Our Ladies of Roller Derby Sunday Service

I owed my friend a solid. After she drove to Chicago to the other night, I felt I couldn't turn her down even though it sounded kinda strange. I mean, who goes to watch roller derby on a Sunday morning?

But there I was, walking into a roller rink to watch the women go round and round and bang each other to the floor. I kept wondering if this was a good idea since there would be no booze available for purchase.

This isn't my first roller derby rodeo. I had a great time back in December of 08. I knew what to expect and was looking forward to a fun time.

There were a couple things that caught my eye right away. First was the hardwood floor. If I am not mistaken, they played on a hard rubber surface in 08. It looked like some of the women were getting used to turning on the wood. Second was the atmosphere. Unlike that other time, it was rather quiet. There was no music or cheerleaders or mascots of any kind.

The match featured the Brewcity Bruisers versus the visiting Detroit Derby Girls. Within the first 5 minutes you could tell this could get ugly. By no means do I mean to offend the Bruisers but they were out of their league in this matchup. Detroit looked much, much better than they did.

Detroit excelled at all facets of the game. The blocked well, worked as a team, and skated faster. They executed their plays extremely well. Each time they threw a hip or shoulder on the jammer, another girl stepped up to make the next hit, stifling their efforts to break free or score points. It is no wonder they won 195-47.

One girl in particular totally amazed me. Number 5 on Detroit was freakin' phenomenal. I think this may be her. Watching her game through the Bruisers was nothing short of amazing. It was like watching Emmitt Smith run the football. She would get in behind her blockers and wait for them to open a hole. When they did, she accelerated and blasted through and went flying around to score more points. If she didn't have blockers, she got on the ass of the opposing team and juked her way by them. I have never seen anything like this. She was scoring 15+ points a jam like it was her normal routine.

I must also give both teams credit. The Bruisers did not give up in the second half, nor did Detroit let up on them. When all was said and done, they shook hands and probably went off for some Bloody Marys. I just walked away with an education in roller derby. Watching Detroit showed me how the game was meant to be played.