A football team from Wiltshire [UK] has become the only straight team in a regional gay football league. The Trowbridge Tigers have got together with five other teams to form the south west Gay Football League.
Team founder Tim Brown said although the majority of teams in the league were gay, the Tigers were 80% straight. He said: "Trowbridge is a smaller catchment area compared to the other teams and it really doesn't have a gay scene like say Bristol."
One of few gay players on the team, Nick Pitcher, said: "It's a pioneering team - a straight team in the gay league. "But the stick the straight guys must put up with - they're much more likely to get ribbed at work for playing in a gay league then we are."
Less testosterone
It was back in early 2000 that Tim, the Tigers' straight player-manager, began playing in the gay league. "I'd wanted to play more games, and a mate at work was playing on Saturdays and Sundays for the Bristol Panthers and I asked him if I could come along.
"He said he didn't think it would be my cup of tea as it was a gay football team."
But it was. So much so, that in July last year Tim and his friends decided to set up their own club - the Trowbridge Tigers.
He said: "The social aspect was really good. "We'd meet up before and after the matches and although it was competitive you didn't get the same aggression. "The testosterone levels were sort of taken out."
Nick agreed saying the league was very sociable. "It is competitive but it's good football. You don't get players, for instance, trying to break your leg," he said. And when we play, all 19 players get to play. It's absolutely fair and down the line."
Gay Games
It's been a fast moving year for the team, who despite a poor opening match, are performing well in Division 2 of the Gay Football Supporters Network (GFSN) national league.
"Although we're mainly straight we've been accepted into the league," said Tim. "We were quite up front about it.
The Tigers also recently competed in the Gay Games in Germany where they were the second highest placed UK team and took part in both the opening and closing ceremonies. The team also has aspirations to play in the Euro Cup in Manchester and in the Euro Games in Holland.
But despite having 40 players signed up for the season, both gay and straight, the team is always on the look out for more gay friendly players. "It's not just about skill," said Nick, "people are accepted with the right attitude. "Macho men are not acceptable."
No comments:
Post a Comment