Can't vouch for the SideWinder Standard, I've never had one. Wouldn't really want to bother with hunting one down, either, considering how basic it is, but if you've already got it, might as well use it.
However, I CAN say that my Pentium 4 EE 3.2 box refuses to properly detect my SideWinder 3D Pro in digital mode on both my AWE64 Gold and my Turtle Beach Montego II gameports in XP and 98SE. It's apparently really finicky with fast FSB systems to the point that someone had to code a custom 9x driver set with tweaked timings (which didn't work for me, regrettably).
As mentioned above, you can use it in the TM FCS or CH Flightstick Pro analog emulation modes just fine, but it's less desirable to do so because you lose the ability to use the four base buttons and you either can't hold down simultaneous stick buttons due to the hat switch being chorded button inputs (CH FS Pro) or have to give up the throttle axis for the hat switch (TM FCS).
Most gameport-era sticks do not need custom drivers for XP; they're usually built into XP itself, covering any basic analog gameport joystick (4-axis, 4-button interface) and all the digital interface Microsoft and Logitech sticks.
However, you may not get full functionality with those drivers, like how I can't enable a gameport rudder for my Logitech WingMan Interceptor sticks under XP (and it needs one badly because the stick doesn't twist) or how these beta Mad Catz Panther XL 2000/XP drivers I found don't properly utilize the rudder pedal port, instead mapping the rudder axis to the trackball.
Also, for old Thrustmaster and CH Products HOTAS hardware that depends heavily on keyboard emulation alongside the basic analog gameport interface, you can't program it through XP. Gotta boot to DOS or 9x first before you can upload a new profile. The same might also apply to the Gravis Phoenix, but I'm not entirely certain there.
By the way, I wouldn't trust gameport-to-USB adapters too much unless you're very specifically using an analog gameport interface stick. If you have a SideWinder 3D Pro, Precision Pro or later (basically anything BUT the Standard), you'll want a 3DP-Vert adapter. Logitech ADI sticks (like the WingMan Interceptor) may be left out in the cold, unfortunately.
