My how time flies when you are having fun. Or a procrastinator. Mmm, perhaps both. 3 years ago this month I posted the result of an online quiz I took that was apparently linked to the LA Derby Dolls website and it proclaimed that if I were to become a roller skating warrior that Fight Crew was the team for me.
Due to my usually booked Saturday nights at the theatre, going to actually see The LA Derby Dolls in action has proved somewhat difficult. Until last night. Earlier in the week Phillanova Fox (formerly of Square One fame) mentioned that a few friends were planning on going and asked if I was available and wanted to come along. I immediately said yes and started to jump up and down in sheer excitement.
Saturday night finally came and I gots all dressed up because afterwards I’d be hanging at the bar and I of course wanted to look semi cute. So I stroll into Bergins where we all met and the first thing Princess Leah says is not “hi” but “you do know that we will be standing the entire night and you have to pee in a port-a-potty...right?” So consider this my fair warning to all who haven’t gone to a Derby Dolls event and are planning; wear comfy shoes, bring a lightweight jacket (for the girls) and pee a lot before actually arriving at the event. Luckily the cute shoes that I was wearing were one of my more comfortable pair so it was all good.
The 5 of us arrived a snitch after 7pm and were luckily able to snag a decent spot near the corner where the announcers are located. Another piece of advice, the larger your party the earlier you should arrive if you want to secure a good spot to see the action. The only drawback to where we were located is that we couldn’t hear the announcers very well because, as Leah showed me, there were no speakers pointed in our direction due to feedback issues. Whatevs, it was a minor detail that I didn’t mind. Because although the announcers have a great sense of humor you aren’t there to listen to them, you are there to watch some great action!
Now remember when earlier I mentioned that the quiz I took stated that if I were a Derby Doll my personality was a best fit for Fight Crew? Well, coincidentally enough, out of the 4 local LA Derby Dolls teams Fight Crew was battling it out with The Swarm from San Diego. Sweet!
If you haven’t been to a roller derby event and don’t know the rules, yes there are rules, then one would think it just a pack of girls skating around a banked track trying to kill opposing team members. And even though it resembles that a bit there is actually offense involved and points are scored making it an official sport. Prior to arriving everyone tried to school me on the game and it kinda made sense but since I’m a visual person they all assured me that I’d figure it out pretty quickly. After having read the rules of the game in the program and standing around for about 45 minutes waiting I was super ready for the match to start.
I’d attempt to give a run down on the rules but that’s just too much for right here, suffice to say it's easy to grasp the concept of Roller Derby and amazingly fun to watch. The Swarm is a really good team and jumped out to a 20 point lead pretty quickly but Fight Crew battled back and made it a game for much of the match, until the end when The Swarm got their killer instinct back. Fight Crew ended up losing the match but in my book they are all winners. Kick-ass, rock & roll-er derby winners baby.
My one word to summarize the night was WOW. Just WOW. Seriously more fun than I’ve had in quite some time all for a mere $20. And will I be back? Most definitely! Although not for a few months as I will have theatre duties for the next 4 scheduled matches. But I’ll be sure to keep my eye on the fall schedule and pray I have no conflicts. Perhaps by then I will have made up my own roller derby name, because you can’t help but figure out what you’d call yourself if you had enough guts to join those fine ladies.
And one last piece of advice, no cameras allowed. Since I couldn’t take any snaps of the action last night I will leave you with a shot of my fabulous skates that need some dirtying up a bit, don’t ya’ think?
....and Stretch checking out my skates
x
So glad you liked it!! We fought hard until the end, but penalties killed us a bit in the last 4 minutes. We had a fantastic time playing. Great write up.
Myna Threat-
Fight Crew Blocker, LA Derby Dolls.
Posted by: Myna Threat | March 30, 2009 at 02:46 PM