There was a ruckus at city hall. The rubrick was "World Cyber Games." I counted myself ethically responsible to stop and observe the proceedings.

This being only the opening ceremonies, there was no actual game-playing on display. Too bad. The first speaker was a former football star, who stated that San Francisco is a city of champions and that he was once a champion, because he once took a pass from Jerry Rice, and that the players this weekend should trust their intuition in order to become champions as well.

The MC vamped the gap to each successive speaker with a deep voice that seemed about to break into: "This summer.... they're going for the ride of their lives... (whaaaaa) one week... two friends... and the videogame championship... of a lifetime."

Presiding over the affair was Gavin Newsom. Yes, that Gavin Newsom. His words were to the effect that Mr. Yung made a very good choice in hosting the 2004 World Cyber Games in San Francisco—the first outside of Korea, mind you—because this is a great city of opportunity in the area of video games. When he finished speaking there was a salvo of fireworks from immediately behind the platform. Then we endured the ceremonial passing of the trophy from Mr. Yung to Mr. Newsom (more like a casual handoff, by my lights). Finally a procession presented the flag of the World Cyber Games, and (much more ritually, with plaid uniforms and horns in full blare) raised it over Civic Center, to fly there proudly for the four days of the Games.

Excluding twenty plaid-uniformed flag bearers, the male-to-female ratio was somewhere in the high three digits. I tried to tally the women present but I lost track after "five."

I did stand near one of these heterosexual couples; his arms were wrapped possessively around her body even while they walked. During one silence she jumped up and down excitedly and was heard to say, "... siked to go play Grand Theft Auto?" When a very distinctive techno track came on the PA (I think it was melody B over beat A) she pushed away and moved her rumpus in a rhythmical fashion, tossing her head coyly over her shoulders to check his reaction. I give them the thumbs up: fit for coupling.