The Gay Softball World Series were at the beginning of September on the West Coast in Portland. Now, October brings the Gay Bowl XVII to the East Coast in Boston!

For those of you that don't know, XVII is 17.

One of the other most popular LGBT sports leagues in the nation is the football league. In Minnesota, we don't have a gay football league so my personal exposure to it is nonexistent, but if we had one I'd be all in.

The Gay Bowl XVII, a massive LGBT flag football tournament taking place Thursday, October 5th through Sunday, October 9th hosting teams from 15 different states and Canada! The actual National Gay Football League (NGFFL) was started back in 2002 and since then has expanded to over 200 teams in 20 different leagues. The host city, Boston, actually has the largest league in the nation with over 300 players.

One of the most amazing things about this year's Gay Bowl is that an NFL team is sponsoring it. The New England Patriots (hey Julian Edelman) are the first NFL team to sponsor the LGBT event which is a huge deal.

"When we heard about the FLAG Flag Football league [Boston's LGBT football league], we quickly realized they share similar values as the Patriots organization," said Josh Kraft, president of the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation. "Their mission statement of tackling stereotypes, building community, and transforming lives through sport, represents the same LGBT inclusiveness that the Patriots have shared including our support of marriage equality."

Now isn't that a damn good statement to hear from one of the biggest teams in the NFL?

Good luck to all the teams this year and enjoy Boston!

Pro Tip:

Similar to what I wrote in the GSWS post, having a portable charger with you is a life saver during events like these. When you're outdoors for hours and are sitting on your phone waiting for the next game, you know that battery is going to die. Here's a mini one that's easy to carry around.

FLAG Flag Football. (2017). New England Patriots Sponsor Gay Bowl XVII in Boston

Photos courtesy of Patrick Lentz (@violentz) and the Boston league.