Bears celebrate Pride Month thanks to support from CMSA

The Bears will support this year’s Pride Bowl, an annual flag football tournament held on the lakefront June 28-29, through donations, activations and volunteers. The club’s support at the tournament helps raise awareness of CMSA and its flag football league as it aims to address stereotypes, build camaraderie and transform lives through sport for the LGBTQIA+ community and its allied supporters.

The Pride Bowl is part of a series of competitions led by the National Gay Flag Football League, empowering thousands of LGBTQ+ athletes and allies across the country and Canada. This year, the Pride Bowl, which is the only NGFFL competition that is always held in the same city, will feature a 32-team Open (coed) Division and a 24-team Women’s+ Division.

“In the past, we have received donations from the Bears,” Lopez said. “The Bears have been behind the scenes, helping with operating costs, helping to make sure we could pay for the fields and helping to make sure we could pay for the port-a-potties because the park district bathrooms are closed during the times we play, things like that Simple Things like that make a big difference, but on the player side, if you’re not on the leadership team, you don’t really know that the Bears are a part of that This year in the Pride Bowl, everyone will be able to feel it and. to see that support from the Bears.”

Pride Bowl will also serve as a Bears Huddle event, which are monthly community service volunteer opportunities for club staff members.

As one of the leading champions of the Bears’ Pride Month efforts and captain of the Chicago Blaze in the CMSA flag football league, suite sales manager Logan Oppegard is excited to see the club’s impact at the Pride Bowl this year.

“I am excited and honored to champion the club’s Pride month efforts,” Oppegard said, “and I am proud to be part of an organization that sees the importance of supporting the Pride Bowl and the CMSA community. As we celebrate Pride, it is It is crucial to recognize the importance of outreach, representation and amplification of diverse voices and experiences. The fact that we are able to highlight this LGBTQ+ flag football tournament and its phenomenal players and use our platform to help this league grow, aligns with. our commitment, to inspire change and that football is for everyone.