On the Scene: They came out, but they're still playing

So far, Pennsylvania legislators have kept gays off the altar, but the Philadelphia Gryphons Rugby Football Club is showing that you can't keep them off the pitch.

As members of the International Gay Rugby Association and Board (IGRAB), the Gryphons are the first gay-friendly team in Philadelphia, and have only one straight player on the roster.

Last Saturday, the pitch was G.W. Pepper Middle School on 84th St. and Lyons Ave., the Gryphons' home field, where the grass is brown and the fans are often drowned out by the jets that fly overhead.

But the venue wasn't of much importance, especially when the opening whistle blew and Penn's Wharton Wharthogs RFC lined up on the other side of the field.

But before I get to the result, let's answer a few questions.

First off, who the heck are these guys?

"We have lawyers and nurses; the age range and professional range is pretty broad because we're just a men's team in the city," said Mark Quagliarello, the Gryphons captain who is a server by day. "We're open to anyone pretty much over 18."

The youngest Gryphon is just 19 years old, while there is another whose beard is running gray.

The team may not be composed of elite athletes - the Gryphons come in a variety of shapes, and "ripped" probably wouldn't describe a majority of the players - but rugby certainly provides an outlet for

an often overlooked demographic.

"In the professional world you can't punch people," said Joe Cruz, who moonlights as an IT specialist. "You can kind of do that on the field, and as long as the ref doesn't see it you're OK."

And then there's the "C"-word, a fixture in rugby at any level.

"The camaraderie would be number one," Quagliarello said.

Every Gryphons home match, like most rugby matches, is followed by a "third half" in which the teams share beers and rugby commentary at a local bar.

While the post-game drink has almost as strong a tie to this game as a scrum or a ruck (consult your local rugby dictionary), the Gryphons seem at times to be more a social club than a football club.

The fact that a couple of benchwarmers were lighting up cigarettes before time expired suggests that not a whole lot of sleep is lost over the outcome of any given game.

And who's coaching this cobbled-together group of gay Philadelphians?

Meet John McMullen.

McMullen, who now works at a pharmaceutical company, has played and coached the sport in America and in Europe for years, and now gets his fix by coaching the Gryphons on the side.

While Quagliarello called the team's four-and-a-half year journey an "uphill battle," due to the team's inexperience and lack of manpower, McMullen has gotten the Gryphons going.

McMullen said that several players are just trying to look for a new social group, but it seems as if he is instilling some competitive instinct into his players - the Gryphons might be a gay rugby team, but as McMullen said, "I think some of them want to just be a rugby team."

The Gryphons may not be on par with a lot of other amateur clubs, but the team has certainly gained something of a niche within a niche in Philadelphia.

The players, for the most part, seem perfectly content with that.

Oh, and I almost forgot.

They fell 48-5 on Saturday to the Wharthogs.

But as the Gryphons know, sometimes the victory isn't the most important thing.

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