Those looking for an alternative to the same old scene might be interested in the South Florida Gay Flag Football Association (SFGFFL). This new local group is hosting the 1st annual Florida Sunshine Cup on President’s Day weekend, February 18-21, with games being held on Saturday and Sunday.
SFGFFL started about five years ago and have been growing ever since. David Donohue, the commissioner of the Association, is a member of the National Gay Flag Football League and is a national board member as well.
“Currently, we participate in two national tournament each year, the first being Pride Bowl, hosted by the Chicago Metro Sports Association during their Pride weekend at the end of June. We also compete in the National Gay Flag Football Championships, Gay Bowl, hosted by a new city every October,” he explained.
This past year, the SFGFFL traveled to Phoenix were they finished 19th (3-3) out of 27 teams and won the inaugural Spirit Cup, which is given to the team that excels in sportsmanship, camaraderie, participation and teamwork.
“Every year we go to these tournaments, guys from other cities are always asking us ‘When are we going to host gay bowl?'” Donohue said. “So finally, we decided to start small, six teams, and build each year over two to three years culminating in hosting Gay Bowl. Due to high demand this year we are hosting eight teams instead of six – including ourselves- from Jacksonville, Atlanta, Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York, Cleveland and Denver.”
During the weekend activities, The Depot, Matty’s, Bill’s Filling Station, Alibi Wilton Manors, Sidelines and The Manor are onboard to host events. On that Saturday night they are hosting a “Tight End” contest and a 50/50 raffle drawing at Bill’s which will go towards the SFGFFL and a AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
Starting a league hasn’t been easy. Donohue said that they started out practicing on Sunday, but realized that a lot of people were playing softball then.
“Every gay athlete here plays softball,” he said. “So, it was hard to break the ice.”
Realizing that some people might be interested in playing softball and flag football, Donahue and team moved practice over to Saturdays.
“It’s really paid off,” Donohue explained. “We’ve got several people from softball to join us.”
Their focus is “to provide a positive, social, welcoming environment for all those who share our kindred athletic spirit.”
South Florida Gay Flag Football Association play weekend flag football games all year long and all are welcome to play, cheer or watch regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or skill level. Those who want to find out more, but can’t make it to Florida Sunshine Cup, can find out more about joining the league by coming to weekly practice on Saturday mornings at Mills Pond Park between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. For more information, visit their website at www.sfgffa.com
