In the three decades that have passed since Simpson penned his article on sporno, what was previously an implicit allusion in sports advertising is today an explicit reference. Sportsmen on this side of the Atlantic are increasingly openly acknowledging and flirting with their gay fans,” wrote Simpson in 2006 in Out magazine, mentioning David Beckham and Freddie Ljungberg: ripped, handsome men on the playing field had become unadulterated objects of lust.
Journalist Mark Simpson christened it sporno, a mix between sport and porn.
