National Gay Flag Football League

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National Gay Flag Football League
SportFlag football
Founded2002; 22 years ago (2002)
CommissionerJoel Horton
CountryUnited States
HeadquartersNew York City
Official websitengffl.org

National Gay Flag Football League (NGFFL) is a nonprofit LGBT flag football league, currently comprising 200 teams in 22 leagues in the United States and Canada.

History[edit]

The NGFFL was founded by Jim Buzinski and Cyd Zeigler[1] in 2002.[2] Teams compete in the national championship tournament to win the Gay Bowl.[1] The championship takes place annually over Columbus Day weekend.[3] The first tournament was held in 2002 at Hollywood High School[3] in Los Angeles, California. It was a two-day event with teams from San Francisco, Boston, and Los Angeles competing.[4] LA Motion won the first Gay Bowl. In 2003, Boston hosted Gay Bowl III. The New England Patriots sent Andre Tippett to officiate the ceremonial coin toss.[5] The DC Gay Flag Football League won the Gay Bowl in 2003 and 2004.[6] In 2005, Chicago Freeze won the Bowl.[7]

In 2016, the Gay Bowl was held in Washington, D.C.,[8] on the National Mall.[6]

In 2017, the San Diego Bolts were the five-time defending champions of the tournament.[3][5] In 2017, the New England Patriots sponsored the Gay Bowl XVII. Additional sponsors included several Boston teams including the Red Sox,[9] Celtics, and the Bruins.[10] This was the first time professional sports franchises have sponsored the Gay Bowl.[11] Other sponsors, of the 35 total, include United Airlines, Fidelity Investments, Sheraton Hotels and UPS.[12] The tournament took place at Progin Park in Lancaster, Massachusetts. There were three divisions in the tournament, Open A, Open B, and Women's.[3]

In 2018, Gay Bowl XVIII took place in Denver;[10] the tournament expanded to include an Open C Division.

In 2019, Gay Bowl XIX took place in New York City.[13]

Gay Bowl XX was scheduled for Honolulu[14][15] in 2020, but was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Gay Bowl XXI was scheduled for Toronto in 2021, yet due to many factors including pandemic travel restrictions, the tournament was held in Tempe, Arizona.[16] Gay Bowl XXI saw the expansion of the Women's+ and Open Divisions with a re-seeding of teams after the first two games of pool play. Ultimately, champions were crowned in Open A, Open B, Open C, Open D, Women’s+ A, and Women’s+ B.

Gay Bowl XXII took place October 6–9, 2022 at Kapiolani Park in Honolulu, Hawaii. 50 teams competed and the tournament seedings followed the format created the previous year and six champions were crowned.

Gay Bowl XXIII will take place in Seattle, Washington, October 5–8, 2023.

Austin, Texas presented the sole bid for Gay Bowl XXIV and will hold the tournament in 2024.

Teams[edit]

Currently, over 200 teams in 22 leagues in the United States and Canada are part of the NGFFL.[17][18] DC Gay Flag Football League is one of the oldest members of the League.[6] The NGFFL imposes a limit on the number of heterosexual players at twenty percent on each team's roster for the Gay Bowl. This is enforced using the honor system.[19]

Media coverage[edit]

The NGFFL was the subject of the 2015 documentary F(l)ag Football. It features several people including Wade Davis, Cyd Zeigler, and Brenton Metzler.[1][20]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c de la Cretaz, Britni (July 6, 2017). "Inside the National Gay Flag Football League With 'F(l)ag Football'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  2. ^ Sastre, Sole (June 28, 2016). "South Africa's rugby team Jozi Cats defy gay stereotypes". Miami Herald. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d Butler, Alex (May 25, 2017). "New England Patriots sponsoring Gay Bowl XVII". UPI. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  4. ^ Atkinson, Michael (2009). Battleground sports. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. ISBN 9780313087875. OCLC 428819414.
  5. ^ a b Zeigler, Cyd (May 21, 2017). "New England Patriots sponsoring Gay Bowl 17 in Boston this October". Outsports. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c Zeigler, Cyd (September 16, 2016). "DC Gay Flag Football League produces 2017 calendar". Outsports. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  7. ^ Forman, Ross (September 19, 2012). "Four Chicago teams to vie for Gay Bowl crown". Windy City Times. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  8. ^ "Flag football league brings annual 'Gay Bowl' to Boston area". Boston Herald. October 7, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  9. ^ Nicole, Nicole (June 10, 2017). "The Red Sox announced their sponsorship of the Gay Bowl at Pride night at Fenway". Boston.com. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Avery, Dan (October 9, 2017). "The New England Patriots Donated $25,000 To A Gay Football Tournament". LOGO News. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  11. ^ Dowling, Brian (October 8, 2017). "Local pro teams back Gay Bowl". Boston Herald. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  12. ^ Bishara, Motez (October 21, 2018). "From humble beginnings, Gay Bowl attracts NFL sponsors and touches lives". CNN.
  13. ^ New York City
  14. ^ Honolulu
  15. ^ "Hawaii News Now". October 20, 2018.
  16. ^ Tempe, Arizona
  17. ^ "National Gay Flag Football League - Home". ngffl.org. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  18. ^ Sales, Bethany (September 27, 2017). "Have you heard of the other Super Bowl? You're about to. Gay Bowl XVII is here". Boston Globe. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  19. ^ Bishop, Greg (June 29, 2011). "Softball Case Raises Question: Who Qualifies as Gay?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  20. ^ Jaworowski, Ken (June 15, 2017). "Review: 'F(l)ag Football' Finds Gay Athletes Upending Stereotypes". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 5, 2018.

External links[edit]

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