Jun 20, 2008  |  By: REBECCA ARMENDARIZ  | COMMENTS     

Gay sports fans will storm the District’s new ballpark for the fourth annual Night Out at the Nationals on Monday.

The event, which is sanctioned and co-sponsored by the team, attracted more than 2,400 gay fans last year, according to Chartese Burnett, vice president of communications for the team. The first year, 2005, brought 1,600 to RFK stadium. More than 1,700 have bought tickets so far for this year’s event. Sponsors include Bud Lite and Nellie’s Sports Bar.

The cheap seats (going for $10) have sold out, according to Team D.C. head Brent Minor. Team D.C. serves as the District gay community’s umbrella sports organization.

The increase in attendees since the event’s inception may be attributed, in part, to an outreach initiative that has brought more lesbians to the game.

“Sometimes it’s a struggle to get women involved in the sports club,” he said. “They come, see a bunch of men and get discouraged.”

Without the support of the Nationals baseball team and its staff, Minor said, the night wouldn’t be as successful as it is.

“We couldn’t do this without them working with us very closely,” he said.

The Nationals promote the night on the team’s web site and give Team D.C. a discount on the tickets.
When the organizers wanted the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington to sing the National Anthem, the Nationals officials, who usually place a cap on the number of people who can participate in the singing, granted permission for the entire chorus to perform.

“The Nationals were right there, right behind us at Pride,” Minor said. “They’re beginning to wake up and realize what a great market this is.”

The nominations committee solicited on the Team D.C web site for suggestions as to who should throw the first pitch. In the end, Moody Mustafa, a longtime hometown activist and caregiver for AIDS patients, was selected.

Other teams that host a gay baseball event include the Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Oakland A’s, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays, according to Gay Baseball Days, a Toronto-based organization that promotes the events and encourages teams to reach out to their gay fan base.
In San Francisco, the gay baseball night is organized by the team itself, the Giants.

Mark Kari, head of Gay Baseball Days, said it’s rare for a team not to support gay events.

“They’re in business to sell seats to the public,” he said. “And when the public — gay or otherwise — is going to bring a large group of people to support the team, they are all for it.”
Some teams even go the extra mile, he said.

“Teams are very supportive and willing to stand up to bigots and anti-gay people who may try to turn these events to their own advantage,” he said. “To teams, fans are fans. And if the fans support the team, the team supports the fans.”

These nights also serve to dispel the myth that gay people don’t like sports, Minor said.
It’s also “a chance for visibility, but in a very positive, proactive, non-threatening, fun and supportive way,” he said.

“Anything that makes people feel better about themselves is going to make them a better member of our society,” he said. “It’s just a big ‘ole slice of American pie.”

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington sings at 6:45 p.m. and the game against the L.A. Angels of Anaheim starts at 7:10 p.m. The 10th Inning After-Game Party will begin after the game at Nellie’s Sports Bar.