You give me fever

Wimbledon has left tennis fans feeling like they have paid for a really bad trip, partied all night, then a second, and remained unable to sleep for a third and fourth. Football fans know the same feeling.

Our beloved sports crazed culture, with its hard work ethic, has an international reputation for hosting quality sports events.

Need a short break?

Not just yet my lovelies! The biggest gay event in the world is about to upstage all but the soccer world cup.

The German home of Pride, Cologne has a hum beneath its seriously German side. Europeans of all persuasions are heading into the region, teams have worked long and hard to put together annual leave, hard earned cash and funds from events of every possible form. No it is not Oktoberfest; it is the eighth international Gay Games.

Ten thousand athletes, press, family, friends and visitors alike will be spectacle to rival the best ever held in the world.

Let’s not forget those special people who have made the Aussie contingent the largest to ever depart our shores. The first games in Los Angles (1982) were attended by a handful of locals.

One of the joys of the Gay Games are the many things that are lost in translation. A bunch of bilingual locals and our beloved boys from Cologne have been unable to successfully translate the recently coined ‘power bottom’. The best suggestion to date is, ‘absolute passive’ which implies a drunken starfish on vallium. Unless this describes your preference, the suggestion is you take an I-Movie of your next close encounter of the very personal kind, and wear it ‘looping’ as you meander Cologne’s night spots.

Will the Games be a success? Of course! Our community does parties well. They do sport even better. Amazingly, it is the volunteers in many countries, and the scholarship program established by the International Federation of Gay Games through the generosity of donors and supporters that allows participation by all. There is little doubt that many from third world countries would not be possible without this program.

info: If you have missed the plane for Cologne, it is time to get to your local sporting club and begin your trip to Gay Games IX in Cleveland Ohio. Details from www.teamsydney.org.au