A Gay Guide to Super Bowl XLVIII

 

I will admit that aside from skiing (on snow and water), sailing, and surfing, I did not get the sports gene.  Neither did the boyfriend.  Nonetheless, we will be attending a friend's annual Super Bowl party in Virginia Beach where there will be a plethora of gays some of whom will be actually paying attention to the game.  Since I don't follow pro-sports teams, I will be supporting the Sea Hawks based on the fact that my son (who doesn't follow sports either) and daughter and son-in-law live in Washington State whereas I have no connection at all with Denver.  Given that I will be at a Super Bowl party, a column in Out Sports gives some facts on tonight's game for the non-sports follower.  Here are highlights:

This is my 13th installment of how I see the Super Bowl, along with the important and fun angles.

A friend of mine says it perpetuates stereotypes that gay men only like the Academy Awards, reality TV or fashion, but the conceit has always been that it's a knowledgeable gay football fan hoping readers, gay or straight, will learn something new to toss out at a Super Bowl party.

WHAT: Super Bowl XLVIII (48 for our non-Roman readers) will be held Sunday Feb. 2 and pits the Denver Broncos (15-3) from from the American Football Conference against the Seattle Seahawks (15-3) from the National Football Conference. 

BUD BOWL: The game matches two teams located in states that have legalized marijuana, Colorado and Washington. Super Bowl 420, the Weed Eater Bowl … insert your pot pun here.

WHERE: The game is being played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., though technically the host city is New York. Both teams are staying in Jersey City, so don't expect a lot of late nights in Manhattan for the players. Rest assured, no A-list parties will be held in Jersey City.

WEATHER: The big news about the location is that it's the first time a game is being played in a cold weather climate in a non-covered stadium. The forecast for game time (6:30 p.m. local) is for the temperature in the mid-20s with a chance of snow showers, which would make it the coldest Super Bowl game ever. I think it's a terrible idea to hold the game outdoors in a cold climate, since weather should not be a determining factor once the conference playoffs are over. But hosting a Super Bowl was an inducement the NFL offered the New York Jets and Giants for building MetLife Stadium.

KICKOFF/TV: The kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. EST, shortly after opera soprano Renee Fleming sings the National Anthem. She is the first opera singer to perform the song at the Super Bowl. Friend of Outsports and my source for all things opera, Jim Allen, has this to say about Fleming:  "She's marketed in the opera world as a sophisticated but unpretentious, non-Diva singer who just happens to be one of the most popular opera singers in the world.

FASHION NOTE: Denver is the home team and will wear orange jerseys with white pants. The Seahawks will wear their white away jerseys with navy pants with a neon green stripe. It will be a good contrast on TV.

SHIRTLESS FASHION NOTE: Denver wide receiver Eric Decker and his wife, country singer Jessie James, have a reality show on E! They also did a photo spread for GQ magazine they featured a lot of him shirtless, which garnered zero complaints from our readers:

THE GAY ANGLE: Unlike past recent Super Bowls, there is not much of a gay angle here, with few cases of players saying anything pro or con about gay issues. Seattle punter Jon Ryan was very vocal last Super Bowl when San Franciso 49ers player Chris Culliver made anti-gay remarks; Ryan said Culliver needed to be suspended. In contrast, Seattle lineman Chris Clemons, responding to Jason Collins coming out in the NBA, said a player coming out openly would be a "selfish act."

As for Denver, . . . Broncos defensive back Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie said "it would be hard" for some players to accept a gay player.

ENTERTAINMENT: Bruno Mars, backed up by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, will be the halftime entertainment. Since I can't name one song Mars has done and have never liked the Peppers music, I don't have much to say and will use halftime for a food break. The only question will be whether Flea gets shirtless in 20-degree temperatures.

THE COMMERCIALS: You can preview Super Bowl commercials on a zillion sites and they usually bore me, but one I will watch will be David Beckham for H&M underwear:  "In the spot, David is accidentally locked out of a photo shoot on a rooftop wearing only his underwear. With no way down, he goes to great lengths to find a way back inside, performing all his own stunts in the process.  Fans will see Beckham zipline across rooftops, scale buildings and navigate tricky obstacles all in his signature briefs. The commercial culminates in one of two unexpected ways – with David either "#Covered" or "#Uncovered."

THE PICK: Before the season I took Denver over Seattle in the Super Bowl and I see no need to change it. Manning will make enough plays and Welker in the slot catching passes will be the X factor. Denver's defense will do just enough to hold down Wilson and the Seahawks. Broncos 23, Seahawks 20.

Arson Fire Set in Crowded Seattle Gay Bar

No details are available as yet on the identity of possible suspects or the motivation behind an arson fire that was set at a crowded Seattle, Washington, gay bar (pictured above) shortly before midnight last night.  Thankfully, prompt action extinguished the flames and none of the 750 patrons were injured.  Frighteningly, the arsonist set the fire on the stairs leading to the second floor of the club providing overtones of the tragic and deadly Upstairs Lounge fire in New Orleans of years ago.  Obviously, the intent was to seriously harm and/or severely frighten gays.   Here are details via Joe My God:

Seattle's Fox affiliate reports:

Police are searching for an attempted arsonist who allegedly poured gasoline on a carpeted stairway leading to the second level of Neighbours Nightclub and trying to set it on fire. Seattle police said an attempted arsonist poured the gas in the stairway just after midnight New Year’s Day. The arsonist lit the gas and left, police said. Luckily, the fire was quickly discovered and put out with a fire extinguisher. Someone in the club also pulled the fire alarm, causing sprinklers to activate and dousing the flames. Police said all of the 750 patrons celebrating the New Year’s holiday managed to evacuate safely and no one was injured.

Capitol Hill Seattle has a similar report:

The Seattle Fire Department’s marshal was called to Broadway’s Neighbours just minutes after the legendary gay night spot’s midnight 2014 celebration to investigate a suspected arson fire that triggered the club’s automatic fire sprinkler system. SFD’s Ladder 10 was dispatched to the dance club at 1509 Broadway at 12:16 AM. The arriving firefighters found the building’s sprinkler system activated and the club’s 750 or so partygoers were cleared outside. Seattle Police were called to the scene to assist in crowd control to keep patrons and staff from re-entering the building.

The Seattle Fire Department has issued a preliminary report.

Suspect being sought in arson bar fire. On 1/1/2014, just shortly after midnight, an unknown suspect poured gasoline on a carpeted stairway leading to the second level of a bar and ignited it. The bar in the 1500 block of Broadway was occupied by over 750 patrons celebrating New Years Eve at the time. The fire was quickly discovered before it could spread beyond the stairway and was extinguished with a fire extinguisher. Someone pulled the fire alarm and caused the fire sprinkler system to activate. An orderly evacuation was accomplished and no one was injured. Arson Bomb Detectives (ABS) responded after being notified by SFD Fire Investigators. No suspect information available. The investigation continues.

 Updates will be provided as more is learned about suspects and motive.
 

America's Crumbling Infrastructure: I-5 Bridge Collapse Should Be a Wake Up Call

Thankfully, it appears that no one died but the collapse of the Skagit River bridge on Interstate 5 in Washington State (I-5 links Seattle with Canada), but the event ought to be a wake up call nation wide that the GOP and Tea Party opposition to taxes is putting our lives at risk on a daily basis.  Highways, bridges and other critical infrastructure doesn't magically maintain or pay for itself.  Here are details from the Seattle Post:

The collapse of a freeway bridge into the Skagit River derailed a key part of the Northwest's transportation system, but amazingly failed to claim any lives..

Three people suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the dramatic collapse of the Interstate 5 bridge, which occurred around 7 p.m. Thursday. Traffic was snarled on the freeway and nearby roads, and will likely remain so; investigators and one of the survivors say an oversized truck may have been to blame.

A car, a truck and a travel trailer fell into the water in the collapse. All three people who went into the Skagit were rescued safely. 

The Washington Post adds more to the story:

[M]iraculously, authorities said it appeared nobody was killed in the bridge failure that raised the question about the safety of aging spans and cut off the main route between Seattle and Canada.


Traffic along the heavily travelled route could be affected for some time.  “The I-5 corridor is totally disrupted,” said Gov. Jay Inslee, who went to the scene Thursday night.  He said work has already started to design detours, but state Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson asked people to avoid I-5 in the area for the next several days.

The National Transportation Safety Board was sending an investigative team.

“The bridge just went down, it crashed through the water,” he said. “It was really surreal.”  The bridge was about 50 feet above the water. Deyerin said it appeared that two vehicles - a car and the pickup with the travel trailer attached - fell into the river. He said the water depth was about 15 feet, and the vehicles half-visible in the water likely were resting on portions of the collapsed bridge.

The bridge was not classified as structurally deficient, but a Federal Highway Administration database listed it as being “functionally obsolete” — a category meaning that the design is outdated, such as having narrow shoulders and low clearance underneath.

The bridge was built in 1955 and has a sufficiency rating of 57.4 out of 100, according to federal records. That is well below the statewide average rating of 80, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data, but 759 bridges in the state have a lower sufficiency score.

According to a 2012 Skagit County Public Works Department report, 42 of the county’s 108 bridges are 50 years or older. The document says eight of the bridges are more than 70 years old and two are over 80.

Washington state was given a C in the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2013 infrastructure report card and a C- when it came to the state’s bridges. The group said more than a quarter of Washington’s 7,840 bridges are considered structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.

On our drive to Alexandria, Virginia, today on I-64 and I-95 we will cross bridges that are equally old and I shudder to think what their state of repair might be.  The surface of the I-64 bridge entering Richmond is in horrible repair and I surely hope that the under structure is in better repair.  Naturally, GOP gubernatorial nominee/nutcase Ken Cuccinelli wants to cut Virginia taxes further - I guess he thinks God will miraculously repair Virginia's crumbling highways.

A Poster That Describes Gays Voting For Romney

The Stranger has a photo of a poster in Seattle that describes gays who are voting for Mitt Romney - an "overlooked demographic" in Washington State - as well as anything I've seen.  It would also seem to aptly describe members of GOProud and the Log Cabin Republicans.  Anyone want to share their thoughts?