The Olympics. Despite the last games being held in my country of residence, they don't mean all that much to me. I'll watch the opening ceremonies on occasion and tune in for an event or two, but it has more to do with hot athletes than exhilarating competitions. (Yeah, I like hot divers.)

My sports-phobia aside, I like what the Olympics stand for, in that they foster national pride for countries all over the world. Oh, and healthy competition. You know, when there are no underage Chinese gymnasts in the mix.

In an Olympic first, the organizers of the London 2012 games have begun selling LGBT Olympic pins. I'll take this latest news as a sign that maybe I should start supporting the Olympic games a little bit more, just as they seem to be supporting me. The pins have the official Olympic logo, which leads one to assume that selling them has been approved by the Olympic ... er, whoever runs the Olympics. The Olympic Royalty? Sure, let's call them that.

The London 2012 Olympics Committee sold the pins at London's Pride and says that it is doing so to support LGBT rights. An interesting amalgamation of a rainbow, the numbers in 2012 and the Olympic symbol, the pin is a sure sign that the committee aims to include LGBT peoples in the upcoming games.

“Our diversity and inclusion pin badge range, starting with the LGBT pin badge, is a way of showing our support for a sporting environment built upon equality and inclusion,” said London 2012 CEO Paul Deighton.

Here's hoping that London 2012's supportive atmosphere will allow for more gay and lesbian athletes to openly embrace the queer community in the media surrounding the games. There are so few openly homosexual professional athletes that even something so seemingly small - a pin no bigger than my thumb - has the potential to make a difference in the Olympic community.

“It’s great to see Locog (the London 2012 organizing committee) reaching out to all communities and making sure that London 2012 is a Games for everyone, in which every community feels included. I hope that everyone will buy and wear their pin badge with pride and help us achieve greater inclusion in sport," says gay rugby player Gareth Thomas, who was presented with the first pin.

In its attempt for gay inclusion, the Olympics committee seems to be aiming to combat homophobia and ward off the idea that LGBT athletes must stay closeted. And they also hope to reach the public - the millions of men and woman who watch the Olympic games.

“If we can reach a young gay guy in Doncaster who is in the closet or a young gay woman in Wales who is in the closet and they can see the biggest event in the world with LGBT people at the heart of that, then the whole thing is about inclusion," says Stephen Frost, who is in charge of diversity and inclusion for the games.