The World Wide Sports Web
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Joe Muraca and Dan
Witthaus get their kicks online.
Conscious of keeping our readership up to
date with the latest and greatest, each week this dynamic duo hunts high and
low for what’s hot and new in global LGBT sport. Budget constraints, rather
than a lack of commitment, mean that we can’t be on the ground for most events.
But who needs to hop on a plane when the World Wide Web allows you to have the
best of LGBT sport at your fingertips?
Gone are the days of relying on the
traditional mainstream press to cover the careers of aspiring LGBT sportspeople.
The internet has turned that on its ear. The growth in sporting coverage is a
story in itself, and testament to a niche that gay men and lesbians have carved
for themselves on the international sporting stage.
It’s not an imaginative name, but Outsports.com
is the clear leader of the LGBT sporting pack. The site is focused on elite-level
LGBT sport and its gay and lesbian participants. While a little US-centric,
non-Yankee events do get a guernsey, such as a recent feature on Australian
diver Matthew Mitcham (see p11).
If serious sports news doesn’t pop your
Rice Bubbles then try the Outsports photo galleries. It’s not exactly Sports Illustrated but there’s a host of
behind-the-scenes pics from some of the most enterprising sports photographers
on the planet. It puts a decidedly different spin on the training regimes of
some of the world’s best sportsmen. And there’s no need to feel guilty…it’s all
‘research’.
A focus on LGBT content, often with a less
serious edge, is the style adopted by the other major site, Gaysports.com.
Its magazine-esque approach will appeal to
tabloid-hungry readers, and as is to be expected, there’s a fair share of pecs
and abs on view. Nor are the girls ignored, with dedicated columnists focusing
on lesbian issues. It offers a refreshing approach to sport, tackled from our
perspective. A highlight is David Salter’s weekly column, ‘This Gay Week in Sport’,
which provides a slightly quirky view on global sporting events.
Although there are a small number of
dedicated sites for gay men in sport, lesbians seem to miss out. A visit to
sites covering traditionally lesbian-dominated sports might suffice for some
(e.g. basketball, softball and golf), but surely the genre deserves more than a
few dedicated forums on lesbian sites like Lesbian.com and the odd piece on Gaysports.com?
And while we’re on the topic of wish lists,
isn’t it time for an Australian LGBT sports website?
www.outsports.com
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Comments (1)
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written by Adam Gaylord , July 09, 2008 Being a huge sports fan who happens to be gay as well, I'm very interested in finding all websites focusing on gay sports. Outsports does a good job, but not that thrilled with gaysports.com. There is another one I've been reading lately called Gay Sports Blog http://blogs.gay.com/gaysportsblog/ It's a fun balance of hard core sports, humor and awesome photos. They just did a great piece on a swimmer in one of the squares states who just came out. I thought it was very good and the kid is pretty cute too. report abuse
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