You know the old adage about not judging a book by its cover? Well, I experienced the perfect example of that last night when we went to watch the season opener of the Denver Roller Dolls roller derby league.
Since I had never been to a roller derby match, I based my assumptions on the few pictures I’ve seen of Roller Derby girls, and expected it to be a small crowd of rockabilly-fashioned folk drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon. Turns out I was way off – well, except for the PBR part.
More than 4,000 people showed up to watch. The crowd ranged from young kids to people in their 60s. I saw as many people wearing North Face as black rolled up jeans and chain wallets.
The match took place at the old Broomfield Events Center, now the 1stBank Center and the place was packed. We got General Admission tickets and sat on the ground, rink-side, which is definitely a cool way to experience this sport.
Each team has five players on the track, although only one of them, the jammer, can score. The jammers line up behind the blockers and the goal is to pass them to score points. Of course, there’s more to it than that, but that’s about all I could ascertain from watching.
Part of the sport’s appeal (at least to me) is that the participants (referee’s included) don’t take themselves too seriously. Everyone has a clever alias, such as “Angela Death” and “Deadly Long Legs.” Even the referees are in on it, with names such as “Cougar Bait” and “Loren Order.” The costumes and make up are just as creative as the names. From the pink hot pants to the fishnet stockings, it has the feel of a Halloween party.
But once the bout starts, there’s no question that these women are serious. There’s lots of elbows flying and bodies crashing into each other, which send skaters skidding across the track. Since the track is lined by spectators, it’s not uncommon to end up with a skater in your lap, so keep a tight grip on that PBR.
General admission tickets are $15. Parking at the 1stBank Center is a crazy steep $10, and your best bet for beer is the 24-ounce PBR for a laughable $8. Yeah, you read that right. If you can’t stomach spending $8 on PBR, you can also get 12-ounce cans of Wynkoop beers for the same price, but you’ll look cooler drinking the PBR.
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