Comments on: OK, Enough With The Roller Derby Stuff http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/2009/04/ok-enough-with-the-roller-derby-stuff/ read. learn. sleep. soundly. Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:25:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Gigi http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/2009/04/ok-enough-with-the-roller-derby-stuff/comment-page-1/#comment-15788 Gigi Sat, 03 Jul 2010 13:14:52 +0000 http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/?p=940#comment-15788 What She Said :) Gigi What She Said :)
Gigi

]]> By: Spazzy http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/2009/04/ok-enough-with-the-roller-derby-stuff/comment-page-1/#comment-15787 Spazzy Sat, 03 Jul 2010 12:57:15 +0000 http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/?p=940#comment-15787 The Gimcracker, Harlem Globe Trotters are amazing athletes and they put on a big show. It's not fake, they have to practice just like the NBA does, if not harder! Same with roller derby, we have to do something to get a fanbase/get attention and hold attention. My team skates 2 times a week 3hrs at a time and another monthly practice on weekends which is also 3 hrs long. Not to mention all the paperwork involved with being self-run and governed. Scheduling bouts, setting up for the bouts, creating artwork for merchandise,ordering said merchandise,marketing our team, gaining local support, setting up events to raise money, keeping a budget, making enough money to pay our rink for rink time and this is maybe just a quarter of the work. Anywho, I bet you, you will NEVER meet a roller girl who isn't in absolute LOVE with the sport, you're so right it IS empowering to women, and you wont find many people who have been to a bout that they didn't enjoy(men, women, and children alike). I say check out a bout, there's about a 99.9% chance that you will fall in love with at least one roller derby persona. <3 Spazzy HVHRD The Gimcracker, Harlem Globe Trotters are amazing athletes and they put on a big show. It's not fake, they have to practice just like the NBA does, if not harder! Same with roller derby, we have to do something to get a fanbase/get attention and hold attention. My team skates 2 times a week 3hrs at a time and another monthly practice on weekends which is also 3 hrs long. Not to mention all the paperwork involved with being self-run and governed. Scheduling bouts, setting up for the bouts, creating artwork for merchandise,ordering said merchandise,marketing our team, gaining local support, setting up events to raise money, keeping a budget, making enough money to pay our rink for rink time and this is maybe just a quarter of the work. Anywho, I bet you, you will NEVER meet a roller girl who isn't in absolute LOVE with the sport, you're so right it IS empowering to women, and you wont find many people who have been to a bout that they didn't enjoy(men, women, and children alike). I say check out a bout, there's about a 99.9% chance that you will fall in love with at least one roller derby persona. <3 Spazzy HVHRD

]]> By: Jenny Bangs! http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/2009/04/ok-enough-with-the-roller-derby-stuff/comment-page-1/#comment-13938 Jenny Bangs! Thu, 27 May 2010 17:47:31 +0000 http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/?p=940#comment-13938 I am new to Women's Flat Track Derby. I work a 9 to 5 job, have no visible tattoos and have been married to a man for 8 very happy years. This is the first team sport I've played since I was 5 and I love it. We have straight women, gay women, moms, doctors, lawyers, bartenders, big ladies, skinny ladies, some women as young as 21 and one of our players turns 50 this year (she is incredible by the way!). We do some charity work, practice 6- 12 hours per week and lots of our players get injured because the hits are 100% real. The names are just fun. Before a skater is allowed to Bout (play in a game) she must pass a written and physical skills test. Only after she has passed both can she get her Derby Name and play. If you're ever on Long Island, please come to a practice or a game! I am new to Women's Flat Track Derby. I work a 9 to 5 job, have no visible tattoos and have been married to a man for 8 very happy years. This is the first team sport I've played since I was 5 and I love it. We have straight women, gay women, moms, doctors, lawyers, bartenders, big ladies, skinny ladies, some women as young as 21 and one of our players turns 50 this year (she is incredible by the way!). We do some charity work, practice 6- 12 hours per week and lots of our players get injured because the hits are 100% real. The names are just fun. Before a skater is allowed to Bout (play in a game) she must pass a written and physical skills test. Only after she has passed both can she get her Derby Name and play. If you're ever on Long Island, please come to a practice or a game!

]]> By: Carnage Asada http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/2009/04/ok-enough-with-the-roller-derby-stuff/comment-page-1/#comment-12877 Carnage Asada Fri, 30 Apr 2010 20:01:02 +0000 http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/?p=940#comment-12877 I am actually a male roller derby player. I skate for a team in Baltimore. Men's roller derby is kind of like football, but instead of using our real names and raping women, cheating on our wives, taking steroids, and fighting with each other because we are babies who make too much money - we pay for our own equipment and travel, do some charity work, support our roller girls, and get along with each other, all while under incredibly witty names like Carnage Asada, Groper Cleavage, Fo' Wheel?, and Bram Stroker. However, I think I am one of a few dudes who tries to make it to church every Sunday. I am actually a male roller derby player. I skate for a team in Baltimore. Men's roller derby is kind of like football, but instead of using our real names and raping women, cheating on our wives, taking steroids, and fighting with each other because we are babies who make too much money – we pay for our own equipment and travel, do some charity work, support our roller girls, and get along with each other, all while under incredibly witty names like Carnage Asada, Groper Cleavage, Fo' Wheel?, and Bram Stroker. However, I think I am one of a few dudes who tries to make it to church every Sunday.

]]> By: brianmcculloh http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/2009/04/ok-enough-with-the-roller-derby-stuff/comment-page-1/#comment-10715 brianmcculloh Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:12:10 +0000 http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/?p=940#comment-10715 I guess there's an unfair stigma against the sport then... thanks for the comment. I guess there's an unfair stigma against the sport then… thanks for the comment.

]]> By: brianmcculloh http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/2009/04/ok-enough-with-the-roller-derby-stuff/comment-page-1/#comment-10714 brianmcculloh Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:11:16 +0000 http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/?p=940#comment-10714 Comments like this are exactly why I wrote this post. Thanks for enlightening me. Maybe I'll go to a bout sometime... Comments like this are exactly why I wrote this post. Thanks for enlightening me. Maybe I'll go to a bout sometime…

]]> By: Derby44 http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/2009/04/ok-enough-with-the-roller-derby-stuff/comment-page-1/#comment-10713 Derby44 Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:58:32 +0000 http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/?p=940#comment-10713 I play derby. It's a sport. There are positions, rules, plays....and yeah, the players have fun with creative names and outfits. And yeah...we break bones and sprain things and work our asses off in practice. The hits are real. Vaguely resembles...Rugby on quads. And as for the lesbian comment...we have a few girls on our team who are gay. Most of us aren't. And no one cares. Seems to me, wrestling in leotards with other dudes is way more homo-erotic...but that's been legitimized as a sport. Go to a bout...it's an awesome, intense sport. There's a reason it has a following. If that doesn't change your mind...then i guess you're just really fucking lame. I play derby. It's a sport. There are positions, rules, plays….and yeah, the players have fun with creative names and outfits. And yeah…we break bones and sprain things and work our asses off in practice. The hits are real. Vaguely resembles…Rugby on quads.

And as for the lesbian comment…we have a few girls on our team who are gay. Most of us aren't. And no one cares. Seems to me, wrestling in leotards with other dudes is way more homo-erotic…but that's been legitimized as a sport.

Go to a bout…it's an awesome, intense sport. There's a reason it has a following. If that doesn't change your mind…then i guess you're just really fucking lame.

]]> By: scary http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/2009/04/ok-enough-with-the-roller-derby-stuff/comment-page-1/#comment-10580 scary Sat, 27 Feb 2010 07:17:55 +0000 http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/?p=940#comment-10580 i am a roller girl, and the names are just for fun. but we are real athletes, and should be taken seriously as athletes. we are 100 % self funded, skater owned and operated, and we dedicate a lot of time and energy, and bodily harm to this sport. thus, if you don't like it, don't watch it. oh, and we have 40 girls on our team, and no lesbians. but if we did have lesbians, who cares? i am a roller girl, and the names are just for fun. but we are real athletes, and should be taken seriously as athletes. we are 100 % self funded, skater owned and operated, and we dedicate a lot of time and energy, and bodily harm to this sport. thus, if you don't like it, don't watch it. oh, and we have 40 girls on our team, and no lesbians. but if we did have lesbians, who cares?

]]> By: sk8tr http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/2009/04/ok-enough-with-the-roller-derby-stuff/comment-page-1/#comment-6401 sk8tr Wed, 29 Apr 2009 03:31:36 +0000 http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/?p=940#comment-6401 I gotta check out that episode of No Reservations... There are separate leagues for men and women. We don't skate together, although significant others and men skaters often fill in as our refs. It's definitely unusual for a sport to have themes, etc. and it's fading away a bit in some derby leagues as we get more athletic and more competitive. Frankly, it's part of what I love about it, though. It just kind of gives it a little something that sets it apart from other sports and it attracts more alternative-types who may feel uncomfortable in traditional sport atmospheres. Check out www.wftda.com for info if you're interested in more detail. That's the womens' flat track derby association's web site. Hope you get to check out more derby! I gotta check out that episode of No Reservations… There are separate leagues for men and women. We don’t skate together, although significant others and men skaters often fill in as our refs. It’s definitely unusual for a sport to have themes, etc. and it’s fading away a bit in some derby leagues as we get more athletic and more competitive. Frankly, it’s part of what I love about it, though. It just kind of gives it a little something that sets it apart from other sports and it attracts more alternative-types who may feel uncomfortable in traditional sport atmospheres. Check out http://www.wftda.com for info if you’re interested in more detail. That’s the womens’ flat track derby association’s web site. Hope you get to check out more derby!

]]> By: The Gimcracker http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/2009/04/ok-enough-with-the-roller-derby-stuff/comment-page-1/#comment-6400 The Gimcracker Tue, 28 Apr 2009 12:22:18 +0000 http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/?p=940#comment-6400 Thank you Sk8tr, at least now I know what roller derby is all about straight from the mouth of someone who plays it. I didn't realize men played it! I guess the episode of No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain that I watched (where he went to a roller derby and men were not allowed to play) does not represent the entire sport of roller derby. Who knew? Maybe this is how all sports start. I guess the weird thing about roller derby - the thing that turns me off - is the infusion of all the weird/crass/funny names and themes. I've never watched another serious, competitive sport that has that element in it. In any case, thanks for the clarification. Thank you Sk8tr, at least now I know what roller derby is all about straight from the mouth of someone who plays it. I didn’t realize men played it! I guess the episode of No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain that I watched (where he went to a roller derby and men were not allowed to play) does not represent the entire sport of roller derby. Who knew?

Maybe this is how all sports start. I guess the weird thing about roller derby – the thing that turns me off – is the infusion of all the weird/crass/funny names and themes. I’ve never watched another serious, competitive sport that has that element in it. In any case, thanks for the clarification.

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