By RYAN DIXON

Gay softball league produces star power

Sitting on those bleachers at the end of November at Mill’s Pond Park in Fort Lauderdale reminded me of when I used to watch my brother’s high school baseball team back in 1995. I lost sight of the fact that baseball season had ended just one month earlier when the San Francisco Giants won the World Series. While this was no major league game, the business at hand was serious for all the players involved in the Hurricane Showdown tournament.

Gay softball teams from across the country were out to prove they were the best, including those from South Florida who are a part of the South Florida Amateur Athletic Association (SFAAA), a gay and lesbian softball league.

But one player who really stood out was Chris Gunderson, who took a flight the Friday evening before the tournament from the City of Brotherly Love to grace Fort Lauderdale with his pitching power, but not for a team from Philadelphia.

Gunderson was playing the number one position for the Chicago Spin. The year before he played for a team from Houston and he used to play in Chicago. So when the Spin called and said they needed a pitcher for the tournament, he agreed.

He has played softball for a while now, and has made the Hurricane Showdown his own personal tradition. Being the tallest member on his team gave Gunderson the intimidation factor on the mound. Watching him pitch reminded me of the movie “Rookie of the Year,” where the kid loses the ability to throw fast and has to throw a floater ball for a strike to win the game. I was amazed at how Gunderson could just flick his wrist and have the ball just drop right in the strike zone. His pitching and the offensive output the rest on the Spin put out lead to them finishing their group to a 2-1 start, but unfortunately the fell short in the elimination round.

This year’s tourney was the first visit for the D-Division team Ybor Eagles from Tampa, but they have plans to also play in Atlanta and Birmingham. Nashville was represented by two teams via the Force and Players, who were mostly self-funded without sponsors. The boys from the Providence Grind took some time out of their cold Thanksgiving up North to come and play as well.

And while they didn’t win the championship, the Dallas Assault win the award for the team that traveled the furthest to take part in the tournament.

To see a list of winners in the three divisions, visit www.sfaaa.net.