Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

The 1950 Brooklyn Dodgers, the 1994 East Plano high school football team, the 2007-08 Pittsburgh Penguins.  What do these teams have in common?  They all staged almost miraculous comebacks.  Almost, I say, because they didn’t quite take it all.  A loss on the last day of the season, a kick returned for a touchdown, and a Game 7 loss to the Red Wings all cost these teams a place in history.  It didn’t make the games any less compelling, though.  In fact, a lot of them were more exciting than some of the championship games I’ve seen my favorite teams win.  All you need to do is watch this video of that 1994 Texas football game to see some amazing plays and equally amazing heartbreak.

The PPDD Slamazons' Hawaiian Punch (r.) versus Pueblo's Mad Dog 20/20

Well, you can add another match to this unfortunate list.  The Pikes Peak Derby Dames‘ Slamazons almost pulled off an amazing comeback on Saturday evening.  After the weather forced a cancellation by Las Vegas’s Sin City Rollergirls, the Pueblo Derby Devil Dollz were more than happy to make it up I-25 and give the crowd one hell of a bout.  For the majority of the bout, the Slamazons were the second best team.  I don’t have the stats handy, but the PDDD were holding a 20-30 point lead for a good part of the bout.  Then something clicked for the Slamazons.  It didn’t look like Pueblo let off the gas as much as the Dames from Colorado Springs just slammed it down.  Slowly and surely, the Slamazon Jammers were scoring grand slams.  Rattled, Pueblo started taking more penalties, and in many cases, it was their Jammer in the box, giving PPDD free reign to eat away at the lead.  They got as close as two with a little over a minute left in the bout, but it was not meant to be.  The final score: Pueblo 109, Slamazons 106.

PPDD All-Stars Kamilla Bloodspilla (l.) and De Ranged cheer on the Slamazons.

There is nothing like being present for a comeback.  Eddie Pope’s overtime goal against the LA Galaxy in the inaugural MLS Cup is still my greatest live sports experience.  The electricity at this last-minute match doesn’t compare, but it is (two days on) probably the second most exciting sporting event I’ve ever witnessed in person.  The crowd, which seemed larger than last month’s Four Corner Feud, was raucous.  The PPDD All-Stars were at rinkside, screaming encouragement to their league-mates.  It almost seemed possible.

It was that kind of bout.

There is a lot for the Slamazons to take from this.  When they turned it on, they were by far the better team.  The lead Pueblo built up was gradual.  The disintegration of that lead by Pikes Peak was rapid.  If the skaters from the Slamazons can maintain that over 60 minutes, cancel Christmas.  They could give a lot of travel teams a run for their money and make it a lot harder to figure out which PPDD girls make it onto the All Stars.  When they came out like gangbusters, Pueblo got nervous and started committing penalties, further helping the Slamazon cause.  The Pueblo Jammers, in an attempt to extend the lead, cut the track and fouled past Slamazons, earning trips to the box, which didn’t help matters. Look at the finals for the Four Corner Feud.  Sure, the Denver Roller Dolls were the better rested team, it was Pikes Peak’s time in the penalty box which cost them the bout.  In a sport that relies on heart as much as Roller Derby, the ability to get the opponent’s head off their game is crucial.

The Future of Roller Derby

Mama's Bad Derby Girls Junior Roller Derby

When I am unfortunate to go see the New Jersey Devils play a home match, one of the things that makes the trip to the Garden State worthwhile is the five minutes of midget hockey between periods.  At half-time of both bouts on Saturday, we got to see Mama’s Bad Derby Girls Junior Roller Derby.  I don’t know the age range of the participants–if I had to guess, I’d say between 8 and 16–but it was a great treat to see these young girls go.  You’d think that the bigger, older kids would just bowl over the young’ns, right?  Mama doesn’t play that.  The older girls were sportsmanlike and the younger girls played without fear.  Whether or not these girls pursue careers in roller derby, these girls showed that they will grow into strong, tough, and fearless women.  And that’s a-OK in my book.

An Expected Blowout

Pepper Slay's smile says it all.

When the team ranked 15th in the nation (according to Derby News Network’s March Power Rankings) takes on a team in its first year, you don’t expect it to end well.  The Slaughterhouse Derby Girls were originally supposed to play the Slamazons, but bravely stepped up to skate against the PPDD All-Stars when Sin City cancelled.  The resulting onslaught, a 246-73 win for PPDD, showed the difference in class.  Everyone took it in stride, and there appeared to be few hard feelings at the after-party.  The PPDD showed the athleticism and style that had many convinced they has the best raw talent at the Four Corner Feud and the Slaughterhouse girls showed they have some great players and, with a bit of seasoning, could become a player in arguably the most competitive state in the country for Roller Derby.

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~ by poolboydeluxe on March 31, 2009.