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The two playoff games held on October 8th were very exciting, although my favorite team, the Double Crossers, did not make it to the championship game. The Double Crossers played the Fury, and the Manic Attackers battled the Hell’s Belles.

The Double Crossers looked like they were going to lie down and hand the game over to the Fury, as they were down by 15 or 16 points at the half. They seemed to come out ready to fight for the second half, though, and tied the game as the buzzer sounded. That meant a 2 minute overtime jam would decide the winner, which the Fury won.

In the second game, the last place Hell’s Belles overwhelmed the Manic Attackers to secure their spot in the championship game against the Fury. Should be a fun time on November 12th!

So on Sunday the Windy City Rollers played their second bout of the season, and we thought it went much better than the season opener. The sound was better, but not great. I think we will have to rent bigger speakers that get mounted on the lighting truss for next time. The skaters were better prepared for skating on this surface, which made for tighter gameplay. Also, we refs seemed to be more in sync (not ‘N Sync). We tried out the yellow/red cards, which helped show the fans and announcers that a penalty was called.

For one bout I was the clipboard ref, which means that I was responsible for keeping track of all of the skaters’ penalties. I spent so much time looking around at the other refs and writing down penalties that I really didn’t even get to see the game being played around me. Plus both teams are constantly asking which skaters are in danger of getting a major penalty.

For the other bout I was a jammer ref, which meant that I had to keep up with my jammer - not an easy task! I think I made all the correct calls though, despite sweat dripping down my face the whole time due to the temperature of Cicero Stadium. Wow, was it ever hot in there!

In the end, the XXers were victorious against the Hell’s Belles, and the Manic Attackers beat The Fury. After rushing home to take a quick shower, we headed out to Liar’s Club to celebrate with a couple of drinks.

So my first official bout as a new ref for the WCR went pretty well, especially considering that we are in a totally different venue. The few complaints that I did hear from people were:

1) The announcers, especially Phil McKracken, were impossible to hear.
2) People who came late didn’t get seats.
3) People couldn’t see the scoreboard.
4) Girls seemed to go to the penalty boxes at random.

I think the wireless mics weren’t working very well; maybe we should stick to wired mics. We might also think we might have to put something in the program about the 4 minor penalties = 1 minute in the penalty box. Other than those complaints, everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

There were a couple of hiccups when Dr. Vroom and I were jammer refs. When the clock was reset to ten minutes, it looked like it said 10 seconds so that caused some confusion. Also, Tex Ann yelled at me for not calling the jam off right away when she signaled. I forgive her though!

Afterwards, we went to Liar’s Club for the afterparty. Can’t wait ’til this Sunday for the next bout - Red, White, and Bruise!!!

There are a couple things we are going to do to make this Sunday’s bout go more smoothly. We are going to start waving yellow cards for minor penalties and red cards for major penalties. That way the crowd knows that a penalty has been called, even though they may not know who it is on. We are also going to try to make the stadium darker by covering up more of the windows so that the scoreboard can be more easily seen, along with trying to rent better wireless microphones.

So the Windy City Rollers season opener, Sunday Bloody Sunday, is in less than a week, and we have changed venues from the Congress Theater to The Cicero Stadium located at 1909 S. Laramie Ave in Cicero. It is a smaller venue, but it will allow us to lay down a full-size track. We are going there tonight for a dress rehearsal as most of us have not seen the new digs. From what I understand, Cicero Stadium is more like a basketball gym with bleachers on both sides of the floor. I predict that this is going to be quite loud! If you don’t feel like driving, the Stadium is just as easily accessible as the Congress was by CTA, via train (54/Cermak Blue Line – Cicero Stop) or by bus.

Not only is this season opener in a new location, we also have new skaters and new refs. Guess who’s one of the new refs! I’m going by the derby name Judge Injury, and my fellow new refs are Unk, Dr. Vroom, and Phil Doe. We’ve been practicing as much as 6 hours a week so that we are ready for game day. Wish us luck!

Other derby news -

Remey broke her leg a few weeks ago at practice. Spiral fractures in both her tibia and fibula which required the doctors to put a rod and screws into her leg. Ouch! Needless to say, she will probably not be skating this year. Since Amy and I wanted to get her something special, we decided to drive up to Racine, WI on Saturday for some Chick-Fil-A, as that is one of her favorite fast food places. We had them pack the chicken fillets separately from the buns so they would not get soggy, and we drove back to Chicago where we met up with Remey and her mom. Her mom has been staying with her for the past week or so, and we can totally see where Remey gets her personality! Oh, Remey has also been going stir-crazy in her house since she’s basically been stuck in her bed, and desperately needed to get out of there. Good thing that night there was a fundraiser at The Horseshoe for her!

Also, yesterday, besides being 6-6-o6, was a WCR meet-and-greet at Delilah’s. Amy, Unk, and I hung out with some of the derby girls - Anita Bier, Anita Applebomb, Juanna Rumbel, Elektra Fire, May R. Daley, Dina Discipline, Dee Monica, and Harmadillo. Slayer and other metal tunes rumbled from the speakers as fans arm wrestled them for a chance to win tickets for the almost sold out bout this Sunday.

So last night was a fundraiser for the Windy City Rollers travel team at The Globe Pub. I had been there before when it was The Lyon’s Den to see Boris the Sprinkler play, but that was like 4 years ago. I think it was just a little over a year ago when that space was turned into what is now The Globe. I’m sure we will probably be spending a lot more time there over the summer when the World Cup series is on since The Globe is a great soccer bar and will be showing all the matches, but I digress.

So we made our way to the back bar, and got a couple of drinks. The place was already pretty full, and there were lots of derby girls in attendance, including our favorites BrokenCherry, Val Capone, and Annie Maim. We also talked for a little while to the very nice Belle Diablo. We are still trying to figure out what we should have BrokenCherry make for our wedding party shirts. We’re leaning towards printing work shirts with a Razorback on Mount Fuji on the back. We’ll see what she thinks of that next time we see her.

Anyway, roller derby was playing on the tv screens, the drinks were flowing, and everybody looked like they were having a good time. However, the karaoke equipment was late, so the evening started out with some raffles for t-shirts and season tickets, $5 polaroids with your favorite derby girl, and derby girl arm wrestling in the corner.

Finally, the karaoke equipment arrived, and people started paying to have a derby girl sing a song. By the time we left, the party was well under way, and the back bar was totally packed. Let’s hope they raised enough dough to send the Windy City Rollers travel team to the national flat track derby invitational in Tucson, Arizona so they can bring the trophy back to Chicago!

So Annie Maim celebrated her birthday on Saturday with karaoke in the basement of the American Legion Hall. We walked in the main door, and were greeted by rows and rows of empty chairs. The faint sounds of karaoke could be heard downstairs, so we headed through the door to the basement. There were a fair number of people downstairs, even though the ceiling was only a little over 6 feet high! Annie greeted us, and I gave her a karaoke version of “Ziggy Stardust” by David Bowie, which she had asked if I could get for her. We had a great time, even if it was a weird place to have a karaoke party. Amy and I sang “A Little Respect” by Erasure, and Rory Lake, karaoke host extraordinaire, gave us each stickers for singing. Evan did not sing, even though I suspected deep down that he wanted to. Val Capone was supposed to have been there, but she was scouting out the Arizona roller derby team who was playing a bout in Madison that night. She had not arrived by the time we left to search for some nourishment other than the kind found in 12 oz cans.

We had brunch the next day at The Horseshoe with Evan and his friend, Nancy. If you have not had Sunday brunch at Horseshoe yet then what are you waiting for? I’m serious. How can you pass up a chance to have all-you-can-eat 14 hour smoked beef brisket, pulled pork, awesome biscuits and gravy, hot links, pancakes and french toast, hash browns, bacon and sausage, cheese grit cakes, etc? Plus, they have a make-your-own-bloody-mary-bar!

Over the course of the brunch, we found out that Nancy went to high school with our friend Travis. How weird is that? I mean we now know two people that escaped Greenville, IL, by moving up to Chicago?!? What are the odds?

So we went back to Clybar last night for some more karaoke fun with Val Capone and Reno Better. There were a lot more people there last night than the previous week, but I think a bunch of them were there to watch the American Music Awards, which I thought was pretty strange. While we were waiting for the karaoke machine to be set up, this drunk guy came up to us and started telling us his entire life story - from where he grew up, to his ex-girlfriend, to his loss of his drivers license in Detroit due to a DUI, to his move to Chicago. I mean he talked and talked and talked! Annie Maim came up to us while he was there and I think she wanted to chat with us, but this guy wouldn’t shut up! It was pretty amusing though.

Finally the karaoke machine was set up and the guy went back to his friends. Amy was one of the first ones up because someone chickened out, so she took one for the team and sang their song - Like a Virgin. Soon it was my turn to sing a horrible version of Mother by Danzig. Val and Annie both performed a song (even though Annie is a bit sick), and all 4 feet 11 inches of Shirley Temple of Doom rocked out to Mr. Brownstone by Guns n’ Roses. Amy also got a second song in - I Melt with You by Modern English. Afterwards we had to leave since it is a school night and all that. Val invited us to her Thanksgiving dinner, which was very sweet of her, but we had to decline since we will driving to the Wisconsin Dells tonight where we will be spending the long holiday weekend gambling at Ho-Chunk Casino and visiting all the tourist traps in the region.

So, Val Capone told me that she is co-hosting karaoke night at Clybar on Tuesdays featuring Rory Lake’s Karaoke Dreams Kollection starting last night. Since Amy and I both love karaoke and roller derby, we had to go and check it out.

Now, I used to live pretty close to Clybar, but had never gone inside before since it is a significantly more upscale bar than I care to frequent. Thankfully, it was a Tuesday, so it was pretty much Trixie-free. We grabbed a couple of beers and sat down to wait for the festivities to commence. While we were there, Annie Maim of the Double Crossers came in and sang a couple of songs. She has a great singing voice, which we noticed at the derby finals when she sang the national anthem. Val Capone was a little late, so she did not hear our (terrible) rendition of Def Leppard’s ‘Pour Some Sugar on Me’. She did get to hear me singing some Pantera, and Amy singing ‘I Want You To Want Me’ by Cheap Trick though.

After that, it was almost 11:30 (on a school night!) so we headed home. It was definitely fun, and we’ll probably be back next Tuesday (hopefully with some new karaoke tunes!)

Sunday was the eagerly awaited final match of the Windy City Roller inaugural season. The two teams vying for the first ever Ivy King Cup were the Double Crossers and The Fury. Tensions were high on both teams, and with the fans as well as evidenced by this guy:

This guy is obviously a Fury fan

However, first up was a grudge match between the Manic Attackers and the Hell’s Belles. Since they both had nothing to gain, and nothing to lose, there were fights galore on the track.


Fight Fight Fight!

After awhile, the refs seemed to have had enough, and Val Capone of the Manic Attackers was ejected from the game and fined, even though the fight that caused the ejection wasn’t even her fault!


A pissed-off Val Capone

Both teams ended up getting disqualified by the end of the match for a final score of 0-0.

The Hoopafreaks , a Chicago-based hoop performance troupe, performed during intermission. Pretty cool stuff!

Finally, the final match of the season was about to start. I was sure that the Double Crossers would take the win and the Ivy King Cup because they had Jesus in their corner!

Jesus cheering for the Double Crossers

It was a very physical match, with both teams checking each other to the floor. The Double Crossers took an early lead and kept it for most of the match.


Broken Cherry checks her opponent

However, due to some very questionable referee calls, the Fury had tied the game, and a first ever 5 minute overtime was to decide the match. The Fury managed to take an early lead in overtime, and Ana Mission…From God stepped up to the jammer position with 2 minutes to go to try and make up some points. However, she was soon called for a penalty, and the Double Crossers were left with no jammer! They ended up losing by two points. Apparently, even Jesus on their side could not make up for the hellacious refereeing on the track that night! Anyway, a fun time was had by all, and it continued afterwards at the Liar’s Club, where we hung out with some of the derby girls. It was also Angela’s birthday, who works at Big Hair at 2012 W Roscoe St. with Ana Mission, so we had some drinks with her and her friends before heading home. Now that roller derby is done for the season, I don’t know what we’re going to do on the second Sunday of every month!

More pics of Sunday’s Windy City Roller final bout can be found here

I have two questions about the rules that we just found out about on Sunday that I have never heard before. The first one is the 20 foot rule, where all blockers must stay within 20 feet of the pack. That rule seems reasonable, but that was the first I had heard of it. (edit: BrokenCherry confirmed that this rule has been in place since the beginning of the season) The second rule was more troubling. Apparently, if your jammer cannot get through the pack, she can take off her jammer cap and swing it around her head, signaling that the pivot is now the jammer and can score points. Why was this never mentioned before, because it can significantly alter a game! If a team can do that, then why don’t they do it every time? That way, you have a much less chance of getting lapped and having the other team score a grand slam.

Last night we went to not one, but two Windy City Roller events. The first one was happy hour at Kitsch’n North. Between trips to the free buffet, we chatted with some of the derby girls in attendance, including our favorite derby girl, BrokenCherry.

After talking to Val Capone of the Manic Attackers and Annie Maim of the Double Crossers, Amy decided that she wants to be a Derby Girl next year. Amy was hesitant because she hasn’t skated in quite awhile, but both Val and Annie assured her that skating ability does not matter at first because they practice a lot. In fact, they practice so much that they say it becomes a main part of your life.

Amy with Derby Girls Annie Maim of the Double Crossers and Val Capone of the Manic Attackers

The second event was a benefit show for fallen Derby Girl, Voodoo Dahl at Beat Kitchen. Voodoo Dahl broke her clavicle and needed surgery to have it repaired. Like many people in the United States, she did not have health insurance, and is now deeply in debt from the medical bills. Amy and I each bought a Voodoo Dahl T-shirt to help her out!

Since neither of us has skated in some time, we went to the roller rink at 76th and Racine to practice. Wow, is skating tiring, especially if your rental skates are not well taken care of! I think we’re going to have to buy speed skates of our own, along with elbow and knee pads. Oh, and also a helmet. If you think we stand out now at this south side skating rink, wait until we show up with pads on!