Good times at Gotham Girls roller derby at Long Island University tonight. It was a double-header event, well worth the $19 cover charge. The friendly crowd was packed to capacity in the auditorium, cheering madly for the New York teams and shouting out the names of their favorite players. I was there with a bunch of friends and people from my Quaker church, which was a fun mix of folks.
The first match-up was the Wall Street Traitors versus Westchester county's Suburban Brawl. It was a fairly close game for most of the time, but the Traitors were clearly dominant and the outcome was never really ever in doubt. I had never heard of the Wall Street Traitors before. Perhaps they are a new team in development?
The main event was the Gotham All-stars (composed of the best skaters from Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx and Brooklyn) against the Boston Massacre. Boston never really seemed to get their act together and were clearly outskated and outmaneuvered the entire game by New York. Gotham Girls captain Bonnie Thunders was unstoppable as jammer, flying through Boston's ranks like they weren't even there. Meanwhile the New York defense formed an nearly impenetrable wall that Boston's jammers very rarely cracked. The final score was like 160 to 40.
But the actual score is somewhat irrelevant in roller derby. The real joy is from seeing a solid hit, a surprising sprint, a deft block. And there is something farcical about the whole affair, everyone both enjoying the game and making fun of the artifice of organized sports.
Hi, glad you enjoyed the bout! Roller derby is as fun as it looks.
FYI the ‘regular’ teams of the Gotham Girls are Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Bronx, and each team plays each other once during the regular season.
Then there are several opportunities each year to take on skaters from other leagues. The GGRD All-Stars are the WFTDA sanctioned interleague team of the Gotham Girls (for rankings and tournaments and championships and stuff), and is made up of players from all four local teams…
… as are the ‘Wall Street Traitors,’ who skate together in green and gold when additional interleague opportunities come up. The skaters you saw on the Traitors primarily compete on Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Bronx, but have fun competing together against other leagues a few times a year. It’s a nice change of pace to skate with new teammates.
Thanks for coming and we hope to see The Click Heard Round The World at more bouts this season! Come meet the ladies at the Derbytaunt Ball next Sunday, April 5, at Public Assembly in Williamsburg. Details at http://www.gothamgirlsrollerderby.com/events/
Thanks for the additional info about the team structure! So much fun being at the games, and very happy to support a city-wide, grassroots effort like this.