This would be the big bang or the big chill, depending on how
the entire town will perceive us during and after the bout. Flagstaff may be a growing city, but
it’s definitely still a community, and word travels fast of events and people
and things that happen here.
Everybody knows somebody who knows someone else in this town, and that pretty
much connects everybody to everyone.
And with 50-some-odd derby girls, plus refs and NSOs and VIPs and
sponsors and photographers and merchants – all of them deeply involved in our
up-and-coming league in one way or another, not to mention the girls’ own
families, spouses, significant others, friends, peers, and co-workers who have
had to put up with our incessant derby talk and insane practice schedules and sprains
and bruises and broken hearts and sometimes even broken bones, well, that’s a lot
of local pressure to finally live up to all the BLOOD, SWEAT, and TEARS that are the basic chemical makeup of a derby girl.
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| THAT's what I'm talking about. |
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| No, not the band... |
Then, of course, there’s the opposing team from Dirty Verde Roller
Derby and their guest skaters from the Havasu Hit Girls, whom those of us who
have had the privilege of getting to know cannot help but instantly adore, and
the camaraderie between the leagues that roller derby is so famous for becomes
unmistakable.
So
there’s pressure all around – to do well as a team, to keep our sportsmanship
squeaky clean, and for each and every skater to live up to her highest potential, and
let it all hang out on bout day.
Sooner than we could say “Our girls hit H.A.R.D.,” the day was here, and our
venue, the Sport Stop at the Flagstaff Athletic Club, was open for
preparation. Volunteers started
filing in to set up for tickets, merchandising, rink rope & tape, team and
penalty box seating, the sections for DJs, announcers, and scorekeepers, and a
million folding chairs for the audience.
Everything came together, and at 3:30 pm, the front doors opened.
What
commenced was probably the most energized, electrifying, thrilling sports event
that Flagstaff has seen in a long time.
The teams battled it out real horrorshow as the scores projected onto
the wall duked it out. First HARD
was in the lead, then DVRD caught up and surpassed, then HARD snatched the
score back in their favor, and it went on like this for the entire bout. ALL of our jammers were amazing –
particularly our very own Lusty Reigns, who gathered 25 points in one jam, and
Gogo Liz who burned up the track like wildfire. I witnessed hits and blocks and pileups like I’ve never seen
before, and the audience caught on quick to the rules of the game. When a home team jammer took the lead,
the roar was deafening. Our blockers kept the opposing jammers from running away with the score by playing some AMAZING defense, while at the same time creating perfect opportunities for our jammers to breeze through. Team captain Wendy O. Killems kept the team inspired, positive, and focused, and bench coach Pantychryst was downright psychic in her decisions about who to put where, and who should jam next. "Well-oiled machine" to describe our team that day is an understatement of epic proportion.
I couldn’t help but step back a few times and take it all in, and each and every time I looked around, I never failed to get all blubbery. This was IT! This was our debut, and they LOVE US! And we were killing it out there!
I couldn’t help but step back a few times and take it all in, and each and every time I looked around, I never failed to get all blubbery. This was IT! This was our debut, and they LOVE US! And we were killing it out there!
During
the 2nd half of the bout, the audience was out of control with
excitement, and when Gogo Liz took the jammer line and blasted off through the
pack, the chant of the day was “Go-GO!
Go-GO! Go-GO!” I managed to glimpse Gogo’s expression
while this was happening – this is the kind of moment an athlete lives for;
it’s what you fantasize about before falling asleep at night, dream about in
your wildest dreams, and hope to one day experience. And here it was for Gogo – her moment in history (one of
many, I predict), and I’ve never seen her smile quite like that before. Oh, don’t get me wrong, Gogo’s usual
smile can light up a room, but THIS smile left fairy dust trailing behind her
around the entire rink. She simply
sparkled.
By the
end of the bout, the final score was 120 HARD, 154 DVRD – and anyone who knows
a typical roller derby bout will say that that is pretty darn close, especially
considering that it’s possible to earn 25 points or more in one 2-minute jam. EVERYONE was ecstatic – both teams, the
audience, the announcers, the sponsors, the vendors… you couldn’t find one
person in the entire venue who wasn’t grinning from ear to ear, having just
experienced the craziest fun in the last hour and a half that this town may
have ever seen. Both teams slammed
together in a huge cluster of big, tight bear hugs, every single girl just
beside herself with joy. This is
what all the hard work is for – THIS very moment, when you realize you have
come to LIFE; you’re more AWAKE than you’ve ever felt, and you crumple into
each other’s arms in ecstasy, revelation, and exhaustion.
So yeah,
I would say that we put on a good show.
The social networking sites completely exploded with good vibes, positive
reactions, and people even asking about season tickets – something we haven’t
even had a chance to think about yet.
We have arrived, and the town ate us up like cotton candy. I can’t wait to see where we go from here. And as for me, personally,
as a skater who opted out of this bout, I will be looking forward to the time
when I feel ready to join the ranks.
I’m already fantasizing about the trail of fairy dust I’ll be leaving
behind when the audience chants my name. That may be a while from
now, but that’s my new goal; why not aim high? I am truly
inspired to be an athlete now – like never before in my life.
Thank you for this, girls, from the bottom of my heart. I love you ALL!
