I'm only peripherally interested in the World Cup, but I — along with several other men both gay and straight who popped up from their CL office cubicles as soon as this subject came up — am happy to talk about an Important Question: Is U.S. soccer star Landon Donovan gay?

The discussion was prompted by an unctuous front-page report in the New York Post that Landon's winning goal against Algeria on Wednesday also won back the heart of his estranged wife, actress Bianca Kajlich.

I thought the story alone was enough to make Landy suspect — it read like one of those faked-up studio-produced stories about the love life of Rock Hudson, circa 1955. But the guys in the office, at least the ones who were willing to accept that Our Hero is a little light in the cleats, added another key element: Gaydar. Both gay and straight men (can straight men even have Gaydar?) said that Donovan's readings were off the charts.

They had various reasons — the way he talks, the way he looks, etc, etc — which all seemed to me to be open to debate. But then they produced this picture:

This article appears in Jun 24-30, 2010.