Roller Girls Bring A Dead Sport Into The 21st Century
Roller Derby was never really a big deal in the US, but has been around forever and was a staple of the early days of television. It was similar in its promotional format to its better known "sports entertainment" cousin, professional wrestling. It was frequently seen in the same bad timeslots on the same low powered UHF TV stations, and it was run by the same loose confederation of promoters and businessmen that characterized the regional territory era of pro wrestling. That's where the similarity to wrestling ends--it's storylines made pro wrestling angles look like high drama. While there is a definite history to the sport--great teams like the LA T-Birds and Bay Bombers, and legendary skaters like Ann Calvello it never really stuck in the public consciousness like the pre-Hulk Hogan era of pro wrestling.
When the original purveyors of the sport quit promoting in the early 1980s most thought it was dead and gone until a 'new school' of roller derby surfaced on cable TV via the A&E reality series Roller Girls. It featured a local, all-girl roller derby league in Austin, Texas and followed the lives of the players on and off the track. While much of the show dwelled in Lifetime style drama about binge drinking and bad relationships, it was the first clue that many had that roller derby had risen from the dead. A sport that had faded into the lowest level of obscurity had been rediscovered and embraced by an eclectic group of young women. They had kept the same essential format, thrown in a healthy dose of burlesque camp and Varga pin-up inspired glamour and made it into their own vibrant subculture. They changed the competitive format and renamed the competitions "bouts" a la MMA or boxing. The result was a compelling mixture of glamour, toughness and athleticism driven by a healthy dose of punk rock "do it yourself" mentality.
Today, roller derby is a full blown worldwide phenomenon. There are hundreds of local roller derby leagues not only in the United States, but Canada, Australia and Europe. Most of the local groups similarly play up the campy retro pin-up/hot rod iconography and everyone involved sure looks like they're having a good time. Between teams there's a vibe of good natured competitiveness and camaraderie.
The young women in roller derby have taken what was cast off TV time filler and revived it into their own distaff 'action sport'. The community that has sprung up around it bears a striking resemblance to the skateboarding or snowboarding subculture. There's one big difference--in contrast to more male dominated action sports the roller derby circa 2009 is just the opposite--a living, breathing matriarchal success story.
The new generation rollergirls also pay homage to their sports' pioneers. Many of the individual group websites have sections devoted to the history of roller derby, and the late Ann Calvello--regarded as the Queen of the original Roller Derby--is revered as something of a patron saint. The Texas Rollergirl group featured in the A&E series has renamed their championship the Calvello Cup. - 2361
When the original purveyors of the sport quit promoting in the early 1980s most thought it was dead and gone until a 'new school' of roller derby surfaced on cable TV via the A&E reality series Roller Girls. It featured a local, all-girl roller derby league in Austin, Texas and followed the lives of the players on and off the track. While much of the show dwelled in Lifetime style drama about binge drinking and bad relationships, it was the first clue that many had that roller derby had risen from the dead. A sport that had faded into the lowest level of obscurity had been rediscovered and embraced by an eclectic group of young women. They had kept the same essential format, thrown in a healthy dose of burlesque camp and Varga pin-up inspired glamour and made it into their own vibrant subculture. They changed the competitive format and renamed the competitions "bouts" a la MMA or boxing. The result was a compelling mixture of glamour, toughness and athleticism driven by a healthy dose of punk rock "do it yourself" mentality.
Today, roller derby is a full blown worldwide phenomenon. There are hundreds of local roller derby leagues not only in the United States, but Canada, Australia and Europe. Most of the local groups similarly play up the campy retro pin-up/hot rod iconography and everyone involved sure looks like they're having a good time. Between teams there's a vibe of good natured competitiveness and camaraderie.
The young women in roller derby have taken what was cast off TV time filler and revived it into their own distaff 'action sport'. The community that has sprung up around it bears a striking resemblance to the skateboarding or snowboarding subculture. There's one big difference--in contrast to more male dominated action sports the roller derby circa 2009 is just the opposite--a living, breathing matriarchal success story.
The new generation rollergirls also pay homage to their sports' pioneers. Many of the individual group websites have sections devoted to the history of roller derby, and the late Ann Calvello--regarded as the Queen of the original Roller Derby--is revered as something of a patron saint. The Texas Rollergirl group featured in the A&E series has renamed their championship the Calvello Cup. - 2361
About the Author:
Ross Everett is a noted freelance writer and a staff handicapper for Sports-1 sportsbook, where he consults on opening NFL lines. He's a highly respected authority on NFL betting in addition to college football and hockey. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with his two dalmatians and a Jack Russell Terrier.
posted by Marcondes Allen at 1:02 AM
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