GAY

! Games

IV.

Spectator

SPORTS

10 tips for watching the Gay Games

ROXX IE

OU DON'T NEED TO BE A JOCK, a sports fan, or even educated in sports in order to watch an athletic competition; sometimes the less you know about a sport, the better. My actress friend Gina, attending her first women's basketball game, was the only one to point out a most salient fact: These women basketball players had women cheerleaders-skirts, pom-poms, and all. The rest of us were too busy watching the game to even notice the lovely creatures.

For those new to the world of watching sports, the Gay Games offer a smorgasbord of opportunities. For those

Roxxie is the publisher and editor of Girljock, the magazine for athletic lesbians and their admirers.

who already love sports, and are not playing in the June Games, it will be a very busy week.

Here are some tips to help put the spectator back in spectator sports, without making a spectacle of yourself.

IF YOU DON'T LIKE the first sport you pick to watch, try another; sports differ tremendously. While flag football may, for some, bring back unhappy memories of the football-based American game "smear the queer," lesbian and gay rock climbers may inspire in viewers a range of feelings, from awe at their harnesses and forearms to fear of heights. From the graceful neo-modern-dance qualities of figure skaters to the muscle-bound butchness of wrestlers, there is a wide variety of sports at these games.

TRAVELING IN NEW YORK CITY is like hiking in the mountains, where your next destination is the next peak, always much farther away than it looks, so allow extra time to get where you are going. The worst that could happen is that you'll be early enough to watch the athletes warm up, and then take off their warm-up gear.

THINK INTERNATIONAL. Many non-Americans will be attending. The Gay Games are one of the largest and most international cruising opportunities for lesbians and gay men in the continental United States. "We're talking flag football teams from Australia and billiards players from Japan," says Joan Hilty, Gay Games ticket office manager, adding that there are many European registrations as well. "Brush up on your bilingual skills," she suggests.

REMEMBER YOUR most basic outdoors stuff. Sunscreen. That protective goo for your lips that comes in a lipstick-like dispenser. Watching sports can make you almost as thirsty as playing them, so don't get dehydrated. A portable battery-operated fan may help on the hottest days. Be sure to have a New York City map, a schedule of the Games, and a camera or video-cam with the correct speed film for the action shots you desire. A note on cowbells: If you decided to get a cowbell after watching the Winter Olympics, think twice. Make sure you know the etiquette of the sport before you ring; some sports, like golf, require the spectators to maintain steady periods of quiet. Pom-poms, certainly lighter to carry than cowbells, could be your quieter alternative.

GAY GAMES IV

IF YOU BRING FLOWERS to give to an athlete after the game, you may need to bring a cooler to put them in, unless you are at the indoor figure skating events or the ice hockey events at Coney Island. Flowers, just like spectators and athletes, will wilt in the sun.

BRING BINOCULARS. These little helpers can provide new opportunities for understanding athletic exploits, bringing you so close to the athletes that you feel you are playing, skating,

or running along with them. At the very least, binoculars will help you watch what athletes really do with their hands during their sporting encounters.

DON'T LET FEAR of nudity scare you. Most athletes stay in their clothes as long as possible, except the water-sports crowd, who, just like their straight counterparts, wear as little as possible

so they can glide through the water faster, with less "drag" on their sleek selves. Although bigots like the Rev. Ruben Diaz, member of New York City's Civilian Complaint Review Board, are afraid of public nudity at the Games, the only public nudity I witnessed at the 1990 Vancouver Games was toplessness at post-game parties, which are private affairs. Post-game party expressions of body flesh are a personalized statement, and besides, it is hot in New York in June.

THE POST-GAME parties. There will be many, so be sure to select the ones with the most personal benefits for you. If you've enjoyed watching athletes from a certain sport, be sure to find out which post-game party they are going to, and join them. Almost all athletes like to talk about the game they just played or the race they just finished, and many will be trying to set partying records, as well.

SAFETY ISSUES. "When we were joking about how to prepare the out-of-towners for some of the dicier venues, we said we should send them their tickets along with some pepper spray," says Hilty. New York, like all other major urban areas, has its more difficult neighborhoods, and Gay Games attendees should be sure to get the scoop on the ones they will be frequenting. Stay in contact with the Gay and Lesbian Visitors Center (212-463-0900), or get the lowdown on the neighborhoods from the Gay Games office.

SUMMER OF SHORTS. Runners put as little as possible on their legs, to cut down the interference with leg motion, and aerodynamic bicycle racers wear skintight lycra, but for the other extreme, watch ice hockey, with players who don super-big, padded, ventilated-in-the-crotch "breezers." Following the "big is beautiful" theme, soccer and basketball players seem to wear bigger shorts every year (is it to fool their opponents, like, My shorts are so big, the person guarding me won't know exactly where I am?). Athletic shorts reflect the different physical needs of athletes in different sports, but for spectating, your clothing style is up to you. One important point: Spectating frequently involves a lot of sitting

GAY GAMES IV

KEEPING SCORE: Athletic supporters pair off.

down and standing up, and very excited spectators will even jump up and down. So remember, give yourself room to move around in.

O ONE EXPECTS you to be a complete rahrah. If you are not a sports fan, or if you have torturous memories of high school pep squads and the conformity of marching bands, the Games still have much to offer you: an international level of sportsmanship, interesting sideshows, fabulous sports demonstrations, and a great place to watch lesbian and gay athletes have a whole lot of good, clean fun.

There will be some cheerleaders there, of all possible hairstyles and genders, but they may be caricatures of the cheerleaders you grew up with. If you, like many of the rest of us, have a love/hate thing about cheerleaders and jumping onto some sports bandwagon, remember: You don't have to be one. If you feel the need to be cynical, give yourself permission. Lesbian and gay athletes have a well-developed sense of irony, having grown up in the homophobic "traditional" sports world. Lesbian and gay sports are not vapid and pleasantesquely superficial like some New Age encounter group-there is lots of room for cranky athletes and fans. And this is not Disneyland, after all, this is New York, where a well-placed snide comment may win new friends, or at least admirers.♥

PHOTOGRAPHS BY J. P. LAFFONT/SYGMA