After a week of will they or won;t they, no gay couples were featured on Busch Stadiums Jumbotron on Saturday as folks from Pride St. Louis, the local gay rights and advocacy organization that had about 200 members at the game, at least some of whom were hoping for a same-sex moment on the Kiss Cam.
Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe” blared. There were old couples, young couples, oblivious couples. who were featured on screen But not one same-sex couples.
The idea for a kiss cam moment came about after Sunday’s Ram’s game against the Arizona Cardinals. During the game, the kiss cam focused on two men in Arizona jerseys who jeered at the camera and made expressions of distaste toward one another.
Some gays and lesbians who were at the game said it appeared that by having the kiss cam linger on the men – who seemed to them to be straight — there was an insinuation that the men were gay. The kiss cam catch was followed by hoots, boos and derisive cheers from the audience.
“We always felt left out because the kiss cam always singles out heterosexual couples,” Harrison Roberts. (pictured left) Roberts is the manager of Just John’s where the official after-party was held on Saturday following the game. And after what happened at the Rams game, all the gay and lesbian fans that were there felt embarrassed and a little degraded,” he added. “Why shouldn’t we be on the camera, too?”
But the Cardinals made no promises, and all week pointed out that the Kiss Cam roams the crowd, trying to squeeze as many couples as it can into about 90 seconds. and nwhen the moment came, in the middle of the second inning, the Kiss Cam scene was all heterosexual couple, aside from one young man and his mother
Ethan Barnett, a Pride board member who organized the event, said .”It was meaningful enough that the Cardinals even approached the group about a bulk-ticket purchase a few months back. We’re really excited about it. It’s the first time the Cardinals have gone so far as to look us up as a community and approach us. Everyone’s been welcoming.” (UGH typical. Dude, they wanted to sell tickets.)
That it didn’t pan out wasn’t too big a surprise. It was a little disappointing, Roberts said after the game, but all the fuss at least got people talking about the issue and the idea that gay people are Cardinals fans, too.
