Because soccer isn't gay, but once in awhile it kinda is.
gay4soccer
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Posts by gay4soccer
LGBT Ally? Soccer Fan? Let Us Know!
04/09/13
by gay4soccer
in Issues
Last week I gave thoughts on Robbie Rogers’ coming out and his interviews since then, and one of my takeaways was that it’s time to double down efforts to make soccer a better atmosphere for a player to be ready to come out. Part of this is to ask if you are a soccer fan and an LGBT ally.
We list players, media personalities, and supporters groups on the site, but haven’t yet had a place for fans to voice their ally-ship. Now we do.
You can use the form below or at this page to show your support of the pledge that appears at our Allies Page. You can also direct friends who want to take the pledge to that page (gay4soccer.com/allies) where we link to the form.
Robbie Rogers: Reflections on the Past Six Weeks
04/01/13
by gay4soccer
in Issues
It has been about a month and a half since former Columbus Crew and US Men’s National Team midfielder Robbie Rogers revealed to the world through a blog post that he is gay.
That day was momentous for me. Yes, other players, both men and women, have come out in the past few years. Hysen, Testo, Rapinoe, Lindsey. I’ve rooted against Testo and I’ve rooted for Rapinoe. But Robbie Rogers was just different somehow for me, and I can’t quite put my finger on why. Maybe it’s because I cheered him on from the supporters section at the 2009 Gold Cup. Maybe it’s because I cheered him on from my local American Outlaws bar when he scored against Mexico in 2011. Maybe it’s because as a recent Major League Soccer player I watched him play week after week on MLS Live.
Maybe it’s because he’s just so darned cute. I don’t know. But I was moved and dumbstruck reading his blog post over and over that day last month. And I cried more than once.
Robbie Rogers Included in “Athletes’ Brief” on Marriage Equality
03/21/13
by gay4soccer
in Issues
Marriage equality comes to the Supreme Court this coming Tuesday, and Robbie Rogers is among athletes who have signed a friend of the court brief in the case.
Arguments in Hollingsworth v. Perrey, challenging Prop 8 in California, begin March 26 and athletes both out and allied have joined the brief of amici curiae.
Portions of Robbie’s coming out blog post are also included in the brief:
We are just beginning to see progress with regard to the issue of sexual orientation. No active athlete in any of the major male sports has come out, as professional athletes themselves feel the impact of homophobia, like soccer pro (footballer) Robbie Rogers, who only came out recently as he retired from the sport. Mr. Rogers stated: “Secrets can cause so much internal damage. People love to preach about honesty, how honesty is so plain and simple. Try explaining to your loved ones after 25 years you are gay. Try convincing yourself that your creator has the most wonderful purpose for you even though you were taught differently.”
The release with current list of athletes signed onto the brief as well as a link to the document is available at www.athletesbrief.com.
Jimmy Conrad Visits Austin Texas
03/20/13
I love my city of Austin, Texas. And I love Jimmy Conrad and KICKTV. So naturally I like this video of Jimmy Conrad and the KICKTV crew visiting the SXSW Festival here in Austin.
Yes, that’s the top of my head in the one shot. Yes, that’s Jimmy in front of a gay bar on a pedicab. Yes, Austin, Texas is exactly as awesome as it looks.
Glad to have y’all down here for SXSW and hope you guys come down again.
David Testo Honored as Past Montreal Impact Champion
03/19/13
David Testo on Facebook
The Montreal Impact had their home opener this past weekend, and out alumnus David Testo was honored as captain of their 2009 USL championship-winning team.
As part of celebrations for the club’s twentieth anniversary, the team wore their new third kits that are a nod to past and held a pregame ceremony featuring players from their three championship seasons prior to joining Major League Soccer.
David Testo came out of the closet in the fall of 2011 soon after being released by the Montreal Impact as they worked to transition from NASL to MLS. He has often cited not being able to thank his partner has he captained his team to the championship as one of the most difficult points in his life as a closeted athlete.
Also honored were Testo’s teammates Matt Jordan, Rocco Placentino, Eduardo Sebrango, and Patrick Leduc, as well as António Ribeiro who won the 2004 USL Championship and multiple Voyageurs Cups with the Impact and John Limniatis who was on their 1994 APSL Championship team.
The Impact went on to defeat Toronto FC 2-1, continuing their perfect early season.
Stephen McCarthy Joins Athlete Ally
03/18/13
AtheteAlly.org
New England Revolution defender Stephen McCarthy has joined the Athlete Ally program, the fourth Major League Soccer player to do so this month.
McCarthy told AthleteAlly.org:
If there’s one thing I stand for as an athlete, it’s individuality and the freedom to be you who are. I can’t imagine playing a sport that forces its athletes into a box or denies them the right to have their own styles, preferences and orientations. Gay or straight, every player needs to be respected and accepted.
Stephen McCarthy is the fourth MLS player to join Athlete Ally, and the league is now tied with the National Football League for most representation. He allied with gay4soccer last May as part of our big recruitment push prior to Gay Pride Month.
Chris Seitz of FC Dallas, and A.J. DeLaGarza and Omar Gonzalez of the LA Galaxy–all University of Maryland teammates of Robbie Rogers–joined Athlete Ally earlier in the month.
Major League Soccer: Don’t Cross the Line 2013
03/15/13
Major League Soccer and MLS Works have released the 2013 edition of their “Don’t Cross the Line” PSA campaign with some of the league’s biggest stars participating.
Check it out:
Pia Sundhage Releases Debut Single
03/14/13
She may be behind a different team on the sidelines now, but we still love Pia Sundhage who just released a single in Sweden, “Follow Me Through the Winter.”
We’ve seen her sing at press conferences and on the soccer field, so it’s about time that she brought her musical talent to the masses via iTunes, Spotify, and other streaming services.
The track is a song originally written by Sundhage’s nephew and performed by her for her brother’s sixtieth birthday party, but a small record label heard it, liked it, and thought it was time for the Swedish National Team coach to go pro.
She told the Swedish site fotbollskanalen.se:
I thought “oh my God, when you get to a real artist who can this stuff and who is good at singing,” but the record company representative insisted. He said there was much emotion and passion in the song and I conveyed it in a good way.
So give it a listen, it’s actually pretty good.
(With thanks to Grant Wahl on Twitter)
Chivas USA: Jersey Week 2013
03/08/13
Haven’t Chivas USA fans had a hard enough time with attendance issues and losing games? Why toss a boring jersey on the pile of embarrassments?
They’re blue. It has faint stripes that you can see if you’re standing a foot away from a player. There’s not much to say about them beyond that.
There’s a cool second crest that’s a nod to Los Angeles, but it’s on the back, and it’s just a reminder of what could be if the team rebranded and became more California-centric. Now that would be awesome: a team with the California bear as a major part of its branding.
It’s almost as if Major League Soccer purposely had teams schedule their jersey launches so that the week would be book-ended with the worst new offerings out there.
LA Galaxy: Jersey Week 2013
03/08/13
by gay4soccer
in Culture & Style
MLSSoccer.com
With their new jersey releases last week, the LA Galaxy underwhelm with what seems to be very little change year over year.
The home jersey removes the special championship scudetto and moves all of the stars above the team crest.
The away kit doesn’t have much change either, with slight variations to the coloring moving the darker blue to the sleeves. Our LA writer Tommy says it’s more tactile than visual, but unless I’m feeling up Omar Gonzalez, what does that matter? And any time I hear the word quasar again, it will be too soon.
It all hearkens to the episode of The Simpsons where the Malibu Stacy manufacturers give the doll a new hat, and the preteen consumers go gaga over it.
This is the kind of thing Major League Soccer’s marquee clubs (LA Galaxy and New York Red Bulls) hold major events to unveil? Pretty disappointing from both teams.
