Gay Games VII Opening Ceremony Review

Confessions of an Athletic Supporter

It was 2:30 a.m. and I’d just returned home from the opening ceremony of Gay Games VII. The over four hour event ended shortly after midnight and my belabored public transit experience was far from pleasant. As a regular user of the CTA, I know that heavy ridership after a large public event is expected—so is a train car full of sweaty, tired attendees. Fortunately, many from the event had not lost their enthusiasm while on the train. Speaking for myself, I was ripe. Yes, ripe. I was wearing the funk of a hot humid summer day so I desperately wanted a shower and sleep in my comfortable bed.

In the cramped train car, I had plenty of time to reflect about the evening's spectacle. I couldn’t help but compare it in some ways to a very dysfunctional family reunion. There was anticipation, expectation, best intentions, and stoic pride fused with moments of anxiety and, most importantly, genuine love. The evening in Soldier Field was packed with inspiration and activism, politics and performers, music and much more. In fact, it was the "much more" that I found most challenging to appreciate. Clearly, the organizers did not underestimate the importance of a gathering this large and with so much press attention. And so, with the art and majesty befitting the symbolic introduction to a global sporting and cultural event, there was song and there was dance... and there were speeches. So many speeches.

The evening began appropriately with the traditional parade of over 10,000 athletes and a wonderful rendition of "Anthem" (from Broadway’s Chess) performed by the Gay Games mixed chorus. The crowd was surprised and delighted when the stadium lights were darken and the athletes branded their colored glow sticks creating an impressive recreation of a rainbow flag covering the field. Other fitting stand-out moments included: the Opening National Anthem impressively sung by Chicago Gay Idol winner Christy Fairbairn, Megan Mullally's witty introduction of Mayor Daley, a well-produced visual tribute to the Games' Co-Founder Dr. Tom Waddell, and the Keynote Address from former UN Ambassador James C. Hormel.

Stand-out performances included: Broadway performers Jose Llana and Billy Porter (I could hear Llana sing anything!), Heather Small singing her now-classic anthem "Proud", comedian Kate Clinton's witty account of growing up as a girl jock, the beautifully choreographed dance performances (most notable was the sequence to songs from Annie Lennox's haunting Bare compilation), gay music icon Andy Bell, and the marvelous Jody Watley who only seems to get better with age. Unfortunately, a stadium venue strips the power and intimacy of certain performers like Small, Bell and Watley and seems better suited to moving ballads than to dance songs.

Since the Games have been promoted as a "sports and cultural festival," it became clear that the ceremony's organizers planned to will equal time to LGBT issues. The question for every viewer and attendee was whether the "politics" complimented or overshadowed the "celebration." Blended into the entertainment was an assortment of politically-charged speakers touching on many relative LGBT issues. Some were inspiring and concise while others were, in my opinion, inappropriate. BET host and former White House aide Kevin Boykin's speech about AIDS as portions of the AIDS Quilt were unfolded on the filed was moving and direct. On the other hand, New York poet and activist Stacyann Chin's angry and officious rant about the gay community’s lack of concern toward their own oppression (among many other things) was caustic and unsettling. That was obviously her intent and she delivered it. As a proponent of free speech, I’m the first to encourage such expression, however not in this venue. Still, she received rousing applause once she finally caught her breath.

Fortunately, the ceremony's end was worth waiting for and a real crowd-pleaser for any that stayed to see it. As I watched the lighting of the ceremonial torch and the fireworks explode over the stadium, I wondered what impression it made on the community and especially to the world at large.

After a long rest, I awoke Sunday morning and settled into my first cup of coffee. My phone rang. It was my dear from Jeannette from suburban Detroit, a wife and mother of two teenage sons. I began to tell help all about the Gay Games and the event I had just witnessed when I heard her reply, "Wait. Did you say 'games'? Ohhh, I thought you said 'gay gangs'..."

I guess we still have a long way to go.