Courtside Cupids - That's Amoré

How does one begin to celebrate while looking back on an iconic event when many of the historical archives have been expunged from the internet?  A dilemma indeed, but never fear!!  Narnia will search far and wide for what we need to wax nostalgic and share a moment in time that was miraculous as well as compelling.

                               A live look at Narnia Dispatches approaching The National Archives


That's right. Once famous OTP photos are now considered a rare species. Familiar, easily accessible pics now hard to find, view and download. Not to worry. They are not needed.  Any true Austin, Jake or Jake+Austin fan will have their own image storage system, with appropriate backup files at the ready (just in case of trollish sinister intent or online shenanigans). In other words, this widely beloved #DateNight moment in time has been preserved for all posterity. Whew! Let's face it, rewriting history is bad enough, but scorched earth eradication simply will not be tolerated.

Remember, these archival records are immortal. Just like the memories they conjure up about a time of innocence, youth, and all the dreams and bravery that comes from being hopeful and in love.  Today's special event happened twelve years ago, a few months before Jake and Austin had celebrated their fourth anniversary together.  Jake had completed Brokeback Mountain in 2004 and the subsequent 2005 movie release not only had led to box office success, but had catapulted a small intimate art house film into a social phenomenon that was changing minds and hearts across the globe. By January 31, 2006 Brokeback Mountain had already won numerous awards and soon led the race for the Oscars with 8 nominations, including Picture of the Year and a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Jake Gyllenhaal.

Amid this tsunami of cinematic success came February 11, 2006, a day that cannot be forgotten in the annals of OTP love stories.....

 The infamous lean

The kiss-pering

The flirting

How happy was Jake that evening?  This happy.

This relaxed.

And Austin?   Well...

This particular picture below?  Far outnumbers the hits on all the others on I Heart Jake, with over 7000 views.

Of course, these two sets of hungry eyes weren't always solely on each other.  There were the sushi and hot dog cravings too.

 
They even actually appeared to watch the game at times,

and perhaps hoping to have a Kiss Cam opportunity before their Saturday night date was over?

 
Besides this NBA appearance, something else very special was happening that night. A wild coincidence not so well-known, but perhaps an event that just might help to explain why Jake chose February 11, 2006 to go out on a very public date with his boyfriend, Austin Nichols.


The Human Rights Campaign had announced on January 17, 2006 that they were giving Jake an Equality Award from the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer civil rights organization, and that the Gala Dinner was to be set at a New York venue on 2/11/06. In fact, Ang Lee was to be honored that night as well. 

 

Brokeback Mountain actor Jake Gyllenhaal and director Ang Lee were honored Feb. 11, [2006] with the Human Rights Campaign's Equality Award at the Human Rights Campaign's Greater New York Gala Dinner. #1 Academy Award-Nominated Director Ang Lee with Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese

Given his professional schedule, Jake could not attend the New York ceremony because he was wrapping up the filming of Zodiac on the West Coast, specifically in Los Angeles. Because of this prior work-related commitment, he chose instead to submit a prerecorded video with a touching acceptance speech so genuine and pure that it almost hurts the heart to hear Jake struggle to express how much that Equality Award meant to him. Interestingly enough, the Gala took place on the same night he and Austin went to the Los Angeles Lakers game. That's right. That same memorable, magical and googly-eyed evening when Jake pretty much outed himself for all the world to see.

We here at Narnia have wondered over the years whether Jake courageously and deliberately chose that particular day to enjoy a courtside man-amigo outing, something beyond just two bros wanting to attend a sold-out sporting event. Being out on a very public date with his actual boyfriend on the same day Jake was being honored with an Equality Award may very well have been Jake's only public way of beginning to show that he was trying his best to be the kind of man deserving of such recognition. Both a symbolic indication (signaling to his community) as well as a very real attempt to live up to an award he admitted that at his young age he had not yet earned. The game between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Lakers was sold out and began at 4:30 p.m. PST. The HRC Gala dinner began at 7 p.m. EST. Practically, simultaneous events. A gesture too coincidental to ignore and perhaps begins to explain the carefree, almost giddy interaction between Jake and Austin. Sadly, something that was never seen again. 

***As a brief side note, Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles' infamous February 2012 Paris interview had a similar sensibility to this Jake and Austin memory. Another one and done moment in time. Much too gay. Much too real. Much too visible. We romantics here at Narnia also love the fact, that Valentine's Day feels surrounded both of these iconic "outings". A coincidence, some might say? We think not.

Mega sigh. Alright, let's get back to our main event and conclude our remarkable tale. Just twenty-two days after the #LakersDateNite,  Brokeback Mountain, the odds-on favorite to win Best Picture of the Year, inexplicably lost to the eminently forgettable Crash in one of the biggest upsets in the history of the Oscars. I'm sure after that reality check, Jake and the rest of the closeted artists in the entertainment industry, in other words those who might have been hoping for some meaningful change, received the message loud and clear. There would be no room for them at the Inn in the coming years. Or, apparently at The Staples Center either. In fact, we are in 2018 and Louis Tomlinson has a fake baby and beard, and Jake is doing Calvin Klein commercials to market his heterosexuality while planting the seed that he is still a wannabe dad. Hmm. We wonder what his kids think about that portrayal?

Still, when all is said and done, the courage Jake and Austin exhibited on February 11, 2006 was a remarkable sight to behold and needs to be celebrated again and again. Definitely, worthy of the conspicuous spotlight we are shining on these two today. Love is love. Equal really means equal. And, there's no doubt that Jake and Austin shared their love and their desire to be like everyone else. Even if only for that one time. When all is said and done, that date night went public for all the right reasons, and we here at Narnia salute these guys for it!

collaborated:   Methodical Muser and Prairie Girl
pic sources: coiture club, lifewire, IHJ
our playlist:  A Better Love - Londonbeat
                     Let's Stay Together - Tina Turner
                     Firework - Katy Perry
                     Teenage Dream - Katy
                     Just Like You - Louis Tomlinson
                     Love At First Sight - Kylie Minogue