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As is becoming the custom apparently, this is late and somewhat forgotten, but thus is the way of life. If you weren’t at the Putas del Fuego vs. Rhinestone Cowgirls bout, you missed one HELLUVA bout. I’ll say it again, a helluva bout.
As far as penalties, there were lots of spank alleys, both regular and reversed. I’m thinking at the next bout, I’m gonna break down and buy some spank alley raffle tickets (find Eva Knievel before the bout - $1 a piece I believe…there’s the plug for spank alley!!), it seems like a fun place to spend a bout and helps our gals out a little bit more. There was a historic 1st ever 4-way pillow fight (Honey was in it, but can’t recall who else.)
Mike and Tim went to Mooshine’s at half time and attempted satellite feed announcing, however, I think the technology failed them, or maybe they were kicked out. They showed back up eventually at the Thunderdome, but meanwhile, Doc and Eva Knievel had taken over the Red Coat duties (they did a fine job by the way). So the new redcoats, in full polyester carried on and Mike and Tim announced a penalty from within the ring. Then I think things got back to normal, and then the fights broke out. I was looking away and suddenly heard the all telling “Ooooooh!” from the crowd and Mighty Aphrodite, in her comeback bout had Chola on the ground and the two were squirming around (and slapping each other) and this caused a bench clearing that had production crew members running in the track because the refs were as busy as 3-legged cats in the shit covering contest. I had hoped for, and predicted a Wolverine attack from the Rhinestone’s (which didn’t happen), but this scuffle was just as bad, with more people involved. It was madness, anarchy if you will!
This really was a great bout (I feel like I say that each time, but it’s true!) The Putas had decided to get hammered to “even out the playing field” but judging on the score, it didn’t seem to faze them. And no one puked, that I saw, but from what I understand, there were buckets in place. Just in case. Some of the Putas did seem a little tired (and I’m not sayin who…) but in the end it didn’t matter. It would appear that the tequila that did not kill them made them stronger. The final score was: Puta’s – 49, Rhine’s – 21. Now, I’ve said in the past that my nemesis team this season is the Rhine’s, but I’m not ready to throw in the towel on them, they got some fire in their bellies yet.
Mighty Aphrodite (aka “The Mouth” see cable access channel 10, 10 pm Mondays nights) made her skating comeback tonight with the Rhinestone’s and showed she’s still hard as nails. She was starting fights left and right and jammed a couple several times against Lunatic, who is also fresh back on the track. She skated against the Arizona Renegade Rollergirls after taking some time off to bring the world a little lunatic. But this was her first bout her girls. Good to have both these badasses back!
During the 4th quarter, the tension was thick. There was lots of good blocking on the part of the Rhinestone’s, but Chola and Chingona managed to pull off several full jams and kept the lead going up. But you would never guess it to look at the spirit of the Rhinestone’s. I’m not sure which scuffle exactly got Honey ejected, but she got ejected. Second time this season. (First time was against the Cherry Bombs.) I think it was between her and Lunatic, but either way, she ended up throwing her helmet at Luna and Chola, and Luna proceeded to pick it up and chunk it out of the track, flying over the Whore’s Turn 4, towards the bar. Then as I recall, there were several security officials that “encouraged” Honey to head on out. After the bout on the way out the door, I saw her and pointed and said “Honey, I love you!’ and sorta smiled and said very dryly and matter-of-factly, “yeah, but you’re wearing a Puta shirt.” I totally got called out. And admit it.
Titz McGee skated again tonight, I believe she has skated in every single bout this season and I’m willing to say that I think she’s skated for every team except the Hellcats. Either way, she’s becoming quite the badass blocker – in the way when she needs to be. Joining Titz on the Rhinestone’s was Kate or Dye, who is becoming quite the quick jammer. Both of these ladies kick ass and I’m looking forward to watching them progress.
And lastly, we said farewell to Willy Callit, production crewmember, referee in training and knowledgeable board whore. Hope your backside has recovered from the TXRD spank alley love! His friendly face will be missed on Turn 4, but maybe he’ll be back for the playoffs…(hint, hint, Willy…)
Peace out & Sk8 on! Your humble banked track editor, ÅnaRchy
First, let me say this has been on my desktop since Monday and I completely slacked on getting it posted! Yikes, jeesh, oops and sorry! Thank goodness I'm not in charge of the world or anything!
So, last Sunday, the Holy Rollers kept the Cherry Bomb “un-ignited,” but man, it was a close, tiring battle. At half time, I wondered if this would be another tie causing sudden death match, like the Cherry Bombs had with the Putas a couple of weeks ago. The entire game was played very defensively by both teams. Jammers not attempting a full jam, but choosing rather to call off a jam with just 1 or 2 points scored, just as long as the other jammer scored nothing. To me, that shows the true sport-ness (if you will) of roller derby, a decided strategy, played by both teams, a plan of attack if you will. A plan that played out well for the Holy Rollers, who took it 41 to 35.
Favorite events of the night:
Miss Conduct vs. Cherry ‘The Law’ Chainsaw in a two-lap duel. This scuffle shows the reason why both these ladies are such badasses. Cherry’s got however many inches and pounds on Miss Conduct, but as always, the killer Miss Conduct brings it. These two gals went at it, skated, then went at it again.
Also, in another penalty, these two ladies also had to arm wrestle. I think I’ve stated in the past that I can’t think of a skater in the league that could beat Cherry in an arm wrestle, and tonight was no exception. I got a couple of great pics (soon to come, once the disposable camera is all “shot up”) of the after fight that ensued when Miss Conduct lost and flipped the table and attacked Cherry Chainsaw. On my 1-10 scale of “How big are YOUR cajones?” Miss Conduct gets a well-earned nine, meaning she’s got cajones bigger than yours, and yours, and probably yours. I love Miss Conduct!
Smarty Pants and Rocky Casbah – during a jam, Smarty starting skating backwards, taunting Rocky and Rocky came with it. I had never seen Smarty start a scuffle, but these two went at it and had to literally be torn apart by the refs. Also, Smarty came off the track 2 or 3 times tonight.
Okay, so truth be told, the bout Sunday was PAINFUL for me. This season, I picked the Holy Rollers as “my team.” IE, they’re at the top of the ranking list of who I root for. But Rocky, who is my absolute favorite rookie for this season, was the chosen jammer for much of the bout for the Cherry Bombs, and I swore I wouldn’t root against her. I confessed my sins to her, and she agreed to take a pic with me at the next Cherry Bomb bout. Not only is she a badass skater, she's a sweet chick!
Tonight, I brought a good friend, who has heard me speak of roller derby often, we’ll call him The Brain, and when asked what his favorite part of the evening was, he replied “I really, really liked when the girls fly off the track, when they fight, and most definitely the plaid skirts.” Sounds like we’ve got a Holy Roller fan in the making!
This really was a close bout and a ton of fun to watch, even though I didn't cheer much! Thanks to the gals for all the fine skating!
Peace out and SK8 on!
Your humble banked track editor, ÅnaRchy
WOW! The interstate bout last night between the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls and the Arizona Renegade Rollergirls was awesome! The ladies from AZ put up a good fight, but it wasn't enough. What I didn't know and found out while I bought a "Roll Out With Your Hole Out" t-shirt from an AZ rollergirl is that these ladies are FLAT TRACK. WOW. Now, I had respect for them taking on the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls on their home turf to begin with, but to find out that some of them hadn't skated on a banked track before, these chicas have massive cajones. Kudos to the Renegades!
The skaters for TXRD were: Honey Homicide, Fanny Smack, Venis Envy, Mustang Sally, Annie Afterparty (in a lovely electric blue tutu), Dixie Sanchez, Rollergazm, Chingona, Dirty Blond and lastly, but most definitely not last, the lovely Lunatic made her comeback from child rearing. What a site to see! I'm proud to say I was one of the loud people by the track yelling "LUN-A-TIC, LUN-A-TIC!!"
The Renegade Rollergirls had the Texas Timebomb, Renegade, Mayhemily, Go Go Liz, Night-Mar, Killotine, JoAnn Thrax, Mad As Sin, and T-Wrexxx. And these ladies were awesome. They had speed, skills, and heart! We hope they'll come back soon!
My favorite skater of the evening: Honey Homicide. Let me tell you what's so great about Honey. Aside from the fact that she's a head taller than everyone and has a definite physical presence on the track, she has personality. Last night, and in previous bouts, she will cause a ruckus, get the crowd all riled up, then skate around with her hands behind her back and a sweet look on her face – literally saying "Who me? I didn't do that…" Now, by nature I'm not a Rhinestone fan (hey, you gotta pick a team as the nemesis, and the Rhine's are fun to hate – but don't get me wrong, they have some badass skaters) but Honey has won me over. I got to get a picture with her and am excited to see how it turned out! I heart Honey!
I got to meet and stand with the TXRD Board Whores (I love you guys!!) and let me tell you, that is the place to be. Aside from the fact that they cheer as much as I do, they actually know the skaters' strengths, weaknesses and personalities on the track. I thought I was the only one that kept up with that kind of stuff, but, at last, I found my people!! Now, I'm a lurker on the board, so I don't feel I qualify for Board Whore status, so for now, I'm a Board Slut, aspiring to be a Whore.
There were no Holy Rollers or Cherry Bombs on the team this year – these ladies gotta battle each other on Sunday – and it's bound to be a tough fight. I love me some Holy Rollers, but Rocky is my favorite rookie of the season (that gal has spunk and speed!), so I'll probably be wearing a Holy Roller shirt with my bright green Cherry Bomb hoodie. I gotta represent both of these kick ass teams! For the first time this season, I'm truly torn on who to root for, but either way, whoever wins – I'll be happy!
Many thanks and a whole shitload of kudos to the Arizona Renegade Rollergirls, you ladies have my respect and admiration. I look forward to the next interstate bout.
Peace out and SK8 on!
Your humble banked track editor, ÅnaRchy
PS. Oops, I almost forgot to include some useful information...the final score was: TXRD 76 - AZ 44
PSS. Will post whatever pics came out on my disposable camera after tonight's Holy Roller vs. Cherry Bomb bout - definetly the one with my girl, Honey!
So the Rhinestone Cowgirl vs. the Hellcats bout was a doosey! I was shocked at how few people were there, but was kinda selfishly glad...more room for me to jump around and shorter lines in at the bar! Where were you people? Come out and show some love! The question before the bout had been: Can the Rhinestone's herd the Hellcats…the answer: herding cats IS just as hard as it sounds. The ladies went at it all night, but the Hellcats ending up taking it by 19 points. Final Score: Hellcats 42 - Rhinestone Cowgirls 23. Wish I had more information about jamming and blocking and the 'real' derby stuff…but I drank, therefore I slack! Help a sista out!
Unfortunately, because it took me so long to write this, and I *might* have had a *little* to drink that night, much of the bout is a blur. I remember yelling a lot and saying ouch a lot (mostly for Emme Propper, one tough little cowgal, who I recall getting knocked around all night.) So, if you were there and had a favorite moment or remember something too cool to not share, PLEASE leave a comment to share with the world and refresh my memory!
The Hellcats did a fun little play on their introduction. The Rhinestone's had already come out and done their intro-lap and the Hellcats were nowhere to be found. Suddenly, they emerge from the back, each with face paint a feather stuck in her hair, sticking straight up, Indian (um, Native American) style. Each girl had a new name, each a representation of what they planned to do to the Cowgirls. I was so surprised that I can't remember who was who for the intro, but I loved it! Thank goodness for me, they didn't use them all night (I have trouble enough as it is…) But it was too cute! Wait, can I say "cute" to describe something roller derby? Oh, hell no. How about killer? It was killer! Okay, that sounds better.
My favorite moment: The Wolverine. According to the lovely and hellaciously tough Honey Homocide, The Wolverine is a manuever that is performed when the Rhinestone Cowgirls are either way behind or way ahead. What happens is this, and it's a beautiful sight. Each Rhinestone Cowgirl attacks there corresponding "enemy" at the same time so there are 5 mini-fights going on. And since this IS roller derby, the benches clear FAST. It's like mad, wonderful chaos. Not that I condone violence of any sort…except this kind. :0) I had never witnessed this phenomen before, and the Rhinestone's have a won a new place in my heart. The crowd went crazy, the refs were running from derby girl pile to derby girl pile, and everyone had smiles on their faces, me most of all. What a night! Thanks to the Hellcats and Rhinestone's for a wonderfully fun evening!
Peace out & Sk8 on! ÅnaRchy
If you missed Sunday's banked track bout - you missed out! The Cherry Bomb vs. Putas del Fuego bout was the *best* bout so far this season. Neither team was giving up points, the defense was brutal - literally. Heathen was injured during the first half and was seen rolling around on just 4 wheels in a wheel chair during the second half (she got slammed up against the rail pretty hard.)
The entire game was neck and neck, with no team ahead by more than 6 points at any given time. The score at the close of the first half was 13-13. The score at the close of the 4th quarter 27-27 - there's no "ties" in roller derby! The teams go into sudden death match - first team to score a point wins: and Chola takes it for the Putas! By far the closest and most exciting bout of the season thus far!
Peace out and SK8 on! Å
This bout was totally different than the 1/29/06 bout with the Putas/Holy Rollers for several reasons:
1. There was a hell of an Austin Fire Dept (AFD) presence there.
2. It wasn't as packed, crowd wise, even though both bouts sold out.
3. The game was REALLY close. No 40 point blow out. It came down to the last few jams to determine a winner.
4. I drank many more beers this time. (Hell, I wasn't driving so I got down with the Lonestar.)
We arrived around 5:20, thinking we'd get a good spot in the front of the line. Wrong. The line was already starting to wrap around the parking lot, but we managed to get in line before it got out of hand.
The only problem with the line is the cutters. We had a group of 4 people ahead of us in line, but by the time the doors opened, their group had grown to about 10-15 people who conveniently jumped ahead of a long line of people behind them. I heard a few complaints around me.
Even in the parking lot, you could feel the AFD presence. They brought in a firetruck, which I didn't remember being there last bout.
The ticket lines were much better marked with added signs this time. Kudos. Of course, it's like what happens to me at the grocery store. Last bout, I was Will Call tickets, which was the monster line. This time, I was Have Tickets, which was of course the longest line. (I swear I can't win for losin'.)
By the time we made it in, most of the good seats were taken. There were some seats left high up in the stands, but none of them were good for taking pictures with a disposable camera. I noticed that a lot of the prime seats were all reserved for rollergirls friends/family, and rightly so.
BTW, I happened to run into Lux at this point, when we were looking at the seating situation. She was chatting with friends so I didn't bother her. But Frankie, her DJ boyfriend, came up & talked to her as we were leaving the area. (They looked like they are still an item....good for them.)
We found some seats on the standing platforms west of the track. (We were literally directly opposite the announcers station.) We grabbed some beers & chilled for a while. I noticed that they had added a traffic path in the western part of the track. Last bout, there were so many people standing in the west part that it was pretty crowded to walk thru from one side of the venue to the other. But they fixed that, clearly marking the standing area & defining a clear walk path with roped barriers. Again, kudos.
One thing I noticed is that it wasn't as crowded as before. The crowd streamed in steadily, but it wasn't as packed, even though they had announced to people buying tickets that they were sold out pretty quickly after doors opened. If memory serves, I believe they announced that around 200 tickets were available, however there is no way that 200 people went through the ticket purchase line before it was shut down. I suspect AFD had something to do with that.
Another thing, there weren't any raffle give-aways this bout. Last time, they raffled off a steady stream of things by the last few digits on your ticket. I don't remember them doing it at all cause I was ready this time, since I had my ticket in hand.
The bout started pretty much on time, so everything seemed kosher. However, as per the TXRD message boards, supposedly the bout almost didn't take place since AFD threatened to shut it down. Don't know if that's true or not, but it seems on the up & up since AFD has the Thunderdome currently shut-down for the 2/26/06 bout. (More on that later.)
Skater intros took place rather quickly, then the bout started. The Hellcats took the early lead in the 1st jam, 1-4 Hellcats, which pretty much set the pace for the 1st half. At one point, they were tied 8-8, but a few spins of the wheel had a rollergirl from each team fighting for crowd approval. I believe one was a pillow fight, which got pretty ugly. Hellcats, hands down, won that one. Cowgirls lost a point. The other spin, which saw 1 girl from each team take a lap with the other girl trying to stop her, went by audience to the Hellcats, losing another Cowgirl point.
Both teams were strong, but the Hellcats managed to hold an average 3 point lead over the Cowgirls during most of the 1st half. Unfortunately, my memory sucks. At the time, I was reciting jams & scores in my head, telling hubby to help me remember the particulars. But I also admitted that I'd never be able to remember all this, & hubby's advice was to bring a notebook & pen next time. It looks like I'll probably have to cause it's now 4 days later & my recall is totally gone. I know, I know... I suck.
I have to admit though, not all of it is entirely my fault. The Hellcat uniforms are designed with a large back patch in the middle with the name & number of the player in smallish black lettering around the patch all on hot pink fabric. So it was almost impossible to tell who was who. (I even asked people around me as well as my hubby, who has perfect vision, & no one could help.) Also, there seems to be a lack of speakers for the sound system around the west part of the track. From the south end of the track, I could hear fine while I was walking around. But from our seats, it sounded like...
"Blah-blah-blah-blah, Hellllllcaaaaaats! Blah-blah-blah-blah, Rhinestone Cowwww-blahs."
The crowd is pretty loud, so it muffled a lot of the sound. (Also the girl spinning the wheel is barely audible.) Usually, I had to watch the scoreboard closely to tell what was going on.
During the 1st quarter, hubby Jordon got pics with Chola & the Hellcats mascot. Somehow, that ignited a fire under his ass & suddenly, he was the roving reporter. lol. He had a lot of fun doing it & seems to be getting into my whole blog project.
When half-time started, I began walking around. I ran into Lux again at the restrooms. She was talking to a little girl in front of me, who was all decked out in Cowgirls colors. I managed to shake Lux's hand & chat her up for a minute. She was very nice. I caught the band, which rocked. I ended up behind General Lee Fiesty walking through the crowd. I tapped her on the shoulder & wished her luck, saying they were doing an awesome job.
Then around this time, I ended up spotting Miss Conduct in front of me. She was working, seeming to be checking that trash cans weren't full & beer stations were okay. Ms Thang is tiny but quick. I had to mall walk to catch up to her. It was funny cause I zipped right by my seated hubby fast & waved as I tried to catch up to Miss Conduct. He just laughed at me. She was so sweet & totally down for a photo with me. As I mentioned in my last post, a guy came up wanting a photo & she happily chirped, "Girls first!" Then she literally hugged me by the neck all gung-ho style & posed. She was pretty awesome.
As half-time wore on, I happened to catch sight of an AFD guy hanging out watching the crowd. (Pay attention here cause nobody has this info.) Now my hubby was a volunteer firefighter back in the day, so I've always been supportive of firefighters. (It takes a special type of person to throw him/herself into the life & death situations these people face.)
So I go over to talk to Joe, as it turns out. I told him about the blog & asked him if I could ask him a few questions. He was very nice & agreed. Actually, he mentioned that most people wouldn't really talk to him or they'd leave the area that he'd enter, so he was happy to chat with someone who would give him the time of day. (I told him that most people probably took 1 look at the badge & scattered. He laughed & agreed that was probably true.)
So here is the informal AFD guy interview I did (everything is paraphrased):
1. There's a noticably stronger presence of AFD here, much stronger than the last bout. What's the reason for it?
~ He said they're at all the bouts, but since it's a new venue, a lot of the wrinkles are still being ironed out. They are there to make sure everything is in compliance & the safety of the crowd is maintained.
2. I asked if there had been any problems thus far. Had TXRD's management been in compliance? Were there any problems with fire codes?
~ He said no, the Lonestar Rollergirls organization has been working very well with them. There have been no problems with management. The requests that have been made by AFD have been met and/or exceeded by TXRD.
3. What is maximum capacity for the venue?
~ They don't know yet. That is one of the things they are still working out.
That was pretty much all that I asked him. He did mention that a lot of the AFD guys were pretty big fans. Many of them had been at the old Thunderdome on duty & had become fans of the sport. He also mentioned how much he liked the new venue, stating that the old venue was horribly uncomfortable in the summer since it had no A/C.
He was a really cool guy. When I mentioned that my hubby was VFD years ago, he walked over & shook his hand. They chatted a little about fire stuff. He made sure to ask me what I thought of the crowd & venue. I told him I thought TXRD was doing a great job & that every time I come I noticed changes & improvements. I did mention that the size of the crowd seems to vary from one match to the next, which was why I asked what capacity officially was. He could only shrug his shoulders & say that they are still trying to figure out how many people the venue can accomodate safely. After shaking hands, we parted ways.
At the time, I didn't realize how important the conversation was. Currently, the 2/26/06 bout has been, for lack of a better term, "shut down" until further notice. As per the TXRD message boards, the problem is not with the TXRD organization itself not being in compliance, but with the building owner.
This whole thing is just very curious because the AFD guy I spoke with had nothing but good things to say about the Lonestar Rollergirls & the TXRD management, even mentioning that TXRD was always cooperative & had met any change AFD had asked of them. From what I had gotten out of the conversation, AFD in general seemed pretty supportive of Austin Roller Derby. So I think the problem is that the building owner is just not up to code or something to host the amount of crowds the Lonestar Rollergirls draw. You have to remember that prior to TXRD relocation to this particular venue, the biggest event to happen there on a regular basis is a flea market. But I'll keep a watch out on this & report if I find out anything. (TXRD states the 2/26/06 bout will be rescheduled if need be.)
Before half-time was thru, we took pics with Redd Foxxie, who was very nice. I also got a photo with Bones, the newest Puta. We met a lot of people around us, all of whom were really nice.
The 2nd half of the bout was pretty intense. I have to admit that I didn't pay as much attention the 2nd half. I got distracted cause I was a little tipsy by this point & chatting with people around me. The 2nd half flew by & suddenly, it was over. In the end, the Hellcats weren't able to hold off the Rhinestone Cowgirls. The final score was 65-57 Cowgirls.
We really had a great time at this bout. I hope that everything gets worked out so the next bouts can go on as scheduled. But with the TXRD bout on 2/26/06 on hold, it looks like the next Austin Roller Derby taking place will probably be the Texas Rollergirls season opener on 3/5/06. I'll definitely be there.
The Putas Del Fuego vs Holy Rollers bout on Sunday was awesome. I left the Thunderdome with 2 certainties...
1. The Putas really have their shit together & are a definite threat for the Cavello Cup this year.
2. The Holy Rollers are going through a "rebuilding year".
First, I have to say, that I'm a big fan of all the roller derby teams & leagues here in Austin. I think these girls are great & I love what they are doing. I am a bit partial to the Putas, but I was also rooting on the Rollers. They're sort of the team everyone loves to hate, & I like them for just that reason. And even though they might be crowd underdogs, the Rollers can usually prove their shit out on the track.
However, the Rollers were, (for lack of a better term), handicapped since some of their key players weren't skating. Sister Mary Jane (SMJ) has moved off to Hawaii. (Jailbait has also moved off to Colorado to persue her Masters Degree.) And crowd favorites Ms.Conduct & Punky Bruiser, both present to root their team on from the pits, are currently both benched due to injuries. (Both girls had a knee wrapped/braced.) It was obvious that some alternates & new Rollers had been thrown into the mix. And I'm not sure what the problem was, (the missing skaters, the new & alternate skaters, team chemistry, not enough practices as shown in the A&E show, or what), but the former championship & hard-to-beat team was just not on par with the Putas on this night. ALL of the Rollers put a lot of blood, sweat & tears into the bout, yet it just wasn't enough to hold off the Putas.
But let me start from the beginning....
I bought my tickets the Thursday before the bout. Big Mistake! Here is a big tip for all that are thinking of attending a Lonestar Rollergirl match:
~ Buy tickets WELL in advance!!!!! ~
Doors open at 6pm. At about 6:10, at least 50 people started leaving the well formed line because door tickets were almost sold out. I had "Well Call" tickets, meaning I had bought my tickets online & was picking them up at the door because there wasn't enough time to mail them to me. Unfortunately, most people had Well Call tickets.
Basically, there are 3 lines: Door tickets, Well Call, & Ticket-in-Hand. The ticket-in-hand people just flew through the line. Door ticket people just had to stand there, desperately hoping that they could score a ticket. Well Call people, like myself, had a hell of a wait in line. Even though I arrived before doors were open, we stood in line for a good hour before finally getting into the venue. And let me also mention that these aren't well formed lines. It's sort of like cattle all forming into a building with everyone wondering if they are in the right line until they get about 25 feet from the actual entrance.
This is a known problem of which the Lonestar organization is well aware. After the 1st bout on 1/15/06, an email was sent out saying they are trying to better organize the entrance. It was just kind of insane though & I'm positve more can be done to help things...more signs, roped off lines, something. However, I learned my lesson...buy in advance & have ticket in hand.
So by the time I got into the Thunderdome, every seat in the stands was taken. It was standing room only, and standing room sucked. There were a few rows of platforms for people to stand on, but there were a lot of people at floor level who couldn't see shit. Myself included. I'm all of 5'4", & I was behind about 4 guys who were much taller than me.
But I was a trooper. I didn't bitch. I said fuck it, grabbed a Lonestar beer, (another long line), & found a decent place to stand.....considering.
Oh yeah....I forgot to mention that I met Catalac, who was working the Will Call line. Funny how small a world it is. I happen to know Catalac's man Alf. Not very well, mind you. My hubby knows him better than I do. But we all went to the same high school about 2 hrs from Austin & are friends with a lot of the same people, so we're well acquainted. (He used to throw a mean annual Halloween party back in the day...that's all I'm saying.) Anyhoo, while I was waiting for my hubby & brother to get ID-ed & wrist bands, I chatted up Catalac. I mentioned that I knew Alf, asking if they were married now. (I won't talk about any personal lives & shit cause that's not my blog goal here. If I were a total bitch, I could, but that's just not me. I'm more of a mini-bitch, not full-fledged.) She was nice, but since she was working the door, I didn't want to ask her to pose for a picture with me. I had a full roll of film at that point, but I blew it off, figuring I'd have plenty of photo ops. This was before I got inside & realized there was ZERO seating. Looking back, I should have been rude & asked. She was nice enough to probably be a good sport about it. (And it would have been an awesome addition to the blog.) But oh well.
The last thing I'll say about the crowd & seating situation is just because fire code says you can pack so many people inside, doesn't mean you should. They need to expand the new digs. There, I said it.
After raffle give-aways, (ANOTHER good reason to have ticket-in-hand...they only raffle prizes away by the last 3 numbers on your ticket, which is no good to people who have online order #s), sk8er introductions ensued. The Putas took the track first, followed by the Rollers.
It was about this time that I developed my "Master Half-Time Plan". I figured that I'd pretty much blow the 1st half off, since I couldn't see shit or take a decent picture anyhow. (Besides, things usually get crazy in the 2nd half.) I could go & grab some more beer, hit the smoking section or bathrooms, & just walk around & mingle the 1st half, returning to my place next to my hubby before the end of the 2nd quarter. Then, as people standing in front of me left their spots to hit the bathrooms, get beer or food, or check out the half-time band, I could work my way up to the front. And it actually worked! Muahahaha! I ended up in the front just behind some guy who was slightly shorter than me. (Thank goodness I wore my chunky heeled shoes so I was taller!)
So I checked out the 1st quarter, then spent most of the 2nd quarter doing my own thing. My only mistake was leaving my camera with my hubby....in case something happened on the track while I wondered off. Big mistake...HUGE! While I was gone, Jenacide got injured RIGHT IN FRONT OF WHERE WE WERE STANDING. I have no idea what happened or how it happened. All I know is that she was treated by paramedics & helped off the track, not to be seen for the rest of the bout. And of course hubby got *NO* pics of this entire scene that was happening right in front of him.
Hubby thought Jenacide either severly sprained or broke her ankle. A check at the Lonestar Rollergirls Message Board last night confirmed that Jena fractured her leg. Much love to Jenacide. I hope she gets better soon.
Meanwhile, as all this was going on, I'm smoking a ciggie & hitting the Ladies (bathroom that is). BTW, on my way out to the smoking section, I saw Chola's Dad. He walked by so fast that it took me a minute to place him. Now, if you're counting, this is my 2nd lost photo op. I have GOT to get better at this. I'm usually a bit shy around people I don't know. I need to learn to just ask for a pic. The worse they can say is No. Big deal. But it would be awesome to have these pics I missed out on to share in my blog. Agggghhhhh.
So then I hit the beer line, where I was standing behind, none other than, CLOWNSNACK! She was waiting in line, with the rest of us slobs, for her beer. Some guy chats her up, & me, being the nosey bitch that I am, overhear him calling her Clownsnack. Guy leaves, she turns my way, so I start talking to her.
1st, Clownsnack was *really* fucking nice. She was totally cool with me, (especially since it was completely friggin obvious I was eavesdropping) & she immediately asked my name & shook my hand. She asked me some random questions, such as if I was going to the Valentine's bout (in which she'll be skating). I am. She also asked if I had been to their new venue before. (FYI, the Thunderdome moved from central Austin to the Crocket Center, which is more North & thus more convenient to me. Wahoo!) I hadn't. So she goes on to explain how much more she digs the new place. She also mentions that they're talking about making the venue "bigger" by pushing back the wall.
If you don't know, the Crocket Center is a big warehouse type building, which they currently have cut in half by a wall in order to hold 2 functions at once. (On Sunday, the other half the center had a flea market going on.) I suspect the Lonestar Rollergirls side brings more $$$ in than anything the other side could offer.
So what does it mean that they are trying to expand the Thunderdome area? (Keep in mind that this is only the 2nd bout held in the new venue thus far & already they are talking expansion.) The 1st thing I could think of was that perhaps A&E was coming back to film in 2006. If they plan on filming again this year, they are definitely going to need more space. The crowd was sort of a madhouse & I suspect it might appear badly on film. And they probably need more power....but I'll get to that issue later. Also, they MUST be making some bank & needing more room. (The Lonestar's hold 2 bouts per month at $15 per head....and they are literally turning people away in droves.) The impression I'm getting is that the demand is growing faster than management can supply. But that's just my humble opinion.
But back to Clownsnack. She was really friendly & totally sweet. Not to mention very cute. TV just doesn't do her justice. She had her short hair in low pigtails with a beanie hat on. She looked like she was trying to be slightly incognito, but it wasn't working out. With her little pixie nose & hazel eyes, she looked down right elven. Anyway, I totally dug her. She was cool.
Of course half way through this conversation, I start digging through my purse for my camera. I'm totally ready to finally ask someone to pose for a photo with me...if only I can find my friggin' camera. Where is the damn thing? With my damn hubby where I left it!!!!!!!
While he's watching the game, (not taking a single picture I might add), I'm standing there talking to Clownsnack & kicking myself the entire time for abandoning my camera. So if you're keeping count, that's THREE perfectly good yet missed photo ops. AHHHHHHHH! After I got my beers, I found my hubby & whined, but with only a bare minimum of pouting. :o)
During the half, the band Maneja Beto played a mix of covers & some pretty kickin' original songs. The Putas were well ahead by this point, by at least a good 20+ points.
Then the 2nd half started. The Holy Rollers did what they could against the Putas, but the Putas nearly shut them out of the bout. I was completely blown away by Smarty Pants. She is one skater that, in the TV show, I think is totally under rated. She's an awesome jammer. On the Puta side, Chingona was a stand out as jammer. However, Chola really stole the show.
At some point in the 3rd quarter I believe, the power completely shut off. The building lights were working, but the DJ booth, scoreboard, announcer's booth, & all the extra lights/fans/etc completely went dark. But the bout kept going, regardless. There were about 3 jams done in near darkness. But after they fixed a fuse or flipped a breaker, everything came back on & resumed.
The Putas just did a number on the Rollers. And even though the Rollers were down, they still fought hard for it. There were a lot of crashes, penalties & points scored. From what I could see, Chola (Goddess Bless her) put down a number of Rollers. She jammed a considerable amount of times & got called out for a number of questionable moves. I saw her bring down at least 2 Rollers, one of which was great because it was so obvious & she shrugged her shoulders & was like, "What? What did I do?" I think she got the penalty wheel for that one.
See, you gotta understand. I had a few beers & was stuck in a floor crowd. It's not like I could take notes. Some of the pics I took of the action, to help the memory, were just black....especially stuff that didn't happen in front of me. Roller Derby is fast & hard. The only real time-outs & breaks are taken for 1) penalties & 2) major injuries. And as a fan, you don't want either to happen, especially the later. So it's a bit hard to recall the play-by-play action. Even with the announcers doing their play-by-play shit, from where I was standing, it was hard to even hear them over the crowd.
So unfortunately, I can't offer a detailed report of the action. (Although, I am looking into buying a tiny tape recorder to help with this for future bouts.) This was the 1st bout I was covering for the blog, so obviously my sports reporting skills need some work. But I am happy to report that yours truly has already ordered tickets for the next bout, which I'm expecting any day now in the mail. So this time, I'm going to have my ticket-in-hand & hopefully sail through the line. I'm also going to show up as early as possible so I can get a good spot in line. I'm determined to get a decent seat.
The penalties I did see, from a distance, were Cha-Cha having a pillow fight, that got ugly, & Chola have a long jump. The Putas always won when the vote of winner was up to the audience. It hurt the Holy Rollers because every time they lost the crowd vote, especially with the last penalty long jump vote, they lost a point. The final score would have been 83-40, except the Rollers lost the crowd vote for skating long jump. So the final score was 83 to 39.
It was a good victory for the Putas. If you've watched the A&E show, then you know how much it hurt the Putas when they lost to the Rollers & got shut out of the championship bout.
Last nights bout between the Putas Del Fuego & the Holy Rollers was amazing. The Putas just steamrolled a handicapped Holy Roller team. And the results spoke for themselves. This battle was not even close. The Putas spanked, quite literally, the Rollers by 44 points.
All of my shitty, grainy pictures are below. Just FYI, if you see the Lonestar Rollergirls live, you can only bring in a disposable camera. I bought the best disposable camera I could find, but it still sucked. Out of 25 pics, only 15 are "clear" & "viewable"...with major PhotoShop editting. And out of those 15, there are only 2 or 3 pics that are "decent". And by "decent" I mean that they don't completely suck ass.
BTW, this post is nothing but pictures from last night. I'll be posting a complete summary about the match tomorrow.
Okay, so even though we bought tickets before hand, we waited in a long, fucked up line. (I'll rant about that tomorrow.) So by the time we got in, there were absolutely NO seats. And once we got a much needed Lonestar Beer, standing room only was absolutely fucking miserable. But we're troopers, so we just went with it.
About 5 minutes into the skater introductions, I developed my "Master Half-Time Plan". I figured that once the 1st half was over, everyone would dash for beer, bathrooms & the smoking section during the break. And as people abandoned their posts, I'd sneak up to the front. Mua-ha-ha-ha! And it worked for the most part. Instead of standing behind 4 assholes, I ended up behind only 1 really short guy. So I saved most of my film for the 2nd half. Besides...the 2nd half is usually when it gets all nuts anyway.
The only thing that absolutely SUCKED was that I met both Catalac AND Clownsnack but my dumb ass somehow managed not to get a single pic with either of them. DAMN IT! But I'll save those stories for tomorrow.
These are some of the very few pics I got of the beginning & 1st half:
The Putas line up for skater introductions. I believe Chola & Cha Cha went out 1st. This is Venis Envy waiting for her turn. Not sure who is behind her.
The blond at the very front is Jenacide, who either sprained or broke her ankle in the 2nd quarter & was out for the rest of the bout. The Puta facing the camera is Chingona, who was pretty awesome as a jammer. The girl behind her is a new Puta....Bones. I have absolutely no idea who is behind Bones, although it could be Punky Bruiser from the Holy Rollers, who was injured & was only there to support her team from the pits.
Next up for sk8er intros was the Holy Rollers. Out front is Smarty Pants, who really impressed the hell out of me. Next to her is Horrorshow, but I'll be damned if I can make out the 3rd girl. Mz. Behavin' maybe?
Okay, okay....I think I got it. From Right to Left, it's Smarty Pants, Horrorshow, Mz.Behavin', Helena Handbasket, & Axel Rosie. Lord only knows if that's right, but that's my story & I'm stickin' to it.
FUCK! More Holy Rollers I can't name right off the bat. (So sue me, I'm a Puta fan.) But no, I do like the Rollers. I was rooting for them both...especially once the Puta scoring went out of control. The Holy Rollers were really at a disadvantage with SMJ & Jailbait having moved off and Ms.Conduct & Punky on the benches with injuries.
I know, I know. Grainy as hell, but at least PhotoShop was able to "save it"...a little. At some point, I think maybe right before the 2nd half, Ms.Conduct walked up the track & got the crowd going.
See the scoreboard in the top right corner? This was somewhere in the 3rd quarter & already the Putas were just knockin' the Rollers around. Chola is the lead jammer. (It looks like the guy is pointing at her.) God that girl can fly around the track. She's is hands down my favorite. She's amazing to watch & she stole the show. When the crowd wasn't chanting "Putas, Putas!", they were screaming "Chola, Chola!"
I love this picture. Chola goes balls out when she's on the track. I don't know if you can see it, but that's a Holy Roller under Chola basically kneeing herself in the face. Look at the bigger version of the pic to see the detail.
This was a crash that happened around the 4th quarter that sent Chingona to the bottom of the track.
Repent! Repent to the Holy Rollers! And thou shalt be saved!
The Holy Rollers got no brakes all evening. Even though they were some 30 points behind, the Putas did what they could to keep the Rollers in the rail.
I think that is Heathen on the ground....just one of many nameless victims Chola left in her wake.
The game is over. Notice the scoreboard in the far right corner. Ouch! Cha Cha comes by for a victory lap. Damn railing! Would have been a nice shot if only that rail wasn't in the way. Ah, but wait...
...there we go. Thankfully, the girls took several victory laps...giving me enough time to push my way up front & finally get a decent shot.
And my very last picture of the evening. What is it of? I couldn't tell you. And this is WITH PhotoShops help. Hmmmm. I need to figure out a way to get my hands on one of their press passes.
