Feel the Rage!

With the Rage City Rollergirls!

Just when I was wondering what I would find next in this crazy town, the answer presented itself - Women's Roller Derby! I found out that Anchorage (Get it? Ancho-"Rage"? Ha!) has a newly formed League. Having a long-standing ironic affection for the sport - mostly based on a liking for the Jim Croce song which I share with my Dad, I absolutely could not wait to see a bout.

We could not get to the first bout (Mistletoe Mayham in December), but we finally got there last night. This would be the FREEZE For All bout, which I am guessing is in someway affiliated with the FREEZE festival of art and coldness of earlier post fame. We got there a little after 6 (the ad on their site says "Doors open at 6, wheels roll at 7). I did not really know what to expect crowd-wise, but the place was packed! I don't know how many actual people were jammed in there, but I would estimate it at 75% of the population of the state, and possibly some of Canada. There are a LOT of derby fans here. Interestingly, they spanned the range of age and types. For every kid with tattoos all over ever visible inch, there were nicely dressed middle aged ladies out in groups.

Fortunately, they (the skaters) did a little demo of how it works and how points are scored and what the positions are and so forth, which was extremely helpful for those of us who know nothing about it except for Jim Croce's affection for one of the sport's royalty. If you are interested, follow the link to their site and go to Roller Derby FAQ to learn what the faqs is. Then they introduced the players for the two teams - the Dirty Polli's (sic) and the Sockeye Sally's (also sic). They all have great names like Kim Kong and Sarah Impale 'Em and that sort of thing. The refs also are personalities - HitHer Harter, apparently an accountant in real life; and Mr Furious, married to Mrs Furious, a skater for the Polli's; and a few others. The Polli's also have a mascot named Ken B. Bribed, who handed out fake money, kissed babies, and generally carried on. The main announcer was Max Powers, who did a great job keeping up the play-by-play when there was action and patter when there was not. Curly Shrew, the color commentator, did not have much to say, and kind of reminded me of the color commentator from "Major League". Although I got the idea this was not her normal role, so fair enough. If you are getting the idea this is a lot like Pro Wrestling, you are not far off. It is a bit more free-wheeling (Ha!), though. There's a lot of bombast and showwomanship going on to amp up the fun level, which would be pretty high anyway. The announcer had to keep reminding everyone to "Make some noise! These ladies are working hard!" Then we would let out our Anchorage cheers of earlier post fame (Which go like this...WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!) Honestly though, I was really engrossed in the action. And I am aware of how that sounds, but it's true. For one thing, rather than having standard uniforms, each rollergirl is apparently responsible for her own costume, so they are all over the map in look although they each use their team colors. This lets you see at a glance who each one is, which added to fun for us. "That Killa Magilla really goes like a bat" one of us might say. Or, for example "12 Gauge really cleared through that pack". And we actually did say things like that.

All that said, there were still a few things in the show that could use a little work. There were a few rough edges in the flow of the evening. Although the Dirty Polli's had a pretty finished shtick, the Sockeye Sally's need a little more pizzaz. The League needs a venue with more and better seating. However, this is their first season and only their second show ever. If the attendance continues on like it did last night, they should be able to do something about the venue next season. As for the other stuff, I believe it will come in time. For a new organization, they have done an impressive job, and they put on a hell of a show. Their next bout is February 28, and I plan to be ready to rumble! How about you?

Rollerderby - it's the All-American Sport!