The Paducah Sun from Paducah, Kentucky • B5

paducahsun.com Sports The Paducah Sun Sunday, May 18, 2014 5B NEW YORK Years before Michael Sam was born, gay-rights activists Kate Kendell and Paul Guequierre were already die-hard National Football League fans. Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, grew up in Ogden, Utah, far from any NFL city, and became a fan of the Los Angeles Rams because an Aries and liked their uniforms. For Guequierre, raised in Whitewater, Wisconsin, and now a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, it was a family affair. Treasured season tickets for the Green Bay Packers were acquired by his grandfather, passed on to his father, and now are his. The cover photo of his Facebook page shows the towering statue of a Packers wide receiver.

For Kendell, Guequierre and other gay fans of the NFL, their passion for pro football was rewarded May 10 with a moment they describe as thrilling: the decision by the Rams now of St. Louis to make Sam the rst openly gay player drafted by an NFL team. feel like my support for the NFL now have an asterisk come with Kendell said. now truly The milestone has made gay fans more enthusiastic and already is drawing newcomers into the fold. Many may become Rams fans or like Guequierre henceforth consider St.

Louis second favorite The NFL says it done any marketing research to gauge the size of its gay and lesbian fan base. Gay sports fans surveyed by Outsports said pro football was their favorite sport by far. Outsports co-founder Cyd Zeigler said that Sam if he makes the roster will further boost the popularity among gays. who have never liked football are buying Michael Sam he said. who have never watched a game watched the As of midweek, Rams jersey was the No.

2 seller among rookies at NFLShop.com, trailing only Johnny Manziel, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback drafted by the Cleveland Browns. Sam although drafted 249th out of 256 players also was among just 10 draftees selected by the league to be featured on special bronze and silver commemorative coins, according to NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy. Howard Bragman, a public relations expert who has been working with Sam, expects the NFL and advertisers to capitalize on excitement over debut. rst time he plays, going to have huge numbers said Bragman, the vice chairman of Reputation.com. NFL is a Bragman added.

understands very well that LGBT fans are passionate, they have good incomes, concentrated in NFL Sam already has done a nationally televised ad for Visa. tide has Bragman said. Navratilova said she lost endorsements after she came out. nd that Michael will do very That mean the advertisers will shift their focus away from heterosexual young males, nor are sexy female cheerleader squads likely to disappear. But gay fans may be all the more at peace with such things.

know who marketing to with those said Guequierre. (gay) people I know are OK with that. We feel like being left Now based in Washing- ton, D.C., Guequierre, 36, tries to attend at least one Packers home game per year, and makes his tickets for the other games available to relatives and friends, including a lesbian couple who are devoted fans. Guequierre said gay fans, like gay athletes, increasingly feel less pressure to conceal their sexual orientation while at games. He recalled an incident at a Packers game a few years ago, when he stood up and vocally scolded a fan behind him who had called a Chicago Bears player a faggot.

one else gave me a hard Guequierre said. guy looked embarrassed. He came across as the bad passion for football extends to the playing eld an avid competitor in the D.C. Gay Flag Football League, which has 20 teams and about 275 players. saga likely to expand gay fan base BY DAVID CRARY Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS Kurt Busch commanded his driver to step on the gas before the UPS truck sped away.

Inside, he was hoping for a package from Italy holding the $2,495 resuit need for his latest and wildest racing endeavor. He tailed the truck, zipping around left- and right-hand corners like a road course race in a quiet development near his Maryland home. They cornered it, but the package there. Busch pursed his lips in frustration. have to wait.

On his days away from the track, Busch still escape a spirited race, even without a checkered ag on the line. But his urge to race, to win, that makes Busch believe sometimes to his detriment that he can take on any endeavor in auto racing. Even The Double. On Memorial Day weekend, one of bad boys is trying to own the title of baddest man on the track by pulling off version of an IronMan triathlon. In a single day, try to race in the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca- Cola 600, with a race or two against the clock thrown in.

To do it, changing his body, calming his emotions and trying to live his life as a family man, not a wild child. Finish 1,100 miles and Busch will prove, despite his warts and aws, still one of the most talented race car drivers in the world. And the sponsors and fans and big teams who dumped him over the past few years be damned: still Kurt Busch. When the package arrived hours later, Busch eagerly sliced open the box in his kitchen, pulled out the black suit with two red vertical stripes and his new name emblazoned across the chest, and beamed as he held up the uniform he needed for his moonlighting gig. With the racing world watching, ready for the chance.

Busch will be the fourth driver to attempt the feat. Just one Tony Stewart, considered one of the most pro cient drivers in racing has completed both races. Only John Andretti, Stewart and Robby Gordon have attempted The Double, and no driver has tried since Gordon in 2004. a reason the feat is rare: Anything can derail it. A rain delay.

Traf getting to the airport. Flight problems due to bad weather. Busch will race for roughly three hours in Indianapolis in the No. 26 Sur- etone Honda for Andretti Autosport. have only about hours to squeeze in a 90-minute ight and a 30-minute helicopter ride to land at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Then, settle in for another four hours of racing in Stewart-Haas No. 41 Chevrolet. loves being on the edge. a match for said his former team owner, Roger Penske, a 15-time Indy 500 winner. think he wants to show people the most versatile driver in the Few NASCAR drivers have the experience necessary in an open-wheel car to attempt a one-shot race, and even fewer have permission from their teams to risk injury.

Danica Patrick, an experienced Indy driver, wanted to try in 2013, and her Stewart-Haas Racing team loudly objected. Stewart and Gene Haas are all in this time for attempt. told him there was no way I would tell you said Stewart, his SHR owner and teammate. owners look at it from a business standpoint. But willing to put the business side off to the side for the personal.

This is an opportunity of a Busch found a fast comfort level in open wheel, and the new kid in Indy opened eyes this week with blistering speeds at practice. Kurt Busch chases Memorial BY DAN GELSTON Associated Press Associated Press NASCAR driver Kurt Busch stands in front of his newly- unveiled IndyCar entry for the Indianapolis 500 during an April 28 announcement in Indianapolis. On Memorial Day weekend, bad boy is trying to own the title of baddest man on the track by pulling off version of an IronMan triathlon. In a single day, try and race in the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600. Associated Press St.

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