When basketball superstar LeBron James announced in mid-July that he was "coming home" to play this upcoming season for the Cleveland Cavaliers, organizers for Gay Games 9—which runs from Aug. 9-16 in Cleveland—sent a formal invitation to James to attend the Games' opening ceremony. The event, after all, is being held at Quicken Loans Arena, the same venue that, come NBA season in the fall, will be James' home court.
Gay Games organizers have not received a formal reply from James, or his representatives.
"God knows it would be unbelievably incredible if we could have gotten LeBron to come to the opening ceremony, but that's just not going to happen. It was a pipe dream," said Rob Smitherman, the former Chicago resident who now serves as the events director for Gay Games 9, being held in Cleveland and Akron.
James' official Welcome Home Party is Friday, Aug. 8, in Cleveland.
Still, the return to Cleveland by James and the arrival of polarizing rookie football quarterback Johnny Manziel has certainly skyrocketed Cleveland in the national, and no doubt international, too, spotlight.
And at what a perfect time—when Gay Games 9 kicks off, despite fewer participants than almost all past Games, but just as much energy and excitement. Smitherman said there are more than 7,000 registered participants for Gay Games 9, and he debunked reports that the registration was only about 5,000. "That's not true," he said.
"This will be a smaller Games than Chicago or Cologne, Germany [in 2006 and 2010, respectively], but [with] as much excitement," said Smitherman, who noted that the population of Cleveland-Akron is the smallest of all past Games' host cities. "I can tell you, Opening Ceremony is going to have more energy [than Chicago or Cologne] because we're not [holding the event] in arenas that seat about 60,000," as was the case in Chicago and Cologne. The Chicago opening ceremony was held at Soldier Field.
About 12,000 are expected at the opening ceremony in Cleveland.
"I think it's going to be an incredible event overall," said Smitherman, who also worked on the local organizing committee in Chicago and Cologne, and is a longtime player in gay basketball tournaments. "The professionalism and the welcoming nature of Cleveland and Akron are amazing. People are just so excited that the Gay Games is coming.
"I think people are going to be overwhelmed by the welcoming nature of everyone here."
Smitherman said the Games are "more of a big deal for these two cities, Cleveland and Akron," than it was for Chicago or Cologne. "This is the premier event for Cleveland-Akron this summer," he said.
Smitherman said no sport was cancelled due to limited registration, or because of another reason. However, "we've had to consolidate some divisions [in some sports], but we do that every time," he said.
Smitherman noted strong registration for basketball, volleyball, swimming, water polo, plus dancesport, which has about 180 registered, "which is more than Chicago had in that event," he said.
The rowing event is being managed and produced by the Cleveland Rowing Foundation, and about 140 are expected to participate. "It's going to be a great event," he said.
All of the running events—from the 5K through the 26.2-mile marathon—have solid registration, Smitherman said. The running events, plus golf, are the only events that are still accepting registrants—until Wednesday, Aug. 6.
Swimming also has a large participation, along with the triathlon, and track & field events.
"The team sports that have other avenues [for major tournaments], such as softball with the annual Gay Softball World Series [which will be held in Dallas in September], or flag football with the [annual] Gay Bowl, those sports … people seemingly have to make a decision as to what [event] to go to," Smitherman said.
Gay Games 9 will be represented by 52 countries, including Sri Lanka, which recently joined the list of attendees. And there will be participants from 48 of the 50 States. Smitherman joked that he'd personally register anyone from Mississippi or North Dakota for a perfect 50 of 50.
"We have a really good, diverse participant base," he said. "Most are from the United States, with more men than women."
Dancesport has more women than men registered.
Smitherman did not know exactly how many Chicagoans are registered, "but [it's] certainly hundreds."
"If you don't come, I think you are going to be really disappointed because you're going to hear really good things about these Games," he said.
—Former Olympic diver Greg Louganis will headline "The Power of Embracing Difference," a Cleveland Foundation/City Club kickoff event on Aug. 9.
Louganis was the first man to win two gold medals in diving in two consecutive Olympiads. Twenty years ago, the gold medalist came out publicly as an HIV-positive gay man at Gay Games IV in New York. He will be joined by the Cleveland Foundation President and CEO Ronn Richard in a conversation on embracing difference and diversity.
The one-hour event starts at 12:30 p.m.
—The Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) is holding the official brunch of the Gay Games, a benefit for HRC, on Aug. 10 at Red Space, featuring delicious fare and cocktails from Latin America, courtesy of Paladar Latin Kitchen & Rum Bar.
