Exhibit Number One: Washington DC's great hangout, with the inspired name of "Nellie's". Outside on the wall is the dare: "Are You Nellie Enough?" to hang out and eat bad bar food, drink beer pitchers and watch baseball? The results are overwhelming: Nellie's has become one of the most popular hangouts in the city. A lot has to do with the burgeoning sports league phenomenon:
In addition to providing the bar with a stable of regulars, gay sports teams play a crucial role in the bar's marketing strategy. Schantz sponsors at least four dozen teams, from ping-pong players to soccer clubs to an entire 16-team gay football league. These teams constitute his primary form of advertising: every uniform has a Nellie's logo, ensuring that the bar's brand is a constant sight in DC's gay neighborhoods.
"I don't do print ads," he says. "I sponsor teams."
Some bring in straight and gay patrons, but it can be hard to tell the difference at times:
When I stop by on a Sunday evening to catch some of the Steelers-Chiefs game, I find the patrons mostly indistinguishable from straight frat boys right up until the moment they start making out. Backward baseball caps, faded sports shirts, and sneakers are the norm. As far as decorations go, a decal of the bar's trademark cartoon Bulldog mascot and a signed Tiki Barber poster near the pool table are pretty much it.
As I head to the brick oven in the back to order a pineapple and bacon pizza, the waiter wanders away to embrace a customer he hasn't seen in a while.
"Dude, man!" the pizza guy says. "How's it going, bro?”
(Photo from Metro Weekly, DC's best gay mag, by Ward Morrison)
The Dish 