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.
More than a dozen LGBTQ athletes won medals at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics that ended on Sunday.
Cayla Barnes, Hilary Knight, and Alex Carpenter are LGBTQ members of the U.S. women’s hockey team that won a gold medal after they defeated Canada in overtime. Knight the day before the Feb. 19 match proposed to her girlfriend, Brittany Bowe, an Olympic speed skater.
French ice dancer Guillaume Cizeron, who is gay, and his partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry won gold. American alpine skier Breezy Johnson, who is bisexual, won gold in the women’s downhill. Amber Glenn, who identifies as bisexual and pansexual, was part of the American figure skating team that won gold in the team event.
Swiss freestyle skier Mathilde Gremaud, who is in a relationship with Vali Höll, an Austrian mountain biker, won gold in women’s freeski slopestyle.
Bruce Mouat, who is the captain of the British curling team that won a silver medal, is gay. Six members of the Canadian women’s hockey team — Emily Clark, Erin Ambrose, Emerance Maschmeyer, Brianne Jenner, Laura Stacey, and Marie-Philip Poulin — that won silver are LGBTQ.
Swedish freestyle skier Sandra Naeslund, who is a lesbian, won a bronze medal in ski cross.
Belgian speed skater Tineke den Dulk, who is bisexual, was part of her country’s mixed 2000-meter relay that won bronze. Canadian ice dancer Paul Poirier, who is gay, and his partner, Piper Gilles, won bronze.
Laura Zimmermann, who is queer, is a member of the Swiss women’s hockey team that won bronze when they defeated Sweden.
Outsports.com notes all of the LGBTQ Olympians who competed at the games and who medaled.
Sports
US wins Olympic gold medal in women’s hockey
Team captain Hilary Knight proposed to girlfriend on Wednesday
The U.S. women’s hockey team on Thursday won a gold medal at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Team USA defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime. The game took place a day after Team USA captain Hilary Knight proposed to her girlfriend, Brittany Bowe, an Olympic speed skater.
Cayla Barnes and Alex Carpenter — Knight’s teammates — are also LGBTQ. They are among the more than 40 openly LGBTQ athletes who are competing in the games.
The Olympics will end on Sunday.
Sports
Attitude! French ice dancers nail ‘Vogue’ routine
Cizeron and Fournier Beaudry strike a pose in memorable Olympics performance
Madonna’s presence is being felt at the Olympic Games in Italy.
Guillaume Cizeron and his rhythm ice dancing partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry of France performed a flawless skate to Madonna’s “Vogue” and “Rescue Me” on Monday.
The duo scored an impressive 90.18 for their effort, the best score of the night.
“We’ve been working hard the whole season to get over 90, so it was nice to see the score on the screen,” Fournier Beaudry told Olympics.com. “But first of all, just coming out off the ice, we were very happy about what we delivered and the pleasure we had out there. With the energy of the crowd, it was really amazing.”
Watch the routine on YouTube here.
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