HOW TO HEAR THROUGH THE NOISE

with louie anderson gone from "splash," the sports world needed something big to pull it out of the doldrums. and that something big manifested as a seven foot tall nba player coming out of the closet. in the wake of jason collins' obama approved announcement, stephen colbert joked today that "he knew once we allowed major league soccer it would turn all the other sports gay." it's true. soccer in america is totally gay, which is why i was opining last night that of course there were homos in the mls (which was really just my wondering out loud where the gay crew players went to find sex). and before last night, i can't remember ever having heard the name robbie rogers, but his coming out came up around the subject, even though when rogers made his announcement (unendorsed by obama) he was no longer playing for the crew, or even in the mls. as i found out when i looked him up this morning (which is how i found out about the phenomenon of jason collins), robbie rogers took the opportunity of his coming out to quit the english premier league. in the interviews that rogers has given since he came out at his website, he's said that for the duration of his professional soccer career (which may or may not continue) he lived in fear of anyone suspecting his secret. i imagine it must have been terrifying, because he has total gay face. (i'll allow that the photos with the scottie came after he was out.) it's a shame that he felt the need to take himself off the field, but apparently that decision was encouraged by his coach at leeds, who didn't think that fans would respond well. european professional soccer is just as gay as its younger american brother, but it's much more outspokenly homophobic. however, as a blogger for nbc sports pointed out today, the important issue is obviously that basketball is given more recognition than soccer in the united states despite (per that blogger) the real significance of the total ratings for all televised soccer matches as compared to those for the nba. and the conspiracy of disrespect goes all the way up to the white house! rogers (who was an olympian) wasn't an active player when he came out, so his story isn't exactly analogous to collins' and might not have the same impact on american professional sports. but the comparison (and rogers' story has now gotten quite a bit of exposure thanks to its comparison to collins') has just rehighlighted what's essential about all of this news: everything to do with sexuality has nothing to do with sexuality. and soccer doesn't get the credit it deserves in north america. probably because it's gay.