JULY 21. 2006
sports
Bend Over Beckham
Queer soccer team catches World Cup fever
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"So, the one night
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by Karen Kudej
M O N IC A BURKE
ty—the Oregon Adult Soccer
Association covers close to 250
teams, not including indixir
leagues—there has been no club
specifically for queer players and
their friends.
For Carhart, it’s not that he’s had
issues being out on other teams. “I
pick things up quickly and am a
pretty gixxl player, so I’ve been able
to reel them in to accept me,” he
explains. “1 play on two other indixir
teams, but the social part isn’t there.”
Carhart hoped to put together a
group of queer people who wanted
to he out doing things and playing
soccer. He advertised for the team
on Craig’s List, and word started to
Brian Carhart (second from left) formed the NetRippers after
spread. Carhart will be leaving
participating in Seattle's Rain City Soccer Club.
town before the fall soccer season
bout 8,000 Portlanders turned out July 9
starts, but the NetRippers will continue under
in Pioneer Square to watch the final
new leadership.
game of the 2006 men’s soccer World
One player who will be sticking around is Carlos
Cup, the most-watched sporting event
Petry-Freeman. He’s a defender and goalkeeper who,
on the planet. Countless others spent the
like Carhart, has been playing since childhcxxi. He
weeks prior gathering around screens in cafes,
pubs, about the NetRippers through Team Oregon,
heard
community centers and living rooms to watch
which promotes athletic opportunities for the queer
world-renowned players such as Englands David
community in a variety of sports.
Beckham, Brazil’s Ronaldo and France’s Zinedine
“It’s about creating community within commu
Zidane put their experience to work on the field.
nity,” Petry-Freeman says. “But you’ve got to take
With Italy’s victory over France, the World Cup
those first steps.”
came to an end for another four years. Promising
At press time Petry-Freeman was in Chicago
young players such as Germany’s Lukas Podolski,
tending goal for the Dublin Devils at the 2006 Gay
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and England’s Wayne
Games. There weren’t enough players organized
Rooney will return to their club teams to wait for
from Oregon to field a full team. Petry-Freeman
another chance at the cup. The U.S. men’s team,
found the Dublin Devils through a posting on the
which failed to advance beyond the first round of Gay Games Web site. Like the World Cup, the
play, will have to wait to prove that it can compete
Gay Games happen every four years. After this
on the world stage.
year’s cup, Germany will not host the tournament
But the end of the World Cup doesn’t mean
for a long while. But the 2010 Gay Games will be
soccer enthusiasts have to wait another four years
held in Cologne, Germany, and Petry-Freeman is
to get a soccer fix. The British Premiership league,
hoping the NetRippers will have at least 18 players
featuring many of the World Cup stars, resumes
ready to travel by then.
play in August. Play for Major League Soccer can
In the meantime, the team continues to
sometime he caught on ESPN. Locally, the
practice through the summer. It will participate in
Portland Timbers play all of their August games at
an indoor league this fall. All skill levels are
home at PGE Park.
welcome, and anyone gay or gay-friendly is invited
to join the team. ©
For those more interested in playing the game
A
than watching it, Portland has its own fledgling gay
and gay-friendly team. The NetRippers formed in
Fehniary under the initiative of Brian Carhart, who
started playing soccer when he was in third grade
and has been playing and coaching ever since.
He lived in Seattle for a while
and was active with rhe Rain City
Soccer Club. With eight teams and
about 300 members, Rain City boasts
that it is the largest queer soccer club
in the world. Its mission is to provide
play at all skill levels and “to provide
members with a safe environment to
meet like-minded people to socialize
and play stxxer."
When Carhart moved to
Portland, he wanted to start some
thing like that here. Although
Portland has a large soccer communi
NORTH PORTLAND
PRIDE
’’Maybe it’s time to get
that bigger place...?”
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Sunday, Aug. 13, Noon to 4 PM
University Park, United Methodist Church
Bell Tower Lawn (4775 N Lombard. Portland OR 97203)
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Kim Trip, Realty Trust
503.416.2017
Celebrate a summer of pride with food, music,
vendor tables and good company.
Vendors include North Portland resources, neighbors, real estate
agents, mortgage brokers, housing developers and others
bl lp://u’u’w. reallyl ru.il.eiun/kiml rip
5902NE SanOy ft/vO. Portland
This is a free community event open to all.
Lead.
Inspire.
Contribute.
For every Portland police officer,
there is a story...
Willie Halliburton
Detective
"In my research of police departments around the
country, I noticed Portland. I was attracted to the
diversity of the Police Bureau. It was open to all types
of people regardless of sexual orientation or race."
Join us and write the
next chapter.
www.joinportlandpolice.com
For more information about N et R ippers e-mail
bendoferhecldiam@gmail com.
KAREN K udej is a Portland freelance writer.
1132 SE Salmon
Portland
503-236-8222
www.dogsdlglt.net
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