This topic came up in the "Do closeted gay athletes visit Outsports" thread and I couldn't find another thread that addressed the same question so I thought I'd start this one.

Hence my story, in brief:

I was attracted to sports even before I knew I was gay, and I knew that from very early, before I was 10 at the latest. But there were so many other things I liked, that my sports-crazed peers weren't interested in, that I never became a part of the athletes' cliques.

I first realized I was somewhat physically gifted when my first grade class raced and I was much faster than anyone else. My ego returned to normal quickly when our class raced against the less academically gifted class and about three or four of the boys came in ahead of me (though not by much, just enough to snatch me back to reality).

I then stuck to books and lessons, something I was better at than the rest of my peers until high school, which was my first encounter with integration. It took a couple of years before I again became interested in organized sports and made the soccer team based on speed and the lack of interest on the part of other athletic boys (basketball was king and football later the queen - it was too expensive for the school to take seriously during my early high school years.

Our soccer team wasn't great but it was the most fun I'd ever had in an organized sport. Another orphan sport was track and field. That was a natural for me - long jump, high jump, relays and my best event the triple jump which for some reason most guys couldn't "wrap their legs" around so to speak. I was the only one who managed never to disqaulify for skipping when I should jump or vice versa. Heck, I even had the school record for a year.

My active sports days ended in college when I blew out my knee in a pick-up game of basketball. Still I have only fond memories of the little sports I've been able to be active in. My only regret is missing being able to participate in those sports with a bunch of like-minded openly gay guys when I was able to.

But now at least I've got Outsports and all you great folks to chat and reminisce with. So how corny is that? I'll stop before I start getting all mooshy. [insert Bucky the cat imitation]

[ October 22, 2003, 05:30 PM: Message edited by: sportinlife ]

In another thread, stinger85 posted

I'd be interested in knowing some of the sports history of some of the common posters here. I think it'd be interesting to know who was a fan, who was a player, what sports and at what level.

For example, I played some college football, but quit the team when I came out. Mostly because football had stopped being fun at the time and I was trying to focus on other things, not because I felt threatened by being out. Some of the posters have some good insights, and I'm kind of curious to know if they were players...or just insightful spectators.


gmginsfo replied

Stinger, take a few minutes and read the posters' profiles. They tell a bit - or a lot, depending upon your perspective - and one of the things they tell is that most of us do have a background of participating competitively at various levels of all kinds of sports.


CPT_Doom replied

I don't remember what I put in my profile on the athletic side, but I would suspect I am like a lot of gay guys (if not Outsports members) in that I was turned off by sports at a young age and only developed a passion for them in my 20s.

Sure I followed the Red Sox as a kid (and have fond memories of game 6 of the 1975 World Series, which was also the first season I saw Fenway), but did not/could not play sports because of significant physical disabilities, caused by a bout of spinal meningitis as an infant.

My own ineptness at sports, coupled with the hyper-masculinity of it (and although I did not know I was gay, I certainly understood I was not masculine like other boys) really turned me off to it, and I was happy to attend one of the few high schools in MA that did not require gym.

It was not until college and group-house living in DC that I learned to appreciate sports (and I still credit the 1992 (or was it 1991?) World Series between the Twins and the Braves for teaching me baseball strategy) and became a fan. Only after that did I actually become a player (and who else can say they didn't play team sports until they were 27?).

One of the interesting occurrances, though, was that as I played more and got better, I discovered that masculinity does not equal heterosexuality, and that one can be a very competitive player but still be gay. Given that many "ex-gay" groups preach that gay men must learn team sports to help them become straight, I find it ironic that it was playing team sports that helped me come out.

[ October 22, 2003, 08:03 PM: Message edited by: m1 ]

Thanks for starting the thread sportinlife. I hope others will share their stories as well. Here's mine.

My dad is/was a coach (football & basketball) and I had a brother 2 years older than me. My dad would take us to his practices and so I really was exposed to sports at a young age...not to mention the men's lockerroom!! We have old videos of my dad, my brother, and me playing football in the front yard from when I was about 4. So I was exposed to organized sports a lot younger than most guys I think. Not to mention that when your dad is a coach, your skills are usually much better.

As soon as I hit junior high, I was on the football team, the basketball team, and ran track. I never had good size so I struggled in football the first few years, but my shooting and ball handling skills were much better than my peers in basketball and so I accelerated at that much quicker. I did okay in track. My natural athletic ability is ok, so I struggle to compete against naturally gifted people. But I have good skills and intelligence which really pays off in organized team sports.

In high school, I developed a bit more size and my senior year I was selected to the state all-star football team, my basketball team barely missed going to the state tournament, and I made it to the state finals in the hurdles in track.

It was in high school that I started to realize I might be gay. I had already spent a lot of time in the men's lockerroom because of my dad being a coach. And when I was little I remember admiring the guy's bodies...but it was admiration, not sex appeal...maybe because I was 10!! But in high school, I started to notice the attraction and the admiration for a great athletic body was becoming more sexual.

I finished high school and went to play college football. At the age of 19 I had my first gay experience...first sexual experience for that matter...and that began my coming out process. College football became less fun and more demanding. I wanted to focus more on my studies and get a good job during college where my experience would help launch me into a career.

I am now back to playing sports and working out and finding other gay men who enjoy watching a good game and playing catch.

I ran track in HS and the first couple of years in college, specifically, the steeplchase. In HS, one could not be on the track team exclusively, so I also played basketball. In college, I suffered a knee injury and got out of the competitive angle of running. Now I golf (not too well) and enjoy any low-stress, pick-up game of basketball, softball, etc.

~Adam

I played Warner League football until I was 12 and then switched to soccer, I played both Little League and Babe Ruth baseball, until it got into interfering w/ my tennis game, I also played a lot of basketball, but in HS it was cut short because of Winter Tennis Tournaments I played! Still wish I wouldv'e stayed w/ Basketball. I love Basketball and know I couldv'e scored over a 1,000 points which is huge in NJ! Played tennis in college, was ranked #4 in Junior Colleges at 1 time! Should have played both, through out my career, but was talked out of B.Ball and it still annoys me til this day! Coached BBall, and won some big Tournaments! I'll always be remembered as the "Tennis Player" though and that pisses me off! I am a certified tennis pro, BJK signed my certificate! It happened at University of Deleware in 1988, and I was the only 1 to beat her in a tie-breaker match! (Out of the other potential tennis pro's). Kathy Jordan and Lisa Raymond also defeated her!

That's pretty cool Lakers, to play against Billie Jean King. I lost the only tennis match I ever played, against little brother owe-too-many years ago to remember.

What is the origin of "Warner League" football? Is it the same as "Pop Warner"? Couldn't find much on the web. My eight year old nephew (different brother) is playing linebacker and running back. His dad goes on about it quite a lot.

[ October 24, 2003, 03:58 PM: Message edited by: sportinlife ]

This seems like a cool thread.

I played baseball from 6 years old until 8th grade. I was reasonably good, the kind of guy who would make the all-star team in Little League but sit on the bench. I might have considered playing for my high school team in California, but we moved to Georgia just before 9th grade and I decided to stick to golf.

I've played golf for pretty much my whole life. My dad would take my brother and me out to the course when we were four, five, six, whatever, and we would just piddle around. I started to play competitively in high school, starting locally and moving onto regional tournaments all over the southeast. The three of us logged a lot of miles and stayed in a lot of Hampton Inns in places like Opelika, AL, playing two-day tournaments. None of the schools I was planning on applying to gave athletic scholarships, so these were very low-key and fun events for me. If I shitted it up with an 82-81 it wasn't a big deal because my future prospects didn't depend on the scores I was shooting.

I peaked the summer after senior year of high school, when I finally started to crack the national scene and shoot some good scores. I finished 2nd at the state high school championship that spring and low handicap was probably about +2 or +2.5 at its lowest. I easily walked on to (and was out to) my college team and played for a year. It was fun, but my problem with the team was, like most of the things I do, lack of motivation and burning out. I always hated to practice, and in D-I college golf you practice six days a week. Add to that schoolwork and joining an a cappella group second semester, and it was just too much. I'm on an extended break from the game, but I'll be back eventually.

I don't know if this counts as a sport, but my #1 activity so far in college has been pool. I'm the best player I know of here and won a decent amount of money this summer (usually just to pay my bar tab). Were it not for a recently broken ankle a little more than two weeks ago I'd be practicing up and trying to find a league to play in. Those plans are on hold until my foot heals.

[ September 19, 2004, 02:10 PM: Message edited by: golfer 21 ]

I played just about anything with a ball, except guys HAHA. I played little league baseball played first and pitched. Junior high brought basketball and track and field (shot put, discus, softball throw), football. Played softball in the summer, still playing. High school volleyball,basketball, track and field. College volleyball,basketball, track and field.
I am still involved in sports by being a certified athletic trainer. After 4 knee surgeries I don't recover as quickly as I use to.

You threw me for a minute there, until I read the "les" part of your name. You must have thrown a pretty good sucker pitch! Like a lot of gay men, I'm a great sucker. wink

I have very little to share but it's interesting to read about everyone's experiences. I didn't have any interest whatsoever in any sports until age 10. My only experience with any organized sports is a year in high school doing intramural bowling, and two years playing in the gay softball league in the 1980s -- on the same team as phillyrunner, as we learned to our amusement last year in Montreal when we first met, or so we thought!

All the guys in my family play soccer. What sport did you think a German/Austrian family would play? I started playing at the age of 5, however by the age of 7 it became evident even to my Dad that I would have to find some other sport.

It seems the competitive gene that runs in my family was amplified about 100 times in me! It is one thing to get in a fight with your opponents but to start fights with your own team during a game is a no-no. I was a decent swimmer as we had a nice pool in the backyard, that I was thrown into competitive swimming. This was a sport where I could blame no one else but myself if I lost, or so my Dad thought. I guess he forgot about relays wink

By the time I reached junior high I was taken out of P.E. so I could practice with the high school team. This is where I was introduced to Water Polo. The team played polo after swim season ended. It turned out that water polo was a good sport for me, it was rough enough all the pulling and grabbing under the water yet so exhausting that I couldn't start fights with my own team. We were water polo state champs my junior and senior years. We always took third in swimming at the state championship, it sucks that 2 schools were really dominant and attracted the best swimmers in the state.

Neverthless I was offered a swimming scholarship that paid for all my tuition, but did not cover travel expenses to the meets. This was back when the U of U was part of the WAC. When I did the math I realized it would be cheaper to pay for school without a scholarship than to take the scholarship and pay for travelling to the meets. This was when Hawaii was part of the WAC.

About a year after I moved to Seattle I started to swim competitively again with the Orcas the local gay team. I got bored with that as swimming was never my favorite. I am now swimming at the gym to bring my swimming skills up to speed so I can hopefully in the winter start playing with the Otters the local gay water polo team.

Sorry for the long post.....

Mike

I can't believe there isn't already a thread on this topic, but -

If you are interested in some of the stories of people who normally visit here, might I suggest the website...

www.neverstopthinking.org

There are several interesting articles by well known gay sports figures from Dan Woog to Nat Brown in the index (including one by myself, "Dust and Sweat and Blood" - not bad IMHO); and I would encourage anyone who is interested to submit articles for publication. It is for a good cause. All of the authors, and the site operators drop in here at least occaisionally...

As for what I have done... well you'll have to read the article won't you :cool:

Rob

[ September 21, 2004, 03:32 PM: Message edited by: ITJock ]

Sports I played growing up were baseball for 10 years, from T-Ball to my freshman year of HS (at the time my school had a plethera of 1Bs, so the playing time was sparse). Bowling from ages 5-14, 4 years of basketball in HS, 1 year (Freshman) Football in HS, and 3 years of tennis-the final year being second team in the division for first doubles. Only plaed intermural sports in college, did flag football 2 season, baskeball 2 seasons and singles tennis one. Didn't do any varsity sports in college, the only one I think I would have been good enough to make the team in was in Tennis and my school didn't have a men's tennis team.

How many gay athletes had fathers (or mothers) who were coaches? My dad was a football coach and although he did not push me into football I certainly grew up in an atmosphere that stressed sports, both participatory and spectator.

When I was a kid I was always going over to practice after school (free daycare), and hanging around the locker room after practice. I remember enjoying watching the guys take showers, all those fit and beautiful bodies (although my dad coached junior high football when I was young, so the players couldn't have been over 16 years old, <sigh> a chicken hawk AND chasing older men when I was 11). I also remember once being intranced by a guy who was toweling off, he had bright red pubic hair. I stared and the guy caught me staring, I was so embarrassed. Was that the first example of my attraction to redheads? But just the jock atmosphere, the guys slapping each other on the butts, the interaction between them, was fascinating, I knew at some level I wanted to be part of that experience.

Since I was 7, when my dad first put an 8-foot goal on the driveway, I have had a love affair with basketball. I have always been tall for my age, and basketball came a bit more naturally than other sports. To me basketball is the perfect combination of creative individuality and reliance on teammates. It has speed and physicality, but also players must be intelligent on the fly and be able to improvise at a moment's notice.

And around adolescence I was a bit of a sissy nerd who would rather read than play with friends. My parents channeled me toward basketball (or pushed?) and much to their relief I took it up with a vengence. It also helped me relate with the other boys when it was pretty clear to me that I did not have much else in common with them. And in looking back the sport just turned me from a sissy nerd into a sissy nerd varsity jock. But I was terrified that other kids would learn how different I really was, so I just "dated" my (fag hag) high school girlfriend and had no sexual experiences in high school.

I was good enough to be the best player on my hs team, and it got me noticed by Div. III college teams. Luckily I decided to go to a private small DIII school and try to play ball than going to the large state schools where I would have had no chance nor would I have tried. The small college sports experience is really an extension of high school sports, enjoyable, fulfilling, and very little exposure, unless the team is good enough to make the NCAAs, which my team did twice in my 4 years. I started most games my first 2 years and every game my last 2, and I learned the game of basketball from an excellent coach. But I used the status playing a sport gave me to hide from myself, I had a couple experiences with my freshman roommate but after that tried to live the monastic life and pretend I was straight. Team sports are so fraternal, teammates so close, that anything outside the norm is repressed. Your teammates are the most important people in your life and being gay would have harmed (at least in your mind) those relationships. So I was never out or even accepting of myself in college. I really regret that I was not a stronger person and admitted, at least to myself, that I was gay. I ended up dating a girl for a year as well, and now I feel I lied to her and was unfair to her.

What a difference 20 years makes. We see things differently through maturity and knowledge and the passing of time.

For so long after college I worried I was the only gay man who loves sports, both playing and spectating. But the internet changed all that, we gay sports guys are plentiful, just disbursed to major cities and some smaller places in-between. That is how I found the gay basketball community and the Outsports community. Isn't it great to be out, open, to be able to participate in gay sports (2 gay games and many, many gay bball tournaments for me), to get together with gay friends to watch your favorite sports or even go to games together. Yes, I have lost some friends over being out and open, but I have gained so much more than I have lost.

And ITJock, your story is incredible and really beautiful, and it reflects the struggles of gay men in team sports very well. Good luck on your round-the-world cruise, that sounds like so much fun!

Bballrob, that was one of the most enjoyable posts that I have read on here.

I think all of us can identify with the thoughts that you had in high school and college and yes, what a difference 20 years of maturity makes.

Bballrob -

Great post!

Please think about writing a submission for Discourse...

I think these stories need to be told...

Rob

[ September 22, 2004, 01:09 PM: Message edited by: ITJock ]

Here, here, BBR!

Thanks guys, but my story isn't much different than lots of gay guys, I am sure. ITJock's story on Discourse is really excellent, everyone should read it.

I have really enjoyed reading this thread. I appreciate how open the posts have been layering coming out issues with stories about playing organized sports.

I played soccer in High School. My brother (who is much older than me) was a gifted soccer player so there was an expectation that I would follow in his footsteps. Not the case.

I ended up playing what was then known as left wing -- basicaly feeding the ball to the center and halfbacks. I have strong legs which coupled with my competitiveness compensated for a lack of athleticism. I also practiced occasionally with the football team kicking field goals in case the kicker (who was excellent) was injured. That didn't happen and I never suited up. BTW, the football players were a heck of a lot more fun than the soccer guys -- totally different dynamic.

I wasn't even close to being talented enough to play on a college team so, like many of the posters here, concentrated on my academics and partying.

I now play golf (unfortunately infrequently) but not very well. Decent off the tee and with the long irons. Short game and putting are pretty awful. I broke my arm playing golf about 7 years ago but that's a story for another thread. Surprisingly, no alcohol was involved

George Viking (Eagles) Fan and I were discussing golf after the MNF festivities -- maybe we can get a group together for a round sometime soon.

Actually MD, you're a shut down CB... dont forget that.

Which is precisly why it should be published for many upcoming athletes - gay and straight - to read.

You are important as a role model.

There are damn few of us.

Rob

God - I thought I was the only gay man in the world who played Golf!

Make it a round for Charity and I will Fly back.

Say LLDF?

Rob

This is a very interesting thread! Thanks for starting it. I am probably like most gay men growing up with atheletics and dealing with the attraction bit.

Unfortunately, I was never athletically gifted growing up. I started playing sports around 7, playing Tball. I may have actually been fairly decent, however I wasn't able to keep up with it because of costs. Also, at that young age I was beginning to see the 'politics' of playing sports in small towns. The rich and connected kids got to play more than me, and therefore improved their skills. This was to set them up for success in little league and HS. I did become really involved in horseback riding. I did compete locally in 'speed & action' events, as well as showing in 4-H. I didn't play sports again until Junior High. I played basketball and baseball. I am to this day not very coordinated and so I didn't actually play much basketball, though I was on the team until my Junior year. I was much better at baseball, though my hitting was not as good as it should have been. I was a good base runner (read: fast) and my fielding was reliable. My high school did not have any track, other than PE, until we started a cross country team my Senior year. I did race that year, but distance was not really my thing. If we would have had a track & field team, I definitely would have participated solely because of my speed (despite being really short). That was pretty much my sports activity, until recently. In college, I was focusing on my acedemics and drinking, as well as struggling with being gay.

I became a closet sports fan (went to almost every Michigan State football game, a few basketball games, some gymnastics events). My fraternity had an IM hockey team and I would go watch those as well. They always tried to get me to play, but still being a little un-coordinated I probably would have spent more time on my butt.

Now, I have come full circle and have reconciled being a gay athlete. This was my first year playing organized sports since HS. We started a local gay co-ed softball team in our city league (again being in a smallish town). I also had the opportunity to play in my first tournament, by playing in the Dairyland Classic in Milwaukee with a team from the Twin Cities. This has been the best summer in a long time. I really enjoyed playing, both in Milwaukee and in our city league. I am no longer worried about reconciling being gay and enjoying watching/playing sports.

Now looking back, I wish I had stuck with baseball throughout high school and played in college. Now, I have to settle with rebuilding my abilities.

Jeff

If you think it's bad in general, try playing competitively. My gaydar NEVER went off.

I've played various organized competitive sports all my life. Started in Little League. In high school I was on the football (WR), basketball and baseball (1B or SS) teams freshaman through junior years. Hoops was my best sport. Senior year I gave up baseball to play tennis.

In college I only played on the tennis team though I continued football (flag) and basketball at the intramural level. By junior year I was playing #1 singles and doubles, though admittedly I was over my head at #1 in singles.

I also play golf, but only recreationally.

Played basketball in the New York Gay Games in '94. Hadn't played any organized hoops since high school, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well I played!

Now I play softball in the gay league and played volleyball for several years in the early '90s. Injury forced me to drop volleyball. Would love to get back to tennis but the local gay tennis group has it's events on Saturday nights and I work then.

[ September 23, 2004, 01:02 PM: Message edited by: George_eaglefan ]

My God -

Four (4) of us who admit to being Golfers! :cool:

Who else will come out of the closet next? wink

Rob

I guess I'll put my two cents worth in. We are always a very active sports family, with my older brother being the big sports hero on the Babe Ruth league baseball team (he hit the home run in the bottom of the whatever inning that won the championship). How does one follow that? I've always been a little guy (ended up topping out at 5' 4"), so I never advanced from the "minor leagues" to the "major leagues" when I was playing baseball. Ended up being the last kid picked for the Babe Ruth league (on my older brother's team, of course), so I'm sure he told someone to pick me. After that, didn't do any high school sports, but took up golf right after high school. Haven't played that since I moved to CA over 20 years ago. In my 20s, I played competetive volleyball with a gay group in Detroit. We joined up with a bunch of guys in Chicago, and actually had national tournaments with teams coming in from all over the country back in the last 70s and early 80s. Now that I've been "married" for 24 years, the only sport we are involved in is pool. I've gotten to be pretty good over the years; won a gold medal at Gay Games II back in 1986 for 9-ball. Have won numerous tournaments; Dennis and I play in an 8-ball league here in SF.

And in case I've never mentioned it, thanks to Jim and Cyd for this site. It's one I visit every day, though I don't post all that much. Still enjoy reading what everyone has to say.

I golf about once every six weeks; I'm terrible, but I do golf. So it's up to five.

~Adam

Good thread. I'm enjoying reading the stories. I started playing Little League Baseball as a kid, but switched to swimming when I was eight. At 12 we moved to Nashville, which just happened to have one of the best swim programs in the country at the time. My swimming really took off. I was state highschool champion for two years, finaled at U.S Nationals, made a U.S. National Team, swam in the 1984 Olympic Trials, and got a swimming scholarship to Texas. At Texas I was a SWC (now Big 12) conference champion and record holder and qualified for NCAAs all four years. I'm also a four-year letterman there. I've swum Masters and have held two Master's world records. I switched to Triathlons for about 7 years, and had good success at the local/regional level. I've also run three marathons. Now I mainly hit the gym and run a little to stay in shape. At some point I'll probably get back into swimming.

I was never out in college, but was secretly having sex with men anywhere I could find them. I didn't come out to my teammates and friends from college until about 10 years afterward, although I think most had already figured it. (I had been living with my partner for about 5 years.) To my teammates it's no big deal, and everyone couldn't care less now. It's really interesting how we build things up to be so big, and in reality it never turns out that way. There was so much wasted energy pretending to be someone I wasn't when I should have just been myself.

While I was in college, we had one guy who was forced to come out to the team. Long story, but he was being blackmailed, so he told the coach. Most everyone was cool with it, but I do remember some guys saying how they didn't want to shower with him and that they were afraid he would be staring at everyone in lockerroom. It seemed like it all blew over pretty quickly and everyone got over it.

That was 20 years ago, and I think it would probably be a little easier, at least on a swim team, to come out now.

Wow, this is long post. Sorry guys (and gals).

[ September 24, 2004, 10:50 AM: Message edited by: swimmer ]

That's a very encouraging observation swimmer, even if it does not seem to extend to the pro sports world yet, even in swimming to my knowedge. Perhaps you or others know otherwise.

Baseball and football through high school, that was it for me.

I do not consider myself an athlete, but my mother was a coach with a successful women's basketball program in junior high and high school in the '70s. With her background, and coaching experience, it was expected that I follow in her footsteps, and play basketball.

I had the build for it, tall and lanky, but any intuition for the game was missing. I had no physical ability whatsoever. Running, passing, throwing were all foreign concepts to me, and as much as I tried, no improvement was forthcoming.

While she never said anything to me, I could tell it hurt mom to see me play (the rare times I did play). Once, in HS, I had the basketball coach try and recruit me just because of my height. He got me on the court, and once he saw how bad my basic skills were, he walked off the court, leaving me to wonder what the hell just happened (lesson learned: height does NOT equal talent).

I stayed on as a manager, just so I could get the credits to graduate. Once I had the credits, I got out of sports completely.

Fast forward to now, and I currently have an uneasy truce with sports and the past. I love to watch some football and track, but for the "wrong" reasons. I could care less who wins a game or race, as long as they look good doing it.

Sorry this turned out to be a negative (and long) post. I have been lurking on this board for a long time, and I give congrats to all the people that had sports as a healthy, positive force in their life. I just thought it was ironic that such a force in my life actually soured instead of sweetened.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Well, I don't have specific knowledge, just a general feeling. I know that since hanging around with former teammates, and being around guys that came after me, that most think of it as no big deal. When I was in college there would be speculation about various guys, and there really wasn't a lot of negativity surrounding it. I think most just thought if it was true, that it was just experimentation. I can remember groups of us (guys and girls) going to the gay bars to go dancing and no one blinked an eye. And we were pretty popular there, I must say. Of course, at the same time, I was getting drunk at parties and making out(and more)with girls.

I think swimming draws a significantly different athlete, though, than say, football, baseball, etc.... Because of the cost, most come from middle to upper income families, and most are better educated (at least in my opinion)and less homophobic.

Good post, Swimmer, and congrats on what sounds like a fine career in the sport. Both TN and TX have had some great teams over the years. I swam middle distance free in HS and would have in college - but I had an appendectomy the third day of practice, which ended me for the year and competitively until I joined a gay Masters program in SF a decade later and swam with them for a few years. Now, I focus on fitness swimming and try to do 12-1500m every other day. I love the sport - no matter how lousy I feel before getting to the pool, I always feel like a million bucks after getting out of it! :cool:

I play in a basketball league and also play some pick up soccer. Really enjoy both. Looking forward to attempting the Tucson Marathon in Dec too Wish me luck : )

First, welcome to the world of the posters; hope you contine. I don't think watching a football game or track meet to see who looks good is a "wrong" reason at all. I love track--as my earlier post indicated, used to do steeplechase--and still go to meets but because I have limited knowledge about who the racers are, I don't have a rooting interest in any of them, so all I hope for is a well-run 800, as an example, with fit, attractive competitors. That way, I can root for them all. Not a bad thing at all.

~Adam

[ September 24, 2004, 05:10 PM: Message edited by: Adam ]

I didn't come from a back ground of a mother or father that coached, just a dad that thought that I was the son of the family. I was first born and they actually thought that I was to be a boy. My dad just started me playing sports early because I showed a nack for it. I asked for the ball glove for birthdays or a basketball goal. I wasn't into the dolls etc. I actually enjoyed being better the the boys I played with. I still like to put men in their place. I am still very competive, about the only sport I can play for fun is golf. I guess I was the dyke that the stereotypes come from. Although through high school the girls couldn't help but be jelious because I was the girl the guys invited to the super bowl parties because I was more like them then the girlfiends. Well got to go the guys basketball team is finishing practice and will need treatments.

HS played football then switched to soccer, because the football coach said I was too small. The soccer coach liked my speed so...

let's see...volleyball, softball, gymnastics, and I'm getting ready to try either Rugby or Austrailian Rules Football. There are teams in Portland that travel to play against other cities.