Sports
Packers, Steelers and ‘Glee’
Some gays join the fun on Super Bowl Sunday
The D.C. Gay Flag Football League at a recent meet. The 12 local teams play again Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Majoros)
For decades, Super Bowl Sunday has been one of the most celebrated events in the United States. On the surface it looks like a testosterone-filled, buffalo wing-gnawing, beer-chugging day for heterosexual men.
So how is it that Super Bowl Sunday is a hugely popular day for the LGBT community as well?
With gay and straight cultures moving closer together each year, Super Bowl XLV (45) at the sparkling Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, is lining up to be the gayest Super Bowl ever. For those who don’t follow sports, it’s good to at least know the basics: the Green Bay Packers are playing the Pittsburgh Steelers for pro football’s top prize.
Doritos has released two Super Bowl commercials, both of which are incredibly homoerotic. The first features two guys in a sauna with one looking longingly at the crotch area of the other. The surprise ending had me laughing out loud. The second commercial includes two guys in Daisy Duke shorts having cocktails by the pool questioning the sexuality of the next door neighbor. You can find both videos on YouTube under 2011DoritosCommercials.
Each year after the Super Bowl, the host network runs a new episode of one of their highest rated shows in hopes that the lead out from the game will result in huge ratings. In past years we have seen shows such as “Alias,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “The Office.” This year, the Fox Network will be showing a new episode of “Glee,” arguably the gayest show on major network television.
The first scene of the “Glee” episode is intended to hook the heterosexual male audience as it features a song and dance by Sue Sylvester’s Cheerios complete with flaming breasts and a fire whip. Another scene in the show will be presented as a clash between the “Glee” kids and the football team in full zombie gear performing a mash-up of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Heads Will Roll.” Add Katie Couric to the mix and you have an episode that appeals to both sides of the fence.
So what will the local LGBT community be doing on Super Bowl Sunday? Everyone I spoke to indicated that they would be attending a party or hitting a local bar for the evening. The D.C. Gay Flag Football League will be kicking off its second season on the morning of the game. The League has grown to 12 teams with 180 players and includes female as well as straight players. After their games that morning at the Carter Barron Fields, they will be taking over the Duplex Diner for a night of football pools, buffalo wing gnawing and beer chugging. Sound familiar?
Doug Schantz of Nellies Sports Bar is expecting a long day on Sunday. The Washington Capitals will be playing the Pittsburgh Penguins which will be followed by the Super Bowl and then the “Glee” episode. The day will be filled with, you guessed it, football pools, buffalo wing gnawing and beer chugging. Schantz says Super Bowl Sunday draws a 50/50 gay versus straight crowd and he expects much of the same this year.
And so it seems that this great day is celebrated by all of us in similar fashion. Be careful out there, use public transportation and have a “Gleeful” Super Bowl.
Iran and Egypt on Friday faced off during the World Cup’s “Pride Match” in Seattle.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death. Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt.
Friday’s match coincided with Pride weekend in Seattle. The Egyptian Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran both objected to playing in the “Pride Match.”
Egypt and Iran tied 1-1.
FIFA, for its part, allowed Pride flags inside the stadium during the match.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events. General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”
Human Rights Watch welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow Pride flags inside the stadium. Outright International, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group, distributed Pride flags in Seattle on Friday, which was Pride Match Day.
“Visibility matters,” said Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin. “Pride is now being celebrated in more than 100 countries, including this weekend in Seattle. For many LGBTIQ people, seeing a Pride flag in public is a reminder that they are not alone, and that their rights and dignity are recognized.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this year told Die Weltwoche, a Swiss magazine, that “there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the (FIFA) World Cup.”
“There will be a FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, and on the same day, events organized by external organizations will be taking place in the city,” said Infantino. “But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”
Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, was among those who traveled to Seattle for Friday’s match. Tatchell accused FIFA of not vetting World Cup teams — specifically Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Senegal, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Algeria — over whether they would allow gay players.
“FIFA is protecting LGBT+ visibility in the stands while failing to protect LGBT+ players on the pitch,” said Tatchell.
The Baltimore Orioles will take on the Washington Nationals on Friday, June 26 at 7 p.m. for Pride Night at Oriole Park.
The first 15,000 fans will receive an exclusive Pride Night Orioles jersey. The Washington Blade is a media sponsor of this event.
To purchase tickets, visit Orioles.com/Tickets.
Sports
Minor league team in York, Pa., forfeits Pride Night game after some players refuse to wear special jersey
City is roughly 20 miles north of Md. border
An independent minor league baseball team says it is forfeiting a game because some of its players refused to wear a special Pride Night jersey.
The Atlantic League Pro Baseball’s York Revolution were planning to hold their 11th annual Pride Night event Thursday for a game against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.
But the Revolution announced the day of the game that it wouldn’t be played. York is about 20 miles north of the Maryland line. The Blue Crabs play in Waldorf.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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