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Maybe a clue as to why Crash beat Brokeback Mountain last night can be found in the Oscars' ratings themselves: The audience for the "gay Oscars" was down significantly from last year, making it the second-lowest rated Oscars in history, behind only the year Chicago arguably a gayer movie than Brokeback, Capote and Transamerica combined took top honors. Could The Gays be ratings poison for Oscar?

The Academy Awards were down 10 percent from last year's ceremony, based on preliminary Nielsen Media Research ratings from the nation's 55 biggest markets. If the full national ratings follow suit later Monday, this year's ceremony will likely be the second least-watched Oscars telecast behind 2003, when "Chicago" won best picture.

When you take into consideration that The Gays are said to comprise 10 percent of the population, we couldn't help but wonder if there isn't some direct algebraic correlation between the size of the marginalized group you are recognizing and the percentage drop in that year's audience a theory that can only add fuel to the self-righteous religious groups claiming victory over Brokeback's defeat (what, God looks askance at adapted screenplay and direction kudos?). Then again, maybe people just found the entire, bloated event excruciating to sit through and opted instead for another exhilarating chapter of MTV's Nick Cannon Presents: Wild 'N Out.