>> Meet the Same-Sex Couple Who Made Dodger Stadium Swoon : First Gay Kiss on Kiss Cam at Dodgers Stadium
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Grande habituée des enceintes sportives aux Etats-Unis, la «kiss-cam» s’est arrêtée ce week-end sur un couple gay, lors de l’échauffement d’un match de baseball opposant les Los Angeles Dodgers aux Arizona Diamondbacks. Lorsqu’ils se voient apparaître sur l’écran géant du Dodger Stadium, les deux hommes n’hésitent pas à s’embrasser, comme le veut la coutume. Leur baiser est accueilli par une belle ovation du public. Un «événement» défini comme étant «un pas important vers l’acceptation de l’homosexualité aux États-Unis», selon le Telegraph.
So this happened…. My husband Steven Simone-Friedland and I became the first same-sex couple to be featured on the Dodger Stadium « Kiss-Cam »! A little Dodger History was made tonight!!!!! 🙂 I didn’t think I could love the Dodgers more!!!
Posted by Rick Simone-Friedland on samedi 2 mai 2015
Steven Simone-Friedland et son époux, Rick, vivent ensemble depuis 20 ans. Fiancés en 1999, ils se sont mariés en septembre 2013.
«Nous n’avions rien anticipé. Un cameraman s’est approché pour nous proposer de participer. J’avais prévenu mon mari que ça pouvait mal se passer. Mais nous avons accepté», a déclaré Steven Simone-Friedland, à Advocate.com après la rencontre.
«Je pense que personne ne s’attendait à ça. J’embrasse mon mari tous les jours, ça n’est pas quelque chose d’incroyable (quoique…). Mais, ce qui l’a été, c’est la réaction de la foule. Et puis, tout a continué normalement. Un papa s’est même approché de nous avec son fiston pour nous félicité d’un sourire. Nous n’étions plus que des fans parmi les autres.».
Il y aurait eu un seul précédent: c’était en 2011, lors d’un match des Giants de San Francisco. Mais il s’agissait alors de la célébration de la «nuit LGBT».
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>> Husbands Steven and Rick Simone-Friedland shared a sweet kiss at Dodger Stadium on Saturday. What happened next was totally unexpected.
The gay couple whose Kiss Cam smooch at Dodger Stadium is currently going viral never meant to make a statement, but they couldn’t be more pleased with the reaction, Steven Simone-Friedland tells The Advocate exclusively.
Simone-Friedland and his husband, Rick, have been together for nearly 20 years, and when they went to watch their hometown Los Angeles Dodgers play the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday, they didn’t have any grand plans.
« We just went to enjoy a nice day at the field, » Simone-Friedland tells The Advocate by phone. So when a cameraman approached the couple during the third inning to ask them to be on the Kiss Cam, the men immediately said yes.
But the moments before the Simone-Friedlands appeared on the Jumbotron were nerve-wracking.
« I turned to my husband, I turned to Rick, and I said ‘you know, this could go badly. This could not go well,' » recalls Simone-Friedland. « But then we did it, because we thought it would be just so fun to do, and then we heard the crowd — and that was really unexpected, and beautiful, and affirming. »
In talking about the experience after the fact, the couple zeroed in on the most surprising aspect of the entire day.
« All we did was kiss, » says Simone-Friedland. « What made everyone’s day was the crowd reaction. … I don’t think anybody was expecting that reaction. … I kiss my husband every single day. That’s not the big deal. The big deal is what happened immediately after. That’s just the most amazing thing. »
After the pair’s moment on the Jumbotron, Simone-Friedland says the best thing was what happened next: « Nothing, » he recalls. « I was talking to the woman behind me about the Pacquiao fight, and all the other sporting events. Nobody even flinched. And that is just telling. We were just simply Dodger fans. »
A man and his son did approach the couple after the kiss, with the dad cheering the fact that the men’s kiss earned the most enthusiastic applause of the Kiss Cam segment.
« I said, ‘Yeah, well, I’d like to think it’s because we’re the best-looking couple!' » Simone-Friedland jests.
The couple — who first had a commitment ceremony in 1999, then legally wed at the courthouse in Van Nuys, Calif., on September 27, 2013 — are not season ticket-holders, but they do go to games « periodically, » Simone-Friedland says. They’ve never encountered any antigay harassment at the park.
« I’ve always thought Dodger Stadium is a great place to go to, » Simone-Friedland says. « It’s a great night out, always. »
« And my husband is a die-hard Dodger fan, » Simone-Friedland adds. « He’s played softball, and he’s been in the gay softball league, and he has quite a history with them. »
« It was just a really exciting thing to do for both of us, » Simone-Friedland concludes. « We were so happy to do it and to be part of it, and flattered to be asked. Just completely flattered by the whole experience. »
A spokesperson for the L.A. Dodgers declined to comment on whether Saturday’s game marked the first time a same-sex couple has been featured on the Kiss Cam at Dodger Stadium, but the Huffington Post reports that the Dodgers’ rivals, the San Francisco Giants, spotlighted a same-sex kiss during a 2011 game for LGBT Night Out at San Francisco’s AT&T Park.
avec 20minutes.fr
