Here's a column from yesterday's NYTimes by a gay guy who writes how his love of football (and Patriots football in particular) made him a better man (or straighter man? -- you tell me).

QUOTE:
"I had signed up for the Patriots' Listserv by then and read all the hyperlinked articles, so I knew Tom Brady's quarterback rating (and also that if a "big guy" like him could highlight his hair, so could my cousin), and I knew the answer when somebody more alpha would frustratingly snap his fingers looking for the right player to prove his point. With these small displays, I suddenly found arms around my shoulders and myself in corners of rooms inside a familial huddle that included other men. I was becoming more fluent in their language, even though they had yet to speak mine."

Patriots Made a Man of Me. (reg. req.)

An interesting piece...

.... remniscent to a speech from the Mason \"Mars\" Marzac character in Take Me Out describing how baseball changed him.

I think, in the end, it's a good thing. If sports is something that can help bridge the conversational gap between gay men and straight me, I think that is a good thing.

Sports has long been a uniting factor in our culture. Take, for example, this site . . . .

Whenever I'm out of town and meet another Stanford or Patriots fan, I know I have an instant bond with them. I love that part of it.

What real man reads the style section?

I only read it to see if there are any gay "marriages" and to look at the pretty boys at the snooty social events.

Unfortunately I doubt most straight guys even got to read that article. All's the pity.

BTW, I loved it.

GREAT article - too bad it wasn't printed on the sports pages!