carry the ball

Verb

carry the ball (third-person singular simple present carries the ball, present participle carrying the ball, simple past and past participle carried the ball)

1. (idiomatic) To lead in terms of responsibility, initiative, or progress.
   • A gay man in Fitzwilliam, NH, singlehandedly organized a group called Monadnock Area Gays, which provided weekly socials, but when he moved some 25 miles to the northwest, there was no one left behind to carry the ball.1979 February 10, Allen Young, “Living In The Country”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 28, page 8
   • What is perhaps embarrassing to gay men is that women are making honest, gritty statements — carrying the balls, as it were — and producing very interesting gay writing, gay music, gay films, gay politics as (gulp) Lesbians.1985 August 17, Vincent F. Luti, “Ignore the Twaddle, Give, Give, Give”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 6, page 4