performative-patriotic displays. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765/14 "2026-01-17T19:10:00Z")
Very true. But with millions of people watching there would be quite an uproar. (And one hell of a bonfire!) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765/15 "2026-01-17T19:29:06Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > Protocol. If a flag hits the ground you have to burn it. If people were observing protocol, they wouldn’t applaud and cheer at the performance of the national anthem. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765/16 "2026-01-17T19:46:24Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > (And one hell of a bonfire!) I don’t think I’d want to be with a few hundred feet of 1100 pounds of burning…rayon(?) or whatever synthetic fabric it is. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765/17 "2026-01-18T01:47:39Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > Protocol. If a flag hits the ground you have to burn it. The flag or the ground? ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765/18 "2026-01-18T02:01:27Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > Protocol. If a flag hits the ground you have to burn it. Cite? I was taught that if the flag touches the ground… you fix it and move on. No big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765/19 "2026-01-18T02:47:12Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > Protocol. If a flag hits the ground you have to burn it. No you don’t. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765/20 "2026-01-18T21:34:56Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > Protocol. If a flag hits the ground you have to burn it. Since this is FQ: this is a common misunderstanding of the US Flag Code and actual protocol. While it does specify that the flag should not touch the ground, there is no consequence specified for if it does. > **§ 7(n)** When the Flag is used to cover a casket, it should be so placed that the union is at the head and over the left shoulder. The flag should not be lowered into the grave or allowed to touch the ground. > **§ 8(b)** The flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water, or merchandise. The recommended solution is simply to take the flag off the ground and inspect it for dirt or damage. If dirty, clean it off. If damaged, repair or retire it. The US Flag Code does specify burning as the preferable method of destroying a flag. > **§ 8(k)** The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning. But the idea that touching the ground immediately requires it to be retired, let alone destroyed, is an overzealous interpretation. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765.md?page=2)