August 14-20, 2003

city beat

Tolerance 1, Bigotry 0

Pride: Larry Felzer's first pitch. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Gay Community Day at the Vet goes off without a hitch (or a Phillies win).

by Daryl Gale

Larry Felzer is standing on the field at Veterans Stadium, smiling appreciatively at sections 507 through 512, the sections of seats he filled. In the entire stadium, they’re the only sections that are completely packed with spectators on hand to watch the Phillies take on the lowly Milwaukee Brewers.

After taking in the Tuesday-night scenery, Felzer smiles for the cameras surrounding him. Then he flings the ball to the Phanatic, who's standing about 20 feet away. The ball sails over the head of the mascot who, after retrieving it, returns it to Felzer along with a kiss and a playful neck strangle for making him run.

"I was warned not to throw underhand," Felzer laughs, "because I'd set the cause back 50 years."

The cause is why Felzer was on the field in the first place. He and the people filling those 500-level sections were there for the Phillies' first Gay Community Day at the ballpark.

Pleased friends at the Vet's Gay Community Day. Photo By Michael T. Regan

Felzer is associate director of the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania and a board member of the Gay and Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia (GALLOP). GALLOP, along with the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association and the National Gay and Lesbian Journalists Association, sold 750 tickets to the game in the gay community, mostly through e-mail and word of mouth. Those efforts brought Felzer's invitation to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Asked where the idea came from, Felzer turns serious.

"I love baseball," the event's chief architect says matter-of-factly. "I'm a season ticket holder, and I know many other season ticket holders who are gay and lesbian. We're baseball fans who just happen to be gay. You can find us here at any given game. Today, we just happen to be sitting together."

Maybe the best thing that can be said for the promotion was that nothing happened. No fistfights. No catcalls. No homophobic comments. Not one protester outside.

There was, of course, a baseball game that the Phillies managed to lose 6-3 despite the fact that they faced an inferior opponent in the midst of a tight wildcard race. It was an outcome that Felzer half-jokingly prophesied beforehand.

"Only two things can screw this game up," grinned Felzer before the game started, "if it rains or if we lose."

It was an optimistic outlook, considering that there were some folks who'd made their disapproval quite clear in the days leading up to the event.

Gay Community Day was the subject of conversation on sports talk shows Monday and Tuesday. Predictably, not all the callers were happy about it.

A fan message board on the Phillies website contained dozens of unflattering messages with headers like, "Hey Men, You Can Wear a Dress to the Vet," and, "Why Are the Phillies Promoting Homosexuality?"

And, the conservative values group American Family Association of Pennsylvania sent out an action alert on Sunday urging like-minded ticket holders to boycott the game and call the Phillies front office to tell them exactly why.

"Phillies management is sending the signal that gay is OK," says AFA spokesperson Diane Gramley. "The gay lifestyle is promiscuous, dangerous and contrary to God's law. Is it OK to promote sexual activity with underage boys? Is it OK to encourage sexual activity in public?"

To support her cause, Gramley cites a news story from earlier this year in which 11 men were arrested for public sexual activity in a department store restroom as positive proof that gay men would be trolling the Vet bathrooms. "I hear the stadium will have extra security to protect those people from fans," Gramley sniffs. "Perhaps they should increase the security in the men's rooms to protect the fans from them. I hope the mothers and fathers in attendance walk right out of that stadium when they see those homosexuals and never return."

According to Phillies Director of Fun and Games John Brazer (yes, that's his real title), Gramley's sentiments represent a vocal minority.

"We've gotten a few nasty e-mails, sure, but we've gotten more positive ones," Brazer says. A few other major league baseball teams have hosted similar events. "People have complimented us on being forward-thinking, but we're just being fair. Lots of groups have done similar events, and thrown out the first pitch. I don't know that we're so cutting edge or so far ahead of the curve or anything -- we just don't discriminate."

Back up in sections 507 through 512, the baseball fans drink beer, eat hot dogs, boo loudly when Brandon Duckworth gets shelled for four runs in the top of the first and cheer lustily when Pat Burrell smacks a triple in the bottom of the same inning.

The Phanatic finds his way up there in the bottom of the second, firing up the crowd and kissing the bald guys on the head. If it weren't for the pregame publicity -- or the Gay Community Day announcement at the Vet -- the rest of the 23,136 fans in attendance probably wouldn't know the entire section is filled with gays and lesbians. Or maybe they just really didn't care. It was impossible to tell them apart from anyone else here, with the notable exception of the guy in the high-school cheerleader outfit.

"That's Donna May," laughs Anthony Shikitimo of Center City. "He's just here to perpetuate the stereotype for the straight people."

Shikitimo, a massive, barrel-chested bruiser sporting a shaved head and a rainbow flag tattoo on his meaty calf, accurately marks scores on his own lineup card and follows the game intently. "There's a stereotype that gays aren't sports fans, which is ridiculous," Shikitimo says. "I have season tickets. I'm a Philadelphian, which makes me a sports fan from birth."

Shikitimo says he's seen some of the negative fan-board messages and shakes his head ruefully. "They said we'd ruin the game's 'family atmosphere,'" he says. "Does the atmosphere look ruined?"

Well, as the night wears on, the mood in the Vet does turn a bit sour. But that has a whole lot less to do with Gay Community Day than it does a Milwaukee Brewers butt-kicking.