OT: Spiffnme Tennis & San Diego - Axiom Message Boards

Just in case you're bored out of your mind come Sept 17-18th, I'll be in San Diego playing in our 2005 Pacific Cup tennis tournament.

Each city's gay and lesbian tennis association from San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Vancouver compete for the "Pacific Cup". The competition is open to only intermediate players, as there is already a "Cal Cup" competion that features the top players from each city.

This year I volunteered to be one of the captains of our team. I've been busy organizing schedules, practices, coaches, etc. We begin our try-outs, and practices in May, and will be training hard each week until the event in September.

So...long story short, if you want to see me make an ass of myself on the tennis courts in San Diego, or if you just want to giggle at grown men screaming like a girl when they miss a shot, stop by and join the fun!

btw...Team LA took home the cup last year while competing in Vancouver!

PS - Team LA is always open to sponsorship! Last year we were lucky enough to get Centers Business Management (CBM) to sponsor us, which paid for our uniforms. For their support their logo was printed on our shirts!

In reply to:
if you just want to giggle at grown men screaming like a girl when they miss a shot

craig- you crack me up with your ability to laugh and make wit of the typical stereotypes that are associated with gays and lesbians. i think you are right, there will be a few moments like that.. but as a whole, there will mostly be extremely athletic men and woman, competing in a sport that they enjoy.. the humor in it for me, is the fact that you manage to pick out a little nibble of truth, and then allow the stereotype to give the punchline. its hilarious to me in a way i dont think i can explain properly here..

i always tell my wife that gay people tell the best gay jokes.. why? because they have more experience. i used to know some good fat jokes... why? well, i think we know the answer to that.

GOOD LUCK in your tennis tourney. i hope your team does well.

BTW- i will be playing in my first disc golf tourney here in a few weeks. i will let you know how that turns out!!

bigjohn

I first came across "disc golf" while in Long Beach. There's a beautiful park there with some tennis courts. While walking to the courts I saw all these people throwing discs at these posts with chains on them. I only recently ever figured out what the heck they were doing. Looks like a lot of fun though!

disc golf is great fun.. chance to get out and walk, get some good exercise. its real easy rules, and you dont have to be athletically gifted to be any good at it. each disc costs around $10 bucks, so its relatively cheap, and a great excuse to just get out and hang with your buddies for a few hours.

bray and i got to play a round when we got together in dallas, and had a good time.. he beat me, of course.. but, i have only been playing for less than a year, so i got a lot of improving to do.

BTW- one of the guys i gisc golf with likes to play tennins, so he and i are gonna try and play here in a week or so. just gotta get our schedules lined up. i pulled my racquet out last night, just to make sure it was still ok.. i havent used it in over 4 years..

bigjohn

Curtis has played doubles with us a few times. In fact, I think we're going to play again next week. I don't know anyone who plays disc golf. I'd like to give it a try. Looks very relaxing.

We played disc golf in college for cross-training. There is/was a course on campus. For cross-training we had to run from shot to shot. Very fun game.

spiff....let me know if tennis is this coming Monday or Tuesday.

In reply to:
Each city's gay and lesbian tennis association from San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Vancouver compete for the "Pacific Cup".

You realize my brain has run out of my ear from laughing so hard at this.

Catagorizing by gender, age, pro/am, geographic area... okay. By sexual orientation?

"Uhh, hi, I'm here for the baseball tournament... where's the B side for transgendered lesbian hindu mulattos?"

Bren R.

Thankfully it's funny now, but gay tennis leagues sprang up because the tollerance found today was not the same 20 years ago. Homosexuality and sports can be a volitile mix. Sports has a very masculine/macho image, and many athletes try very hard to live up to it. If that means beign a complete pr*&k towards others that don't fit neatly into that image...you get the picture.

That being the case, gay sports leagues are very popular. A nelly queen can be a nelly queen and play tennis just like Chris Everett and not have to worry about it in a gay league. With the growing tollerance in society towards the g/l community, more and more gay athletes are competing in standard USTA events. (My coach just won a 6.0 event in fact!) I'm sure some day the idea of a gay tennis league will seem rather funny...I don't think we're quite there yet though.

One thing that really puzzles me is football. Possibly the most macho sport on the planet, yet straight guys are patting each other on the butt all the time. What the heck is that all about?

"One thing that really puzzles me is football. Possibly the most macho sport on the planet, yet straight guys are patting each other on the butt all the time. What the heck is that all about?"

Also, unless he is in shotgun formation, on every offensive play the highest profile player on the team, the quarterback, cozies up to his center's caboose, and opens his hands directly beneath the center's crotch and receives the ball. Why does the FCC tolerate this behavior?

>>Why does the FCC tolerate this behavior?

No wardrobe malfunctions... yet.

Good for you, Craig! I hope you will enjoy the preparation as well as the event. Sounds like they are lucky to have your help organizing. I wish I could be there to cheer you on!

Thanks for sharing. Keep us posted.

Bren that's funny, but i do understand spiff's point.
But is football really the most macho sport out there or is it just more of a US thing? B/c in Canada, who the heck watches the CFL? (at least in comparison to say, hockey).

I suppose with Dennis Rodman having been in pro basketball, that certainly rules out said sport as the most macho. Never really thought he looked all that good in a dress.

Indeed the preparation was as fun as the actual event last year. (Though getting up at 7am every Saturday morning was tough!)

Well, it is finally getting warm enough here for some tennis. I am planning on playing for the first time this season tomorrow.

In reply to:
But is football really the most macho sport out there or is it just more of a US thing?

i would say IT IS the most macho sport out there. and, if you feel that way about the CFL, then there is NO doubt that football is WAY more popular in the states than in canada. at least in texas, people that dont even care for sports, will still follow football, or at least the cowboys. and i dont mean just during the football season. people are going crazy right now cause the draft is coming up in a few weeks. whos going where? which team will make the best deals and get the best players? then you got summer workout sessions, and finally preseason at the end of the summer. it is common for dallas cowboy practices to attract 10K people. just to watch them practice..

so, to answer your question, yes.. i do believe football is more popular down here..

bigjohn

OK, BigJohn, then why do they pat each other on the ass? We don't even do that in our gay tennis league.

In reply to:
We don't even do that in our gay tennis league.

Well...I haven't watched your league, but I know when I have played with you guys, I've seen some ass patting.

The funniest was the one time you had to tell my partner my orientation.

ya know....? i dont really have an answer.. personally, i was never a big a$$ patter myself.. i was a lineman, and we mainly just bumped helmets together as sign of praise or excitement. and its not like football players pat each other on the butt when they are off the field.

scenario #1- TWO GUYS IN LOCKER ROOM.."hey, i saw you got a new 4 year, 20 million contract.. congrats".. slaps ass in non-chalant manner.. "what the F*@K was that for?" fight begins...

scenario #2- just scored the winning TD with .10 seconds left in the game. "hey, awesome catch, you just won us the game.. great job!!" ...slaps ass in excited manner.. "thanks!!" goes and gets some gatorade....

if you want me to get all mentally introspective and such, i could say it has something to do with a male bonding experience. the players on the field feel a level of comfort with each other on that field. all of you are there to fight in a battle that each of you commits to giving your all to win and be successful. there is a sense of trust and loyalty in each other, so i think it allows for guards to be let down a little. and so the normal gay-phobic male feelings are supressed and that sense of trust is bolstered among the players, which is turn makes it to where a$$ slapping is acceptable....?

if you want another, more simple reason.. keep in mind, almost your entire body is covered in pads or some sort of protection.. but, oddly enough, your a$$ is probably the most unprotected thing on your body.. so, its just easier to slap a guy on the ass for a job well done.. cause if you slap him on the shoulder, he is liable not to feel it throught all the pads....?

i wish i had a better answer for you craig. while i laugh as i write this, i know it is one of the most mysterious unanswered questions in major sports today. maybe someone should put some real effort into this?

bigjohn

That's as good as an answer as I could give. I wished I lived in Texas for just that very reason of the following of football (especially the local HS teams) but I probably wouldn't be too popular as I HATE the Cowboys. I guess I'd be a Texan's fan.

i have always been a boys fan, but starting to dig the texans also. i am a big supporter of HS ball.. pretty much go to a game every friday night. playoffs are cool cause we have a really big stadium here in san angelo, so alot of the smaller schools from the area come here to play their playoff games. got a chance to see some really great small town teams this past year.

you should try and make it to texas once to experience the HS ball. i think its better in the smaller towns that the big cities. might not be as big a players in the small schools.. but there is just something cool when the ENTIRE town comes out to the stadium on friday to cheer for you.

ok, no thread jacking.. i am in dangerous waters..

BACK TO GAY TENNIS!!!

you know i am messin with ya craig...

bigjohn