Poor Attendance At Gay Games

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - Aside from a few popular events, Gay Games VII has struggled to woo spectators so far this week.
And some Gay Games veterans said Tuesday the Chicago games has suffered because contests are spread out so far across the city.
Sailing competitor Marjan Hammersma, who attended the games in Sydney and Amsterdam, said so far Chicago's event takes the bronze compared to her past experiences.
"I would give Chicago third place,'' she said. The other games were more centralized and had more of an international flavor, she said.
"This year, it's a little bit like the American Gay Games instead of the world Gay Games.''
And runner Brian Hoar of Cleveland, who also attended the 1990 Gay Games in Vancouver, said Gay Games Chicago doesn't seem to have a strong presence around town.
"In Vancouver all the stores had banners and the Gay Games were advertised everywhere downtown. Here it's really not advertised that much, and we're staying right downtown," he said.
While organizers aren't counting attendance at non-ticketed events, Gay Games spokesman Kevin Boyer said more than 8,000 tickets have sold for individual events and about 18,000 people, including about 9,000 athletes, already have bought tickets for Saturday's closing ceremonies at Wrigley Field.
Boyer says Chicago's events are closer together than past games in Sydney and New York, and several people have complimented him on that fact.
"We're happy with the distribution and visibility the games have had in the city. . . . This is not the Olympics. You can't have a Gay Games that looks and feels like the Olympics without an Olympic-sized budget," he said.
"The real story is that so many people comment how amazed they are the city is so friendly, and frankly to me that's what's important . . . not that there's a rainbow flag hanging from every office building."
Volleyball battle at the Pier
At a handful of events where Gay Games fans did show up in droves, crowds cheered with passionate enthusiasm.
About 75 ardent onlookers surrounded the court at Navy Pier for a heated volleyball match Tuesday between teams from the Philippines and Oakland, Calif., a match that had the intensity of a gold-medal game.
The Philippines fans roared with every point and waved the country's yellow, white and orange flags.
And about 250 people turned out for figure-skating competition at the McFetridge Sports Center, where even a slow-moving, plus-sized skater received a hearty ovation.
"That's the great thing about being here, everyone is so supportive," said New Yorker Marni Halasa, who plans to skate in a mermaid costume during tonight's competition. "You don't have to do a triple salchow to compete."
Another 200 fans cheered and belted out catcalls for the mostly male bodybuilders preening and flexing their muscles during preliminary rounds of the physique contest at Northwestern University's McGaw Memorial Hall in Evanston.
Many bodybuilders broke into wide smiles and flexed big muscles to Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar on Me'' and Madonna's "Hung Up."
Lightweight bodybuilder Yoni Vallecillo led screams for competitors hairdresser Alexis Fernandez and makeup artist Orlando Barsallo.
"Muy bonito!'' he yelled.
"It's awesome. You get to show everybody else that we have strength in sports. They say the best bodybuilders are gay, so we have to show everybody else we are the best.''
from The Chicago Sun Times