Girls Gone Derby

After our yachting excursion, it was decided that our lives could only be balanced out again by doing something truly redneck. Chris looked up monster truck rallies, but sadly, the closest one was more than two hours away. That just wouldn’t do.

Instead, he landed on what he considered an equivalent activity and one which we had not yet experienced. No, not wrestling. We did that last year, and it was awesome.

Roller Derby.

We were expecting something like NASCAR on roller skates (with less fire, of course) with a banked track and girls on wheels spinning out of control. Or maybe like a hockey match, with reckless players roughing up the competition and being thrown into penalty boxes. At the very least, we expected rowdy fans, hopped up on adrenaline and booze, making catcalls and shouting obscenities at the fish-net clad women.

Instead we found an old gymnasium turned roller rink, with the course taped off on the wooden floor. The crowd was a subdued mix of hippies, hipsters, punks and families, with the rowdiest guests being the two-year-olds running alongside the course.

The game itself did not disappoint, however. The women played hard with fierce determination, skating fast and leveling their opponents with brutal blocks. And when they fell, they fell hard, often rolling out of bounds in a fashion that would excite the most crash-craving of NASCAR fans. It was an action packed evening, and my only regret is that I didn’t have a better camera.

The Rockettes warm up.

Sitting in "the danger zone".

Sadly, my best action shot.

Jacob, Benjy and a random dude high five the Rockettes.

Special thanks to my friend Kim for taking this picture.