Lots of black ... tattoos ... a rainbow of hair colors ... fishnets ... young.
Never once did we confuse them with the wedding reception guests, or with the national guard who also inhabited the hotel ... each cluster group separate and readily identifiable.
At the sportsplex, three rinks served as the arena where nearly thirty teams from across the country came to compete. Teams from Las Vegas, New Orleans, Chicago, Denver, New York, Detroit, Raleigh, Pittsburgh ... all converged for this 2-day event. Many had stories of delayed flights and wild rides through snow.
The traveling team of Pittsburgh's Steel City Derby Demons was not only scheduled to compete in Philly on Sunday afternoon, but some of their members had skated in Pittsburgh the night before. Sharon Fluids (ugh) of the Hot Metal Hellions told me that some of the team finished their bout in Harmarville on Saturday night, then packed into cars and headed east, arriving at the hotel about 4:00 AM.
Ah, to have such energy!
And you could feel the energy in the rink too! Flamboyant announcers called the bouts on loudspeakers to crowd-filled bleachers. Whistles to start the jams and buzzers to end the periods blended with loud pulsing music, blasted throughout the arena. The throbbing beat put me in mind of the Boom-Boom Sound by Moving to France.
Concession stands, program sales, raffle ticket sellers roving the bleachers, a beer tent, merchandise tables and "jeerleaders" added to the carnival-like atmosphere, but the skaters were the stars.
For two days, just as Jim Croce promised, they went round 'n' round 'n' round 'n' round ...
But they also stopped and started ... switched out players between jams ... packed tight ... blocked hard ... weaved deftly ... tumbled and recovered ... sped around the track ... sweat ... and were occasionally sentenced to the sin bin (penalty box). What a workout!
Yes, there were some injuries during the 2-day event. I saw skaters on crutches, one in a wheelchair and a few with ice packs. Fortunately, there were medical personnel onsite. In fact, Indiana's Hoosier Mama (say it out loud) assured me, "EMT's love this gig!"
And of course spending time, meeting friends & teammates, sharing interests, and hugging my daughter is all good for this mother's soul.
5 comments:
Your stories about the Roller Derby Bout are great! I love the names of the derby chicks and their teams (Hoosier Mama!)
Thanks for bringing this edgy sport to life. I am really enjoying the blog. (I thought I was the only person on the planet who remembered Jim Croce's Roller Derby Queen song!)
Woo! Thanks for the shout-out! One of my friends who is an EMT in LA told me that most of his calls down here are psychiatric emergencies, but I bet he'd enjoy working at a roller derby tournament.
It really shows passion for a sport, or for any other activity for that matter, to brave snow and dangerous weather.
Just out of curiosity why was the national guard there?
Also, this is a really good blog entry, your descriptions of the event are very vivid and well done.
Thanks!
The military hotel guests had business at the national guard unit very nearby. I never asked them specifically what they were up to.
Yes, the skaters are passionate, to be sure. But me? I wanted to see Sarah, to watch her skate, and to come back with more material for my blog!
Ah...an opportunist.
Nice to be checking out your blog again, Elsie! And I'm glad Sarah wasn't hurt, even if there were medical teams around...
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