A while back my mom sent me an email with a link to a newspaper article about roller derby, something my mom started about a year ago now. The article was written by, pardon me but, a complete moron. I am not going to pretend I am a great writer, even being an editor for my college newspaper does not qualify me as a critic. However, as a person, I know when I read something that is well written and not a load of crap, and this article smelled like, for lack of a better term, shit.
To save you the pain of reading it yourself, it was about how roller derby is not a real sport and how this woman enjoyed watching her Friday Night Football, almost as much as she like farming and Sweet Tea! To give you an image of this woman, I imagine someone like Aunt Bee, but younger, like Reba.
For those of you who have never seen roller derby, check out the movie Whip it! Exactly like real life! I would describe it as a combination of ice skating and hockey. The objective is to skate through the pack of girls looking to knock you down to score points, kind of like a race. The contact is about what you see in hockey but with fewer pads.
I am not sure how you can not see that this is a real sport but lets be real, if they consider NASCAR and golf a sport then derby should be obvious. Making the claim that derby is not a sport is idiotic and ignorant. Open your eyes and let the experience of roller derby overtake you! It is a blast!
I know that the article my mom showed me was seen by the entire derby team, but I don't think it bothered them. They are not doing what they do for the credit of playing a sport. They are a family. They have new friendships that this group has been able to give them. I know my mom has enjoyed the exercise she is getting and loving the chance to go out and represent herself. These women love being able to go out and express themselves and feel great while doing it. That is what really matters!
So I salute you Roller Derby Team! You are loving what you do and not worrying about what other people think! You Go Girls!
And I salute YOU, Sir! Thank you for recognizing all the hard work and determination that we, Greensboro Roller Derby put into our league and all the awesomeness that we get out of it! MAMA D ROCKS and I LOVE GSORD!!!!!!!!
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