Hurt in a Skirt

You should be incredibly jealous of me. This past friday, I went to Rollerderby. You got it - roller skating girl on girl action. Friday was an all star team match up pitting the Dairyland Dolls against the Minnesota Roller Girls. The Dairyland Dolls were comprised of players in Madison's league - teams like the Unholy Rollers and Reservoir Dolls. Some of my favorite players were Mouse and Britnee Smears, two jammers that really know how to get the job done.

It was cheesy, there were hi-jinks, I drank Bud-Lite from a 24 oz can, but I couldn't help getting wrapped up in all of the excitement. The girls were dressed in fishnet stockings and glittery outfits that offset the mouthgards and helmets. And they were all business rocketing each other forward in order to score points, knocking each other off the track, ganging up on each other to block. And the crowd would go wild every time their respective team's jammer would get in front of the pack to score.

I seemed to be the only one in my group to draw a parallel between this and the spirit of women's baseball leagues that popped up in the 1940's during war time. Back then, women risked their feminine reputations just to play some ball championing the notion of women as athletes. And even with names like The Bone Setter, these rollergirls with their fishnets, push up bras, and short skirts maintained that edge between bad girl and feminine mystique as boys and men showed up in droves for photo-ops, autographs, and even a raffle in which the grand prize was the opportunity to sky dive in tandem with your favorite doll.

And if that weren't enough, all of the proceeds from the events go to charitable organizations that promote the health and well-being of women. On friday night, the profits went to the rape crisis center. Even the mayor showed up to recognize their philanthropy over the past two years naming August 25th official Mad Rollin Dolls Day. What could be better.

The new season doesn't start until January. I for one plan on being a season ticket holder. If you have a roller derby league in your town, you should check it out. If not, you should be incredibly jealous of me.