According to the website, Misty Meaner, Sparkle Plenty, Dirty Deeds, & Melicious were all appearing on the program. It was hard to tell who was who though because on the radio, people always seem to speak over one another. Mel was the general spokesperson, which makes sense cause she's created a very impressive career for herself in PR, journalism, & marketing...& does it quite well I might add. (i.e. She's probably never dropped the F-Bomb on radio in her life. Ahem.)
So here's the gist of the radio spot (paraphrased):
The show hosts were sad to learn that during roller derby, rollergirls DO wear clothes (non-bikini wear) & do not kiss. Also, there is no naked pillow fighting. (Pervs....lol)
Several times, the ladies were asked the difference between flat-track & banked-track roller derby. The answers are as follows:
~ 40+ leagues across the country are all flat-track leagues, making it a national phenomenon readily available to any girl in Anytown, USA.
~ All potential & existing teams have access to flat-tracks (i.e. your local skating rink, with limited modifications)
~ Because there are so many existing flat-tracks across the USA, the opportunity for interstate tournaments is far greater. (For example: Tucson Roller Derby is hosting the very 1st interstate tournament between 20 Roller Derby leagues from across the country, including the Texas Rollergirls.
~ Banked tracks are expensive to buy & costly to maintain. And from the sound of it, you need to employ roadies to take it apart & move it someplace else. In other words, they have limited mobility & high cost, to say the least.
Have the girls watched the A&E "Rollergirl" series? No. There is league practice on all Monday nights.
This is the BEST question/answer of the whole interview:
~ Why aren't the Texas Rollergirls on TV?
~ Actually, the Texas Rollergirls were offered the A&E show FIRST. They turned it down because of the terms. They want to be apart of a reality series that focuses on Roller Derby, the sport they love, not airing their personal lives & dirty laundry while being followed around by cameras 24/7. Basically, they just want to promote & advance their sport & the A&E show seemed to rely heavily on using personal dramas as a central theme. So they passed. (For the record, I totally respect that.) This is something I bitched about it my review of the 1st episode. The actual roller derby is almost an afterthought the very last 10 mins of the show. And BTW, it sounded like they are still trying to work out a tv project of their own.
Melicious is writing a book based on flat-track Roller Derby.
Sparkle Plenty didn't skate as a kid, like most rollergirls. She learned as an adult. And it takes several years of skating to be on par with the level of Roller Derby skating. (damn.)
For the record, SKATES not blades.
Why not blades, you ask? Cause rollerblades don't take hits well. 4 wheel skates offer better stability than a single row of blades.
Tomorrow morning, the Texas Rollergirls will be on the Today Show (NBC). Bob Dotson, a very famous journalist, interviewed Hydra as well as followed her to work. (Mel is also interviewed.)
There is about 1100 people who attend their bouts/events. They've done a lot of work to expand Playland Skate Center, their current headquarters, in order to accommodate their large crowd.
And so this is right about the time where I enter the picture. I conjure up a pretty decent question,("In 5 years, where would you like to see the sport?"), & I call up the station. So I'm on hold. And I'm listening to the live broadcast (sans delay). I have to turn off my radio, because it's like an evil echo when you're actually on the phone with them.
Did I mention that I've never called live radio before?
So, I intro myself, say I'm a big fan. I mention that I feel lucky to live in Austin where there are 2 Rollergirl leagues & end up mentioning that I have a blog about it all. Verbal Diarrhea. Totally.
Well, Mel calls me out & actually invites me to plug the blog. Well, fudge. I'm not a pro....I'm winging this chicken. I don't know what the addy is. This blog is only a month old...maybe. So I'm thinking "Blogger! I log into blogger.com" Rational thinking, right? Wrong. I never realized this before, but if you log into blogger.com, you end up at blogspot.com. Cool, huh. Well, not if you are on the radio nervously plugging your blog.
So I give out texasrollergirls.BLOGGER.com, instead of BLOGSPOT.com. Total fubar.
"Would you like to be a rollergirl?" Well, yeah...if I could learn to skate like they do.
While I'm thinking about what I've said & what I'm going to say, (I'm babbling at this point), one of the hosts asks me the following:
"What do you think is tougher...flat or banked track?"
I thought about it for a second, then answered in the only way I could. Yes, folks, I spoke Nascar.
My love for Nascar isn't any different than roller derby. They both go around in circles & go really fast, trying to wreck each other out in the process. And both take a lot of skill & dedication, which outsiders & non-fans can never seem to realize. And since I was calling an ESPN show, I put my answer in terms they might understand. Witb all their naked, pillow fighting questions, the hosts didn't seem to get that this IS a sport. Enter my big mouth. I figured that the hosts, as well as the largely male audience listening, might understand things in terms of Nascar.
"I think flat track is tougher. With a banked track, it's like riding around Talladega [a 32 degree banked track]. It's easy to get around using your own momentum once you get up to speed. But when you're going around a flat-track like, say Martinsville, you have to use more skill & power to get around it."
Did anyone understand it? I have no idea. But I was still ok by this point. Then Mel answers my question. My inner dialog went something like, "What question? Damn, I forgot. Oh yeah, where in 5 years...."
She gave the best answer ever. (Why is it the best? Cause I never thought of it in those terms, of course!)
In 5 years, there should be a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. This means, there should be a national league with playoffs for the top leagues that eventually lead to a USA Championship Team, just like they do with football, basketball, & any other sport.
Can you imagine? I couldn't either. I expected "a new venue" kind of answer, etc. but the thought of a USA Championship got me seriously thinking. Once I started thinking outside of Austin, I totally got it. I firmly believe that in 5 years, women's roller derby will be to the 2010's like skateboarding/X-Games were to the 90's. (Bless Tony Hawk! Us girls are still looking for OUR Tony to elevate the sport to that next level. I'm betting she's here in Austin too.)
Okay, next question. It's goes down hill from here.....
"Do you have a crush on any of the rollergirls?"
Ok, these are male radio hosts on a sports channel appealing to a male audience. So I answer the best & honest way I can. "I have a crush on all the girls! I think they are FUCKING awesome."
Cheers all around. Then I hear....
Co-host: "Did you just drop the F-bomb?"
Oh fuck yeah I did. I apologized. I have no idea if they were able to bleep it out or not. Flustered, I sort of tapped out after that. And the radio station disconnected my call quickly afterwards. I was radio poo-poo. Not only that, but radio poop with a bad blog address. I was kicking myself for like an hour afterwards. My hubby couldn't stop laughing at me.
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