Gay Games Opening Ceremony

Last night I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the opening ceremonies for Gay Games VII in Chicago, held at Soldier Field (a big stadium that, apparently, is used for athletic events of some sort at times). And, although the ceremony has justly received some criticism for dragging on too long, overall I thought it was a wonderful night.

The ceremony began with the introduction of the athletes by country or, in the case of the USA, by state. As each group of participants would enter the field, they would be led by someone holding a large banner with the country's name and someone carrying the country's flag. It was interesting to see the various responses to the introduction of the countries. China's delegation received a very warm ovation, as we certainly respect the difficulty those athletes must face being gay in that society. Just before the United States was announced, a lone athlete from Uganda was introduced, carrying his country's flag, and he received one of the most enthusiastic responses of the night.

As the USA players were introduced state by state, it struck me as very odd that Illinois' delegation consisted only of about 20 or 30 people. People around me noticed as well, and some were surmising that all the Illinois people were volunteering so were not able to walk out onto the field. My friend who was with me kept laughing because I insisted that there had to be more than that.

But then, sure enough, after all the other participants were announced, the announcer stated, "And now, ladies and gentleman, our hosts for Gay Games VII, the athletes of the city of Chicago!" Immediately the field was flooded with 2,500 participants, most wearing sky-blue shirts the color of the Chicago city flag. It was very cool and even emotional to watch as a Chicagoan, and it was very exciting to realize that my city is one of only six in the world to host the Gay Games (the others being San Francisco in 1982 and 1986, Vancouver in 1990, New York City in 1994, Amsterdam in 1998, and Sydney in 2002. The 2010 Gay Games, by the way, will be held in Cologne, Germany).

Finally, after all 12,000 athletes were out on the field, the announcer stated, "Ladies and gentleman [I thought he should have included more options than that considering the crowd], the athletes of Gay Games VII." Immediately, all the lights in the stadium went out, and the participants, who had been given little pen lights of various colors, held up their lights to reveal a huge pride flag (pictured below). Very, very cool moment.



Click below for more comments and pictures of the opening ceremonies...

The flag was missing the yellow stripe, but perhaps they couldn't get yellow lights or something. Still very moving effect, and the excitement in the stadium was intense.



Photos before the lights were turned off....







I love this picture...





Not the best panorama ever, but I didn't have a tripod to keep the camera steady. At least it gives some perspective....



After the athletes left the field, the ceremony continued with what started out to be an enjoyable program. An early highlight was an appearance by Will & Grace's Megan Mullally (Karen Walker), who is just as awesome in real life as you would expect. Here's a photo that, if you squint, you can kinda tell it is her....



She gave a nice speech and then introduced Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. Now, Mayor Daley, whether you love or hate his politics, is frankly a pretty cool guy. His support of projects such as the revitalization of Navy Pier and the building of Millennium Park has helped to make Chicago a destination spot far more than it was when I first visited the city as a California boy on vacation back in 1987. And I had heard that he has been supportive of the gay community in Chicago.

But my personal estimation of the mayor rose considerably during his speech Saturday evening. It is often easy to tell when a politician is saying something that, although he perhaps believes it, is something he says primarily for political expediency. But, as Mayor Daley began speaking about the struggle for equality for gay and lesbian people in America, something seemed to change in his voice and tone, and I felt that he became personally and emotionally involved in what he was saying. It seemed to be words not to win (or in this case, maintain) votes but rather words that he truly believes and believes are worth working for even by those who, like him, are not homosexuals. It was another moment that I was grateful to be from Chicago.

As the evening progressed, there were various speeches, musical numbers, and even interpretive dances....





However, sometime around the second unfulfilling interpretive dance or the eighth extended political speech, the program really began to drag. It got to the point that significant numbers of people got up and left. I wanted to stay, because I had heard that the end was something worth seeing; however, by 11:30 p.m., I had to leave, because a friend had paid for my (rather expensive) ticket to the opening party at the Aragon Ballroom, so I could not keep him waiting any longer (a party that was wonderful, aside from the part where I threw up).

After I left, according to my brother who stayed for the remainder of the ceremony, the show dragged on for a while longer, but then near the end Margaret Cho made an appearance that was entertaining, and then the very end of the ceremony was quite a spectacle of fireworks and lights, complete with acrobatics by Cirque du Soleil. The program, which began at 8:00 p.m., finally concluded about 12:30 a.m. So, all in all, the ceremony, in spite of a brevity problem, was a wonderful experience.

As I sat in Soldier Field, numerous thoughts crossed my mind. First, I wondered how many people there, like me, had never before been inside Soldier Field or other NFL arena (and what were those white chalk markings all over the field?). More significantly, I thought that this was likely the largest group of like-minded people I would ever share company with in my lifetime (and the crowd was not entirely gay by any means. I saw a number of straight people, entire families in fact). I thought how privileged I am to live in a city that would be so accepting and welcoming to an event that has such significant opposition in some quarters.

And, over and over again, I thought how I wished so many of my family and friends who oppose my lifestyle could have been there with me, to see that we are not some extreme, twisted, back-of-the-alley group of people who live for nothing more than sexual escapades. Rather, with only a couple exceptions, the entire ceremony was perfectly family-friendly and presented a wonderful picture of the gay community. Certainly, it is perhaps a picture of what we aspire to be though may not always attain, but it is a picture of people who try to contribute to society, participate in all aspects of community life, and help to hold others up when they are weak. There was some anger and over-wrought rhetoric to be certain (as there will be in any group required at times to rally around a political process), but the over-arching message was one of unpretentious confidence and community. If I may momentarily indulge in cliché, I was "proud" to be in the audience. I am looking forward to the closing ceremony at Wrigley Field next Saturday, if for no other reason than that it begins much earlier, at 3:00 p.m., so it won't interfere with the closing party that I will be attending that night.

In conclusion, I love the words of Dr. Tom Waddell, the founder of the Gay Games, that he gave at the first games held in San Francisco in 1982. He said, "Today, we open new doors and we not only step out, we emerge with bounding energy and unlimited opportunity. We will learn many things about ourselves this week, and we will educate an untold number of others. We are simultaneously students and teachers. Let us hope that the audience at large is receptive to our expanded images. Let us hope that this process continues its evolution to dispel all arbitrary notions of our character."

More of us in the gay community need to learn to view ourselves as teachers rather than "activists" only. I truly believe this would help us to make in-roads into the hearts of the majority of people (in America, at least) who are open-minded and fair, but who simply have had the truth of gay people drowned out by the shrill, loud voices of a few who present them a parody of us so extreme as to have lost any resemblance to reality.