I Got Life Mother: Gay Games Part Three

I've received requests to finish my coverage of the Gay Games, which are now almost a month behind us! My initial purpose for attending the Games was as a spectator to my boyfriend Brian's soccer games. But I quickly realized that this was an opportunity to do more than just watch, and I am very pleased that I decided to participate in triathlon and the 5k run.

After planning my trip, I learned of other friends who were participating as athletes. One of the most special moments during my time in Chicago was watching my friend Victor Tang, of Los Angeles, win the gold medal for the weapons individual competition of Martial Arts. It took some time to get to the venue at the Univeristy of Chicago but it was well worth the travel. Besides, I forgot to mention in an earlier post, Victor also woke up early Sunday after Opening Ceremonies to join Brian in watching me compete in the Sprint Triathlon.

So I sort of owed it to her. Below you will see exactly what I did in the first round of Victor's competition. I only caught a portion of the second competition due to some battery issues (arrrgh). But the whole event was surprisingly dramatic, engaging, and even grounding in a meditative way.

That's my boy! Did I mention that Victor also was a Madonna dancer during the Drowned World Tour? That's right, when Nikki had the red mohawk and the dancers all sported their own hawks. I like to say that they ripped my look off that Summer of 2001 because I had a red mohawk in 2000. But I digress... Another guy from LA named Tony who I met while in Chicago walked with a bronze medal. Again, I didn't get the whole performance but what I did capture looks very fun:

After watching Martial Arts in the morning and getting a good dose of disciplined butch/queen action (there were some very tough lookin gayboys and gay girls as well as the occasional flambouyant queen with high kicks and screams- I'm not even lying) I decided to head out to Oak Park and catch the afternoon game of the Spikes vs. Team America.

Now I want to make it very clear that the SF Spikes are a superbly talented set of players who have won several tournaments as a team and often dominate in their Marin league. They are the only gay soccer team on that league, and this fact is not lost on their straight opponents. I have watched this team evolve over the last two years, and learned much about the sport especially with the off the field explanations from Brian- who plays defense for Spikes. This group of men is so admirable for their serious dedication and competitive attitude. It is groups like the Spikes which push the bounderies of what it means to be an athlete in the gay community while shattering misconceptions about our ability to perform in the mainstream. You guys rock!!

The Gay Games always hold some surprises, and the favored Spikes encountered this first hand. Our team was eliminated in a very close match against New York which was to decide who was proceeding to the semi-finals. It's always painful to see these things play out in penalty kicks and that is exactly where it was decided. Yet, with this incredible blow to their prospect for a medal these guys managed to keep their heads up. I was amazed to see the comeraderie and unity in their loss. . . Let's just say, we got our party on early that day. Congrats for coming this far guys! There will be plenty of upcoming opportunities to prove yourselves in the near future. Here are some images from the Games: