Our report is up, with plenty of photos. Cyd talks about eating camel, Jim Vegamite.


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[thread title modified for clarity - Outsports moderator]

[ November 05, 2002: Message edited by: m1 ]

Just got home a few hours ago from my weekend in Sydney, and having read your comments on the 2002 Gay Games to date, wanted to offer some feedback on your posts. Feedback, not criticism, I hasten to add, although some of your comments have amused me no end (just as I'm sure you'd be amused if an Aussie came to the States to report on an event for the people back home.)

"The population here in Sydney, from what I can tell, is almost entirely white and Asian - other than the Americans I know, I haven’t seen a black person anywhere."

Probably because Australia was never involved with the African slave trade. We did, of course, attempt to wipe out our indigenous black-skinned people, but thankfully, didn't succeed in that particular act of genocide.

"I got my first taste of exotic Australian meat tonight at my track team’s dinner."

You realise that the only people who actually eat emu, etc in this country are tourists? Bet you payed a fortune for it too! Stick to a local dish next time - local in the Australian sense including Thai, Japanese, Greek, Italian and many other dishes. Thank christ for multicultualism I say!

"The small contingent from the two South Asia lands, where blood flows easily from decades of hatred, did what neighbors are supposed to do—they embraced and walked together. If only gays ruled the world."

Personally, I'm quite glad that gays don't rule the world. Can you imagine what it would be like? Mandatory body facism and obligatory showtunes and crappy dance music? ;-) Seriously though, the announcement that the representitives of India and Pakistan would march together at the Opening Ceremony brought tears to my eyes, considering that their two countries are threatening one another with nuclear war over the disputed territory of Kashmir. For me though, the most moving moment of the night was the standing ovation given to Justice Michael Kirby and his partner of 30 years upon their presentation as part of the offical party. Kirby is one of a handful of judges who sit in the highest court in the country. He's been the subject of poitical attacks from our conservative right wing politicans (who are currently the elected federal government) and has come though it all with dignity and forbearance. His message of tolerance and love in his speech at the end of the night was well received by the crowd, although I suspect that his impact was less for all you tourists, who probably had no idea who he was.

"Today we watched a netball match between the team from Papua New Guinea and a team made of players from Australia, South Africa, and the United States called “Killing Kiley” (as in Minogue)."

Umm, that's 'Kylie' actually. She's apparently a national icon for gay men in this country, and in the UK, where we've successfully exported her. Don't ask me why that's the case. I can't stand her music - or girly dance tunes of any variety. Give me a decent rock band anyday, like The Vines or The Strokes. I think I'm missing some of the requisite gay genes. I have no fashion sense or interior design skills either. ;-)

"It seems to be a bit more than coincidence that at least four times in the last two days, Aussies have given us terrible directions."

You're right, it's not a coincidence. It's probably because half the people in Sydney have only recently moved there from somewhere else. While looking for the venue I was performing in on the weekend (I'm a writer, and read in the cultural program) I asked several people for directions, and all of them had just moved to Sydney in the last few months, and so of course had no idea either!

Anyway, enjoy your time in Sydney, and I look forward to reading your up-coming posts, seeing as I could only afford to head up to Sydney for a few days. Shame that you've missed the footy season though.

Congrats to clubhouse member triguy262 (bottom right) on his silver in the triathlon.

Good comments burntime, though I loved emu and thought it was cheap at Kiwi$20 w/ wine (less than US$10 at the time) when I had it at a Friday's-type restaurant in a Trekkers hotel on trendy Cuba street in Wellington.

I also liked the rack of lamb a lot both in NZ and AUS (esp. when it's just slightly crisped on the edges and tender inside.) Better than what you get most places in the USA.

I've only seen two or three people of apparent African descent in my two trips to AUS. Though the two countries were not involved in te slave trade, remnants of the convicts abound: I saw the rotting frame of what claimed to be the "oldest surviving convict ship" in the port at Picton on NZ's south isle - just as you get off the ferry.

One of my fondest memories is the beautiful little birds (budgies?) everywhere in the suburbs and rural areas even in Sydney. Made coming back to sparrows/starlings/pigeons a bit depressing.

YES! Cyd's made into the 200m finals after placing third in his heat. GO Cyd!

And Burntime, great comments. If you're ever in San Francisco, let me know, I think we'd get along well.

fyi - If anyone wants to read a great book about Australia, one of my Sydney friends gave me this one for my birthday with the highest recommendation: "In a Sunburned Country" by Bill Bryson, author of "A Walk in the Woods," and "I'm a Stranger Here Myself."
My friend said he felt like this author really got Australia.

Observations in Sydney.

I guess there are about 8000 Americans in Sydney both participating in, and supporting, the Gay Games. 7900 are wearing Abercrombie & Fitch or AF Tee shirts and tank tops!! Is Abercrombie & Fitch a Boston law firm that hands out clothing to travelling gays at the airports???? Actually it is clever if not mass marketing.

Team NY have made their base at the very trendy Cargo Bar at Cockle Bay and it is the hottest spot this week. I was there last night and was speaking to these two NY boys aged about 22/23. Now I am doing a Masters in Law and know a little bit about words but I had no idea what they were talking about!!It seemed as though they were speaking as though they were sms text messaging...grammar and syntax all jumbled. What does "you are just so fine already" mean??? Please don't massacre the English language.

ok ok... there was a happy ending to the evening which I thought was hot but they said was "just so so cool"

These are good times.

Yes, congrats to TriGuy--[Homer voice like when he sees donuts] Mmmmmm.....TriGuy--for his silver medal. Good luck in all his other events too. [quote]Personally, I'm quite glad that gays don't rule the world. Can you imagine what it would be like? Mandatory body facism and obligatory showtunes and crappy dance music? ;-)

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Hahahaha! And as mentioned, mandatory wearing of A&F clothing. *shudder* [quote]Shame that you've missed the footy season though

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Ah, footy is for blouse wearing girls. The real man's sport*, cricket, is in full flower, with The Ashes 5 Test Match series pitting Australia against the Mother Country, England. The First Test is from November 7-11 in Brisbane. I'd go if I were in Oz now.

*Sarcasm

I'm not sure what it says when on a gay sports board there's more postings in the threads on dating str8 guys and admiring bulges than there are in the gay games thread....Come on, you knuckleheads, Cyd and his relay team won gold in Sydney!!!

CONGRATS TO CYD AND HIS RELAY TEAM FOR WINNING GOLD!

Bryan D wrote:

"fyi - If anyone wants to read a great book about Australia, one of my Sydney friends gave me this
one for my birthday with the highest recommendation: "In a Sunburned Country" by Bill Bryson, author of "A Walk in the Woods," and "I'm a Stranger Here Myself." My friend said he felt like this author really got Australia."

Haven't read Bryson, although several friends have recommended him. If you want to read a great book about Sydney specifically, you can't go past John Birmingham's 'Leviathan: The Unauthorised Biography of Sydney' which will tell you all about the city's seamy underbelly... All the juicy stories that don't make it into the coffee tabel books.

So anyway, are any of you tourists going to come down and visit Melbourne after you've finished in Sydney, or are you all heading straight back home?

[quote]Originally posted by bryan d.:
I'm not sure what it says when on a gay sports board there's more postings in the threads on dating str8 guys and admiring bulges than there are in the gay games thread....Come on, you knuckleheads, Cyd and his relay team won gold in Sydney!!!

CONGRATS TO CYD AND HIS RELAY TEAM FOR WINNING GOLD!

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Way to go Cyd!

Cyd and his team ran a great race.

Sydney is awesome; it's impossible not to have a great time. Aussies are amazingly friendly. Hope everyone has enjoyed the coverage.

what was the winning time in the 4x400?

oh, btw...props to outsports for their coverage. i love the photos from each day's events. it's nice to see a few familiar faces in there...

wish the gay games people would do a little better with their tennis results updates....

Congratulations on the big win, I'm sure it's a great time over there.

Congrats to Cyd and his team and all the other Outsports members that took home a medal, and kudos to all that participated!

I'd also like to say thank-you for the coverage of the events and all the wonderful pictures!

Cyd's teams' 4X400 time was 3:27.

They won the 4X100 today in 45 seconds.

Wow! Excellent job Cyd! Congratulations!

The coverage has been terrific and much appreciated. Besides Cyd, Jim and triguy, what other Outsporters are Down Under?

Also met Rob from Virginia, our photog met someone from San Diego. A lot of people down here knew of us already.

We have a few hundred photos to go through and we will be posting more galleries in the weeks to come. There are some super images and stories still to be told.

Thanks to sportinlife, George and Jim for the congrats. Sydney has been great and I've had a great time competing and taking in the atmospere of these games. I do have to admit that I dropped a few of my events so I could be a spectator as well (not to mention recover since most of my events are distance races). It was great to finally meet Cyd, Jim and Brent from outsports, along with the thousands of other gay sport-aholics. I'm wrapping up 2 1/2 weeks in Sydney and am fortunate to have 2 weeks left to tour a few other parts of the country before heading home. I'm looking forward to seeing additional coverage on this site and can't wait for Montreal in '06.

[quote]Originally posted by Jim at Outsports:
Cyd's teams' 4X400 time was 3:27.

They won the 4X100 today in 45 seconds.

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I'M impressed! Way to go guys.

[quote]Originally posted by Jim at Outsports:
Cyd's teams' 4X400 time was 3:27.

They won the 4X100 today in 45 seconds.

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Yes, CONGRATES!! to all the Outsports jocks who not only won but who competed in the games. When you guys get home I will personally sleep with each and every one of you to show my support. Of course, as most jocks don't know, 4X400 is 1600, not 327.

[quote]Originally posted by thumper:


Of course, as most jocks don't know, 4X400 is 1600, not 327.

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Isn't that 3:27 the time of 3 minutes and 27 seconds? Not bad since that would have been competitive with the international record in
1911.

For amateurs today that's pretty good. The current world record is sub 3 minutes and was set by a team that included Michael Johnson.

Great games coverage guys! It looks like a lot of fun. With the next games in Montreal, I'm thinking I want to attend. I've got just 4 years to figure out a sport I'm anyways good at.

I would love to attend the Montreal Games as a spectator. You don't have to be a participant. I'm sure the competitors are happy to have cheering crowds.

I hope there are more like me out there. Not everyone who goes to Olympic Games is a participant. Unless they adopt a room decorating event, I think I'll just cheer and enjoy the spirit of the game's atmosphere.

[ November 11, 2002: Message edited by: Denver Fan ]

Thanks for the great coverage. Personally I know no one competing, but it was fun to read about your experiences.

Nice job on the coverage, Jim & Cyd! And great photos, too! Is a list of all the athletes from the US who participated available somewhere? I know a few guys who went down under, but I'd like to see if I know any more.

As far as we know, there is no registry list of athletes.

[quote]Originally posted by thumper:


Yes, CONGRATES!! to all the Outsports jocks who not only won but who competed in the games. When you guys get home I will personally sleep with each and every one of you to show my support.

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Great! See you soon!

Ummmm, you don't require documented proof that I competed, do you?

Well Sydney 2002 was fantastic. Living in the city it brought back memories of the great Sydney games of 2000.
I had the best week of my life out at the Track and Feild.
Winning my medals was fantastic.
But more memorable were the friends I made. Team San Fransisco your the best.
Curtis, Nora, Russ, Amy and co were so much fun to be around.
Curtis and his 13 medals. Nora and here wonderful throws. Russ and his yobo like qualities and Amy and her nickname "SB".
Curtis thanx for filling in in our relay silver was out of the question when we only had three runners.
The officials at the track were great and the meet went off with out barely a hitch.
Team LA thanx for being so gracious in victory.
I cant wait for Montreal.

Wow, Sydney was incredible. I'm really glad I did it and looking forward to Montreal. My sore achilles, pulled hammy and twisted ankle should all be better by then :-)

Z

Puma, which one were you? I was on the LA 4X100.

Hey Jim and Cyd,
Would you guys be so kind to check your private messages?
Z

I just wanted to say that as always I enjoyed participating in the games. I keep going back to them every four years because it feels great being part of a large athletic competition. I get to meet new people all the time and reaquaint myself with athletes I've met before.

Even though everyone wants to win a medal, just doing your best can give you a good feeing. I have found that the competition gets stronger with each subsequent Gay Games. That should not deter anyone who wants to compete from doing so.

Lastly, I enjoy going to the games because it gives me an opportunity to travel to new places with friends and teammates that I might not have done otherwise.

I was the loud guy who ran the third leg for Team Sydney 1.
I had so much fun I doubt I will repeat my 4 golds and 1 silver in Montreal or any games after that for that matter. I had a blast even had my heart flutter,but it was not meant to be. but more then the medals it was competeing with and aginast people who sexuality didnt matter, who I could be me infront of.
But Sydney is now back to normal the weather is cold and windy and slightly overcast but still no rain.
I misssed out on speaking to so many people and didnt get a few people email. Sonny form DC if your out there contact me.
Hugs guys cant wait to chat more.
Andrew

Wow. I ran into someone I know last night at the Caps game who played hockey down there. Or tried to. He broke his leg in the first game they played and was sidelined the rest of the Games. Poor guy, I felt bad for him.

he said the rink there was terrible though, that the ice was slushy and no glass, just boards! Boy, it's a good thing it was non-checking hockey!

Well, next time the Games are in Montreal. I'm sure they'll have good conditions!

Trevor

[quote]Originally posted by xanthos:
Observations in Sydney.

These are good times.

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LOL!

I responded to your PM xanthos.

Comrades:

I noticed something strange in the newspapers lately. I have been checking the Outsports web page daily for the Gay Games, but I noticed that there was no mention of the Gay Games in the newspapers.

Today I did an archives search for the past 30 days for this term: "Gay Games" and here are the results of these fine newspapers:

The New York Times:

OOPS, Comrades! I hit the TAB button and my message was sent before I finished it! Pardon me!

The New York Times none
The Washington Post none
The Chicago Tribune none
The Los Angeles Times none

What gives?

Mikestead

In that case, kudos to the Detroit Free Press.

On Nov 1 they carried a story about the Games ("the biggest athletic event no one ever heard of") and profiles of five (5) competitors as they prepared to depart for Sydney. Then on Nov 15, after the participants had arrived back home in Detroit, the Freep published a follow-up on their individual results, with their comments about the experience.

Both stories appeared in the paper's Features/Living section.

[quote]Originally posted by mikestead:
What gives?

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As has been mentioned in these threads before, the mainstream press does not cover the games. They do not perceive them as a "serious" sporting event, and see them as a gay party event somewhere on the scale between Pride Day and Southern Decadence. This is partly the media's fault and partly the fault of the games organizers, who promote the event as a Cultural Festival.

Mainstream media interest peaked in 1994 -- the Ganes were in NYC for the 25th anniv of Stonewall. If that wasn't a hook to hang a story on, what was? Except for the late great Dick Schaap of ABC (who was a friend of Tom Waddell), the major media outlets ignored a huge event in their own backyard. So why be surprised that they ignored one that was on the other side of the world?

Hi Guys:

I have just gotten back from Australia and finally had time to post to say, Great Job, Syd and Jim! It took over an hour to go through the entire coverage of the Games at Outsports, and it was excellent.

I thought the Games as a whole were excellent. I heard some complaints about the venue sites and the facilities, but the basketball venue was wonderful. The games were well run, organized, the volunteers were cheerful, they knew what they were doing, and almost everyone was very professional. The referees for the most part were consistant and classy (as well as being extremely cute, first time I wanted to flirt with a ref). It was definitely one of if not the best gay tournament I have ever attended, much better than Amsterdam. The only complaint was that we played too much basketball, we had 9 games over 5 days and since my team made the tournament round we had a 10th. That gave us little time to go to other venues, see the sites, and relax. By Friday I was completely worn out.

The only other criticism of the games was that the closing was pretty lame, but after the Opening Ceremonies, which was unparalleled in the richness and variety of the performances, I think the Sydney committee just ran out of steam, creative juices and money.

All in all the games were wonderful. The feeling you get when at the opening ceremony you walk into a packed arena with your teammates and friends, and everyone is cheering, wow. I know that some of the participants are not the greatest athletes, but I like the fact that old (in basketball years) guys like me can play and compete, even though we know we aren't going to medal. I think that the goal of participation and personal best is an admirable one and I have to disagree with the people that think that the Gay Games are a pride event. It may be partly that but not many years ago I thought that I was the only gay guy out there who liked participating in sports. The Gay Games gives us the opportunity to combine two very important aspects of our lives, sports and gay identity.

And as for the parties and the cultural events, they were nice I guess, I didn't make any of them except the private basketball party, and almost all of my friends were the same way. Besides, I was too tired after playing to stay up after 11 anyway.

And I had the opportunity to meet Jim from Outsports! What a great guy, and a cutie I may add. Oh, sorry, Jim doesn't like us to get personal in these postings. Sorry I missed meeting Cyd. And Chuck Martin, one the the photographers Outsports uses, is a great guy.

The gay games may be a cultural event for some, but for me it is about sports. Some excel, some are mediocre, but everyone tries and most are better for it.

rob

glad you had a good time at the games, rob. maybe "team chiaho" will have a reunion sometime soon?

drop me a line next time you're planning to play a tournament. i think my knee has fully healed from my surgery and i had a great time playing with y'all in boston the last time...

greg

Cyd,

I saw that a Brian Fell was on your relay team. Is this guy the former UCLA All-American and NCAA 4x4 Champ?

Yes LaRonce, that's him.

Cool. That guy ran an amazingly gutsy anchor leg a years ago at the NCAA Championships--basically diving at the finish to secure the win for the Bruins.

Its good to see that he still competes.

Jim and Cyd, great stories you guys have been posting on the site about the games. I thought today's piece by Jeff Ofstedahl was noteworthy for his experience dealing with the disappointment of not being able to achieve his potential due to a freak incident.

No matter how many times an athlete says they've gotten over it, I know the emotional pain is difficult to take. Guess it's a guy thing.

I think his is a courageous and instructive story.

ditto.

i enjoy reading the first person accounts by the games' participants. hope some more will be forthcoming.

Check out Chuck Martin's excellent photos in the new Swimming Gallery.

I was also struck by a comment in the article A Great Week at the Track: "Because no records had been kept in New York or Amsterdam, all of the gold-medal times at the track were new Gay Games records." Get outta here. No official records existed??

Thanks. We enjoy these and will be posting more as we edit them.

A question? We have a ton of unused photos. Would people enjoy still seeing them? There are some great images and assume people never get sick of that.

Yes, more Gay Games pics please! I've really enjoyed seeing your photos of the beautiful athletes, happy faces, and buff bodies (any more pics of the bodybuilders?)... Bring 'em on!

yeah, please post the other pics. the gay sports world is small enough that i recognized many people in the pictures already posted. it would be nice to come across pictures of a few more friends....