It wasn’t just the New England Patriots that made history at the Super Bowl earlier this week.
For the first time in the 49-year history of the Super Bowl the NFL offered press box credentials to a gay publication. Cyd Ziegler of Outsports traveled to Phoenix last week to cover all the behind-the-scenes action, interviewing players, coaches and all the execs, taking his coveted seat in the press box to report on the main event, and heading into the locker room for post-game interviews.
In his Outsports report following Monday’s New England Patriots win, Ziegler noted:
“Walking around Phoenix this week, from Radio Row to Roger Goodell’s press conference to NFL Honors and today at the Super Bowl, many people in the media knew Outsports’ presence—alongside NFL Network and ESPN, Bleacher Report and the New York Times—was another strong signal that the sports world is changing.”
Ziegler, “a life-long New England Patriots fan,” also gave a nod to New England that went beyond the team’s victory:
“It’s also fitting that the Patriots, based in the first state to have same-sex marriage and with an owner in Robert Kraft who has been so supportive of LGBT causes, would win the Super Bowl the first year Outsports is credentialed. One didn’t have anything to do with the other—it’s just a bit poetic.”
Of course gay sportscasters have been covering the game for some time now, no problem, but we want to acknowledge this milestone in the fast-moving LGBTQA history of the 21st century.
