It's a blast. There's nothing like knocking back Lone Star tall boys while watching tattoed women on skates flying around a track.

Shameless plug here:
http://www.swankyconservative.com/archives/lone_star_swank/000937.php

Aw man! I always wanted to do roller derby! I've had my name picked out for years: Tequila Collins. They would have to come up with this AFTER I move away from Austin. Drat.

Saw this on "Insomniac" with Dave Attell on Comedy Central. If the Austin episode reruns, he spends a segment on it.

Them there some scary looking broads. Looks like a blast.

Dollars to donuts says few of them look like Raquel Welch in Kansas City Bomber...

"Dollars to donuts says few of them look like Raquel Welch in Kansas City Bomber... "

Heck, I'll wager that none of them look like Boom-Boom or Chi-Chi from the Odd Couple.

Then again, Roller Derby always had a niche following. For all you Strat-O-Matic types, Plaay.com has a roller derby board game.

Thanks for posting this. As a results I have wasted the entire afternoon absorbing the weirdness. BTW Catalac of the Hellcats, winner of the 2003 J-Lo award, is Hotttttttt.

that's not Catalac, that's me Chola. Thanks for the flattery

Where did you (FHC) move to? roller derby is spreading like wildfire. there might be a league starting somewhere around there...check out http://www.gothamgirlsrollerderby.com/links/ for all the recent league links!
- derby on!
ginger snap, #80 - Manhattan Mayhem
gotham girls roller derby

Roller Derby has been trying to make its "comeback" since the 90's and since it hasn't even caught on in even many local small to mid-size markets - certainly not like it was in the 60' and 70's - it hasn't really "caught on like wildfire" or anything else. It never can. The vast majority of real sports fans do not want theatre that's more limited than Wrestling as Roller Derby is. Wrestling has a lot more angles and room for such play acting theatre. Even though I don't think much of pro wrestling, it is not so limited as Roller Derby and thus the theatre and play acting soap box opera nonsense can be of interest to a lot more people. Even still, wrestling doesn't have the size audience of the major sports, baseball, football, basketball, etc. This is the basic reason why Roller Derby is never even going to have the prominence it did have at one time. I used to like it - might even enjoy seeing it some now - but I can only be 8 to 12 years old in my mind for so long and that's long since over (I was born 1958). Another much more minor problem with it is the sex thing. No matter how sexy the women are dressed, the bundlesome gear and skates make it look stupid. I like scantily clad females. I'm no prude. But those clod-hopper skates, knee pads, elbow pads, gear and helmets just don't go with short skirts, halter or bikini tops. Other than a singular look at a good looking female, would you really want any female or females to wear a great looking and skimpy, hot, sexy bikini at the beach (or anywhere) and wear gollashes with it? It's so stupid and out of place that it isn't really sexy. Full dress uniforms, well fitting, with the leggings and full jersey and trunks provide the needed long sight lines to the female form. They look sexy, and provoide a mystique about the woman that is very sexy and good-looking, and most of all keep the clod-hopper skates, knee pads, etc. from looking out of place and stupid. The sight lines of the female form should not only be long ones, but in general continuous. The hips being a main hinge on the body and as such, trunks interupt it without looking out of place, and actually compliment it. There is nothing sexier, gentlement, than a well shaped female, looking in place and not stupid - and that is because she would be wearing a well-fitting uniform - out on the track doing what she's there for - to skate roller derby. If she's going to dress as they have them nowadays, she might as well be doing a strip show, otherwise it isn't sexy. Unless these women are going to do stip-teases or sex acts out there on track, the skimpy clothes, since they have to be accompanied by the bundlesome gear, look stupid. You can't even really take the women seriously as sex objects dressed in such a get-up. I might enjoy a women in a hot bikini and gollashes as an odd novel event, but not as a way to regularly dress on the beach. It's then not sexy no matter how skimpy an outfit she is wearing. When little or nothing is left to the imagination, you need to get rid of the skates and pads. How are they going to skate roller derby without the skates? Why don't they just get belly dancers in hip boots or one hip boot and one gollash? The two types of dress - the gear and the garments - just don't go together. If its going to be made a sex show, I have no objection, then really make it one. But the attire along with the bundlesome gear, along with it not being much of a sex show, is stupid.
The atire alone would keep me from being interested let alone as I alluded to that at 46 I don't have the mindset of the 10 year old anymore.

are you serious? i've heard that derby girls get "betty points" meaning that even if the girl doesn't stick out on the street as hott, once they get on a derby uniform and start skating, they become sexy as hell. have i been wrong all along, do people think we look stupid? really?
txrd-lonestar rollergirls
www.txrd.com

I don't want to be condescending to anyone as I don't want to put up with that myself. But many women, of all people, spend their life (and eternity) whining about not being taken seriously. If you could find a way to put wheels on heels- and make it look smooth, refined, and still skate well, then maybe it might look a little more intelligent. Even then - still - are you going to put on a real sex show of some extent (not necessarily sex acts, but in general that type of show) or are you going to skate roller derby? The women of the 60's and 70's were not silly looking and could be very sexy. Women preach how sexyness is also a thing of the mind, but I guess living it is another matter. I guess they can't have an identity in anything without showing a lot of cleavage, skin, and a lot of ass, while screaming bloody murder about those things being looked at every step of the way. Sort of preach against "it," but doing nothing in actuallity but "it." Most guys are afraid to write what I did on my March 24th posting because they might have to endure someone saying back, "What's the matter, don't ya like girls?" I like that sort of thing fine, and I illustrated that in that posting. I am just saying if you want to skate Roller Derby, skate Roller Derby. I certainly think women should have a belonging there. If you want to have a Beauty contest, then have a Beauty contest or a bikini contest. Or wear nothing but pasties and a thong in front of your audience. I will criticize it not. But don't skate roller derby, play football or basketball, weld, pipe-fit, tear down an engine, in such outfits and demand to be taken seriously. It's the reason many women are not taken seriously. As a sexy show, I love it. As roller derby, I don't. Despite the fact that Roller derby is entertainment. Yes, I am serious. You'll have to figure it out.

One final post. Today's roller derby seems to have have many "leagues," and most people can realize a really popular "sport," or "entertainment" even, would have only a few, and they would be more widespread over the country. They would, or in growing, be headed toward extensiveness as to free market competition but just with one or two top level professional leagues - there might be several minor leagues but a limited, though extensive in other ways, top eschelon as all other major sports. Even the old roller derby of decades ago for the size it was had an assemblance of this. This of course isn't the case now. Second, there seems to be many simply all-girl leagues, so if it was really a popular sport or activity, the men would also be involved as it is supposed to be a real sport (of sorts at least) and not exclusively for one sex or the other. Even simply classified as "entertainment" it would be so, but it is not. Third, if roller derby now is so popular, why are they having so many all-girls leagues that are more selling sex and novelty - why can't roller derby, the sport, sell itself more than the extra curricular additions with it? Because it can't sell just itself. I guess the porn industry is very lucrative and has a great popularity, of sorts. But not with the vast majority and cross section of the population such as many sports do. Society changes from time to time. We were an affluent society in the 60's but actually much more so today, and maybe one day roller derby might find an even bigger niche. But aside from that kind of ebb and flow of society, it'll never have a really large and sustained niche, even if the one it might be occupying now has any worth. Many sports that are secondary to the big four (baseball, football, basketball, and hockey) occupy a tremendous chunk of the television and area attendance markets. Sports such as skiing, figure skating, many Olympic sports, tennis, golf, Nascar, etc. Where do we see roller derby on television much to any extent? Nor will we. We're definitely not going to when it seems more to be selling sex and novelty. You can see sex all over the place. I noticed other than Chola, no one has addressed what I've posted. That could be because no one is interested, sure. It also could be that the only way to address and differ with what I've posted is to attack me because I don't think the validity of what I've said can be challenged on this one. I get the impression from the person's direction whose in charge of this site that much attack on just a person would not be tolerated. I favor attacking the facts and the arguments instead of the individual. It's the only way to have intelligent and civilized discouse.

Does anyone know the name of the roller derby team that played at the Arizona Veteran's Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix back in the 60's?

damn, i wish i had seen your reply earlier. i think you have some valid points and it's always refreshing to debate with someone that has a head on their shoulders and not just chips. to say that we (I speak only for TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls) are selling sex to sell roller derby is like saying that nascar is selling ugly jackets to sell car races. i think it's a misguided coorelation. the reason that the girls dress and act the way they do when they skate roller derby is because they can. you're right, we are not a pro sport like NBA, NFL and the others because we don't have bosses that tell us what brand socks we must wear and make sure our shirts are tucked in. You'll notice women of other sports are now wearing more escentric clothing when they are allowed. Sports like beach volleyball and tennis have women and men sporting dress unlike their predecessors, that doesn't mean they are selling out, selling sex or invalidating the sport they play, it simply means they are given the freedom to choose their uniform. one thing i love most about this sport and the way we run it is that we try not to judge each other so while some of us may not agree with another's point of view or representation of the sport, we accept them. i think that the intensity of the sport demands attention and respect. most girls would say they like dressing up, so you can only imagine our happiness when we get to dress up then compete in a brutal game of roller derby. The fact that there are no men's leagues like ours yet makes me proud that women have created and excelled in a sport first. How often has that happened in history? If the game contiues it course, I'm sure there will be one created but our type of roller derby is not even 5 years old so there's room for growth still. I still have to believe that anyone who doesn't take Texas Roller Derby's Lonestar Rollergirls seriously hasn't seen a live bout. But a national tv series might help too :)

Chola,

YOU (and the rest of the TXRD) ROCK!

Can you give me some help on where I can get the info necessary to start a league? also would like banked track dimensions, building plans, etc.

Hey, Chola, Help me out here. I want some info on who, what, when, where. to get a league started here in Amarillo. I see a state championship tournament in the future. Help me out, please. I'm a big fan. Give me an e-mail @ooolala@sbcglobal.net . Thanks.

I used to go watch bout's with my father when I was kid. I remember seeing female and male bout's. How come there are no male leagues? Does anyone besides me think there should be?

Cholas godmother

There is a guy's team in MA. They have no one to play against but some refs here and there.

Chola, you are awesome.