ROCK

Roller Girls ROCK!

Tonight I went to Lexington's very first Roller Derby Bout and cheered on my girl Kitty O'Doom (aka a demure and sweet natured Hannah that I used to work with). I have never seen anything like this. Indeed, I had never ever heard of Roller Derby until Hannah learned of it and joined. Now she lives, eats, and breathes it and loves it. Tonight I found out why.

Roller Derby rules, is why. Even though it took me most of the first half to figure out what the general rules of the game ("bout") were, I loved it from the start. Here are some of the things that ROCK about Roller Derby:

1. It's all women.
2. They are all wearing tiny shorts or little skirts along with fishnets and brightly striped knee high socks and look completely adorable.
3. They have these fantastic pseudonyms, like Kitty O'Doom (she's a cat lover, see) and Gorie Details (on the other team) and Rainbow Smite and The Virgin Cherry.
4. They wear skates - real ones. Not inline crap, but real skates.
5. They spend the entire bout knocking each other down, grabbing each other's hips, flinging their teammates forward, and screaming.
6. All this time, the girls are sweating and working hard, encouraging each other and battling the other team. They are strong and fearless and beautiful. It was so thrilling to see such empowerment and drive.

This is one of the coolest things I have ever witnessed. I so wish I could be a part of it. There is no way I could commit the time, and I probably would wuss out because of all the potential health issues. (Twice tonight I had to hold on to the rail to keep myself from running out onto the rink to make sure no one had ruptured an AAA or had a genetic enzymatic defect. No, actually, I was worried about abdominal trauma in one girl and a possible bleeding disorder in another. Seriously. I need to get out more.) However, I will be attending as many of the upcoming bouts as possible, because it is the best thing ever.