Gotham City!!!!

Last night I watched the Bronx Gridlock whip their league champions' asses (the Queens of Pain) here in Gotham city. Mostly, I wanted to see Beyonslay in real life. She was there, but she wasn't skating. This confused me, but I guess she is coaching now? She's pretty private. Her profiles on myspace and the GGRD are removed, so I think she has a job that keeps her from publicizing her role in derby. Or at least that what I heard. Don't know why she's not skating, but she sure knows how to coach! 

Tip for you if you are going to a game at Hunter College: It's really hot. We decided for the second half to stand up and watch at the back. And we got there 2 hours ahead of time to get a seat. It was totally unnecessary. Getting there early, however, did give me the opportunity to do trivia on the floor. That let me get some good pictures. 

I learned a couple things watching the game. The Bronx Gridlock are amazing. They have two strengths: jammers with good balance and an excellent blocker strategy. Both Bonnie Thunders and Luna Impact got booty blocked often, and nearly fell backwards, but instead threw themselves forward and surprised the person in front who thought they had knocked them over. Fantastic. And they are fast. The Queens lost their blockers several times for penalties, and--I'm not trying to simply be biased--they played really dirty. I saw Suzy Hotrod full on push a Bronxer in the back when the ref wasn't looking. Playing dirty doesn't pay though. 

The blocker strategy was strange. At first I was really mad at the Gridlock for abandoning their jammer when she got to the front of the pack. But then I saw what they were doing. The jammer would get up front, behind the last Queen, and would pace her, letting her think she couldn't get by. Then she would wave her hands, and another Bronxer would come up and pound the Queen, letting the jammer get by. It was brilliant. They combined this move with a whip, sending the jammer flying ahead, well out of danger. Amazing.

The after-party at Manitoba's was like a lot of Manhattan bars. It was as big as a bachelor apartment, filled with two derby teams, 20 hot pizzas, a bar and lots of fans. It was too loud to talk, too squished to move, and hot hot hot. This was a little disappointing. I wanted to talk to the girls, introduce myself, and buy Beyonslay a shot. Instead, it seemed impossible to do. I felt like a fangirl and got shy. They were celebrating, and I'm just a total stranger. So I went up to Beyonslay and got her to sign my program. She was really nice. I told her, "You kept me skating". She thanked me, but I don't think she understood. And I think a lot of star players don't understand what role models they are and how much we look up them. So, if you read this: thank you, Beyonslay. Getting your signature meant a lot to me. 

Cheers,

Vansterdamn