Robert "Bobbie" Allen is another transplanted New Yorker, who thoroughly enjoyed going back home for GAY GAMES IV. Ever since puberty, Bobbie has had the yen for bowling; maybe that is why his favorite food is Chinese. He still remembers his first kiss, his first hickey and losing his ball at the New York GAMES. He is a rabid Saints fan and still follows the Yankees and the Knicks. This will be Bobbie's first trip to Europe and you can see the excitement in his face. He has traveled to Canada but has not mastered speaking Canadian. His goals are "to live to be 75 and hopefully be married by then to a handsome man who is will to help him raise tulips and live rent free in a cottage in the country." What can the future bring for Bobbie? "Longevity, a head full of hair and a small waistline!" Bobbie wows them when he bowls at The Mid City ROCK 'N BOWL. His favorite color is paisley. Stephen Archacki, a proud native of Cleveland, Ohio, born of immigrant parents from Poland and Hungary, has lived in New Orleans for 13 years. He is returning to Amsterdam for his fifth visit. It is his second appearance at the GAY GAMES. He competed in New York City in 1994 in the Bowling event, After several years on the Kocktail Bunch league at New Orleans famous Mid City ROCK 'N BOWL, his bowling average has surged to a current 142. He's also an avid dart shooter and Scrabble player . Steve's nom de plume is "Bubbles," and is employed at the world-renown Brennan's restaurant, Mr. B's Bistro, a fixture there for 12 years. His other interests include world travel, reading, and " All My Children." He says of his upcoming international bowling debut, "This helps people and ourselves to look past our "sexual orientation" differences and see we bowl like anyone else. There is not that great of a divide between people. There are common bonds, and yet our differences are points of departure for fun, for learning, for becoming a better part of the world." Steve hates the 5 pin and has trouble with "picking up splits. "Who doesn't?" Steve is also former Mardi Gras royalty, having served as Queen of the Krewe of Shit Happens in 1996. Being on Team New Orleans enables Steve to meet other athletes with whom he wouldn't normally cross paths. "I hope we can coordinate our activities to earn some money to defray costs. I want people outside of Team New Orleans to see what a positive, human event the GAMES are. Not a Gay event, but a People event." Steve's partner of 13 years, Warren, will also be bowling in Amsterdam. Steve's favorite color is plaid. John Groth is a member of The Group, a social club that plans the highly successful HALLOWEEN EXTRAVAGANZA. John loves the classics, opera, Italian art, and the symphony. He's eager to get to Amsterdam. He's eager for its "starry, starry nights." He's traveled extensively and thinks that the GAY GAMES V will be "a rush." John's event is bowling. He practices at the lanes regularly and weight trains religiously. He claims he gets his energy from fresh air and oysters He is a great asset to Team New Orleans and hopes his experiences at the GAMES will be full of "pride and friendship." John's favorite color is blue.

Pat Ritter is an addict, a sports addict . Ask him to choose his favorite team, he says, "too many to mention." Favorite sport, "a lot." He's competed in New Orleans in volleyball, tennis, and bowling. Pat will be bowling in Amsterdam. He's been in training for the GAY GAMES, bowling in the Kocktail Bunch league at Mid-City Rock-n-Bowl. After "winning the hearts of New Jersey" in 1994 in the New York City GAMES, he says, "it was truly one of the most memorable experiences of my life-particularly the Closing Ceremonies." Pat feels that "major gay events are remarkable, truly empowering." He doesn't shy away from big events either. Pat marched on Washington and celebrated Stonewall 25 in New York City. He loves to travel and loves traveling as an athlete. Everyone calls him "Estelle." Some call him "Queen Estelle," former Queen of the Krewe of Shit Happens. "Estelle" is from the Latin for "star." Estelle says, "It's good for people to know that Gay and Sports are not mutually exclusive." His favorite color is blue. As CO-chair of TEAM NEW ORLEANS, Warren Woods has had the opportunity to get to know many of the other team members fairly well. "That is one of the reasons that I enjoy sports so much, you get to meet a lot of fun people with similar interests".. GAY GAMES V will be Warren's second GAMES; he absolutely loved New York and not only because he was born in Manhattan. "There was electricity in the air...everyone was friendly, the police, taxi cab drivers, the vendors and the people. I don't remember when pizza and hot dogs tasted so good!" He has always played sports: football, wrestling, lacrosse, tennis, basketball, volleyball and when his knees gave out, he started concentrating more and more on horseshoes and bowling. He loves board games. especially Scrabble and Yahtzee, and is an avid traveler; this will be his fifth time to Amsterdam. He says that on this trip he is looking forward to doing less sightseeing and more people watching. "As a bowler in Amsterdam with their fine beers and coffee shops, I not only have to stay out of the gutters but out of the canals as well!" Warren likes the color blue but his alter ego, Candie, likes pink. Greg Manogue, commonly known as Miss Love, adds a lot of flair to TEAM NEW ORLEANS. He may be just a Green Bay Packer fan who loves pizza (with extra extra cheese), but he's been doing a lot of packing on his own. He traveled down the Mississippi River on the Delta Queen Riverboat from his homeland in Spread Eagle, Wisconsin and never looked back. He's been sent packing to Mexico and is now packing for his first European excursion...a Cheesehead from the Land of 10,000 Lakes going to the Land of 10,000 Dikes. He started bowling at the Mid City ROCK 'N BOWL "as a hobby" and now Miss Love is "hoping to place at least 4th in team competition." He also desires "not to fall in the canals." Greg went to GAY GAMES IV in New York and returned with fond memories of "Virginia Ham, the bus getting lost on the way to the Bowling Lanes on the first day of competition and meeting wonderful people from all around the world." Miss Love keeps very active off the lanes too. In 1997, he was chosen to be Southern Decadence Grand Marshal XV and Bitch of the Year. Never before has one person held both titles in the same year! His favorite color is Jungle Red.