Because soccer isn't gay, but once in awhile it kinda is.
MLS
Chris Seitz, A.J. DeLaGarza, and Omar Gonzalez Join Athlete Ally
03/07/13
Chris Seitz, A.J. DeLaGarza, and Omar Gonzalez have joined the Athlete Ally program, a nonprofit aimed at encouraging and welcoming LGBT participation in sports. They are the first Major League Soccer players to join.
Seitz, FC Dallas goalkeeper, and DeLaGarza, LA Galaxy defender, were both University of Maryland teammates of Robbie Rogers, the MLS and USMNT alumus who came out last month. Their outstanding freshman class also included Seattle’s Marc Burch and Kansas City’s Graham Zusi. LA defender Gonzalez joined the team a year later, after Rogers left for the Netherlands.
Chris Seitz told AthleteAlly.org:
As an athlete, I’ve learned first hand what leadership means and seen how small actions can make a huge difference. By joining Athlete Ally, I hope my voice will reach gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth and remind them that they are welcomed and respected in sports.
Portland Timbers: Jersey Week 2013
03/05/13
PortlandTimbers.com
The Portland Timbers unveiled their newest jerseys for the upcoming 2013 and 2014 seasons, and the new designs are a love it or hate it experience.
The jerseys have unique features; for example, in the home jersey the white lining is placed in a weird way that would make the average person’s figure not flattering at all when worn. However, some of the designs are cool such as the chevrons, the Portland flag, and the rising sun in the back.
Personally, my favorite jersey out of the two is the away jersey. I say that because of its interesting features such as the rose behind the crest, the rose flower on the bottom of the jersey, the thorns throughout the sides, and “We are the Rose City” on the back. To me the red jersey looks very Ajax-like with the design itself (which is not a bad way at all) and I like that a lot.
Overall the jerseys we have for the next two years are mediocre.
Seattle Sounders: Jersey Week 2013
03/05/13
I have been on the edge of my seat waiting for the new Seattle Sounders jerseys. The last few times we have changed jerseys went from classic Seattle sports team to 13-year-olds in training bras. Then from one highlighter color to another highlighter colored jersey. So it is with fear and anticipation that I look at these new jerseys.
Seattle Sounders Shale
SoundersFC.com
Now this is where the classy ladies come out and play. For our 5th season I feel we are showing our age and experience. But of course you have to pay for it. The authentic jersey has so much amazing style and great colors. The replica is great, but bland. The splash of color on the left side, love the blue and green pole. What more is there to say? Oh wait, Brad Evans. Looking at Brad on the ad campaign, whoa love it! Sweaty, sexy, rugged man in rumpled jersey delicates. Can a gay man dream for anything better? Well maybe being able to take it off of him.
Robbie Rogers Honored in Sons of Ben Display
03/04/13
The Sons of Ben honored Robbie Rogers during the first half of the Philadelphia Union’s season opener against Sporting Kansas City with a simple, moving display.
Soon after the dooping died down after Sebastien Le Toux’s opening goal, the fans in the River End of PPL Park held up cards simply saying, “RR.” They stood with the cards silently for the 18th minute of the game, number 18 being Roger’s jersey number when he played for the Columbus Crew.
A few friends of the site in Philadelphia caught the display at the game.
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You can check out all of Barb’s great game photos at her Flikr site.
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You Can Play – Happy Anniversary!
03/04/13
One year ago today, our friends at the You Can Play Project got started with their groundbreaking video, “The Faceoff,” telling gay athletes that an ability to play is the only thing that matters on the field, ice, or court.
Over the last twelve months, they have produced videos with that message delivered by other professional hockey players, student athletes, and television broadcasters.
They have also produced videos with teams in Major League Soccer: DC United and Toronto FC, featuring Mike Chabala, Darren O’Dea, Richard Eckersley, Stefan Frei, Torsten Frings, Eric Hassli, Milos Kocic, Paul Mariner, Ben Olsen, Chris Pontius, Thomas Rongen, and Luis Silva.
Philadelphia Union & Chick-Fil-A: Something You Can Do
03/02/13
Chick-Fil-A is sponsoring a booth at today’s Philadelphia Union game (and presumably all of them.) If you want to respond, we’re here to help.
Print out this card, sign it, and politely give it to anyone associated with the Chick-Fil-A promotion, Philadelphia Union staff, or anyone you want to share this message with.
Yes, a corporation whose “charity” donates money to groups that are vehemently against families that don’t fit their standard of what a family looks like are sponsoring a “Family of the Game” contest with the Philadelphia Union.
If you’re not okay with this partnership and are looking for a way to voice your concern today, here’s one polite, reserved way you can do so.
Jimmy Conrad Tries On Every New MLS Jersey
03/01/13
US Soccer and Major League Soccer alumnus Jimmy Conrad had the opportunity to preview every new MLS jersey for KICKTV on YouTube. Let this tide you over until we conclude our series of new jersey reviews come next week, when we’ll have our views on Seattle, Los Angeles, Chivas USA, and Portland from myself and our writing crew.
Props to him that while getting special access from adidas he isn’t afraid to point out how there doesn’t seem to be anything different about the Red Bulls’ jersey. As he points out in the video, Jimmy Conrad is no stranger to debuting new kits for MLS teams:
Glad to have MLS coverage back on KICK for the new season!
Vancouver Whitecaps: Jersey Week 2013
03/01/13
MLSSoccer.com
The Vancouver Whitecaps released a new home jersey this week, and it takes a new angle on their first MLS kit from two years ago.
I say angle because it takes the thin stripes of the last edition and tilts them to lineup with the, well, whitecaps of the Vancouver Whitecaps crest. It’s a really nice change and I also like that the color change of the stripes goes from darker at top to lighter at the bottom. The old one had lighter stripes at the top.
I don’t like the collar. The off center color change just bothers me. It doesn’t work and there would have been numerous better ways to include both blues in it.
For good measure, here’s defender and captain Jay DeMerit looking all kinds of fine both in and out of the new kit:
Marc Burch Meets the Press and Opens Up
02/28/13
At Tuesday’s training for the Seattle Sounders, defender Marc Burch took questions from reporters and was very candid about his suspension last year for using a gay slur.
March Burch (second from left) plays with a Seattle LGBT soccer club in December (Sean Gumm, The Stranger)
He said that his three game suspension for the incident in a November playoff game against Real Salt Lake was the “right decision” on the part of the league. While he acknowledges what he did, as we all know it’s not who he is, and he told reporters his sister is gay.
Burch went above and beyond the league fines, suspension, and mandated diversity training over the off-season. In December he played with a Seattle LGBT soccer club. They didn’t talk about what happened. They just played some soccer and got to know each other. I think this is stellar, and Marc and anyone who encouraged Marc to do this should be commended.
As a teammate of Robbie Rogers at the University of Maryland, Marc Burch also addressed Rogers’ coming out, hoping that his support–such as appearing in the video the Sounders produced–wasn’t solely a reaction to what happened last year. He also spoke about gay players in Major League Soccer in general:
“I think we’ll be the first league to definitely accept it,” Burch told reporters at Sounders training on Tuesday. “I think it will come and go a lot easier than people think. It’s going to happen, and I think this is a perfect league for it.”
The final game of Burch’s suspension will be this Saturday night’s season opener against the Montreal Impact.
Montreal Impact: Jersey Week 2013
02/28/13
ImpactMontreal.com
The Montreal Impact held a special event to both celebrate the club’s 20 years and unveil a third kit which is a nod to their first season in 1993.
First off, I completely love the combination of collar and button-front they’ve put together here. I also like the Impact’s shade of blue that carries over from the home kit from last year.
Now I totally respect and dig what they’re doing here in the sense that I like the nod to club history but I don’t like the pattern. This is totally a personal preference in kit design but I don’t like stripes that are uniform, horizontal or vertical, unless something else visually interesting is going on as well.
It’s just not something I like and for me that factor would knock this one down a few notches on the list of kits l like this Jersey Week.
