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Diablos bring gay flag football to
San Antonio
QSanAntonio.com, June 3, 2009
A band of local athletes who first organized last year have started San
Antonio’s first and only gay flag football team. The Diablos now
play in the San Antonio Flag Football League and the team has its eye
on attending the Gay Flag Football Super Bowl this October in Washington
D.C.
In addition to participating in the local league, the Diablos schedule
games with gay teams from Houston, Tyler, Dallas and Austin. "Our
push right now is for new members, as well as being much more visible
in the local GLBT community," says Darren Claus who plays on the
team.
Flag football is a version of American football that is popular worldwide.
The basic rules of the game are similar to those of regular football,
but instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must
remove a flag from the ball carrier to end a down. Players wear a belt
with hanging "flags."
The Diablos outline their mission statement in a new brochure: "The
San Antonio Diablos Flag Football Club endeavors to utilize the social,
athletic and competitive nature of flag football to create a positive
and welcoming environment for its members fans and sponsors. As a predominantly
gay organization, it seeks to promote self-respect within its members
and mutual respect and understanding within the team, the league and general
community."
Claus says that a lot of the team’s extra efforts are aimed at raising
money to attend the gay "Super Bowl" in Washington D.C. this
fall. To that end the team is hosting fundraisers and hoping to attract
sponsors who are willing to help with that goal.
In July, the Diablos will host all of the Texas teams that belong to the
National Gay Flag Football League for a scrimmage in San Antonio. The
weekend will include a dinner and a pub crawl.
Membership in the team is open to anyone who wishes to participate regardless
of athletic ability. "Women are welcome on the team," says Claus.
"They can practice with us and play in our scrimmages with the other
NGFFL teams and at the Gay Flag Football Super Bowl this October in Washington
D.C., though women cannot play in the San Antonio league games as the
local league is for men only."
Anyone interested in learning more about the Diabolos can join their Yahoo
group at http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/sanantoniodiablos/.
They also have a MySpace page (www.myspace.com/sanantoniodiablos) and a Facebook page (facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=82587181855&ref=ts)