“I don’t sleep,” admits southeast San Diego native Joann Mamuyac. It’s the only explanation for how she maintains her objectively bonkers schedule: She and her partner, Brittani Lusain, are both professional tackle football players with the San Diego Rebellion, our local franchise of the Women’s National Football Conference (WNFC). They’re each part of flag football leagues, too; work full-time for healthcare companies; and run multiple businesses. Mamuyac manages the Rebellion’s social media and serves on its board. With their 3-year-old daughter, Jada, in the mix, it’s no wonder the pair can’t find time for shuteye.
Nevertheless, they don’t do anything by half. Mamuyac was named the team’s player of the year last year, and Lusain nabbed rookie of the year in 2023. Undefeated during 2024’s regular season, the Rebellion were Pacific Division champions but fell one game short of the national championship. “We have such a good feeling this year, though,” Mamuyac adds. “We’re totally gonna win.”
The couple’s work with the Rebellion is a labor of love, especially because WNFC players don’t currently get paid, though sponsorships and the team’s owners help cover the myriad costs associated with pro football: player fees, travel, hotels, uniforms, merch. And the team bands together to offer less-tangible support. Many of the players, who range in age from 18 to nearly 60 and come from all over the world, are moms. “Sometimes people bring their kids to practice, and we all collectively watch them,” Mamuyac says. “It’s a sisterhood.”
When Lusain broke her wrist mid-season last year, “they didn’t let me sink into a depression or get down on myself,” she says. But she’s eager to don her uniform again for the team’s home opener at Escondido High School on March 29.
“It takes me back to a quote by Billie Jean King: ‘Pressure is a privilege,’” Lusain says. “There are times when I feel like there’s just so much going on with work and family, but sitting out last year, I realized I want that pressure. I want to feel the butterflies in my stomach before a game. I want to have the hard conversations in my relationship so it can grow. Without that, am I even alive, you know?”
