A
new season of roller derby has arrived in Morristown NJ. It began last night with a women’s
bout between the home team NJRD (New Jersey Roller Derby) and the Jersey Shore
Roller Girls; it was followed by a men’s match JBRD (Jersey Boys Roller Derby)
vs Toronto Men’s Roller Derby. The New Jersey Roller Derby Small Stars (the local
kids’ league) sang the national anthem.
The
Jersey Shore has a strong record including a victory over another Morristown
team on its most recent visit to the same track in 2014. The NJRD steadily has
been building strength since its formation a few years ago, however, and it
showed on the track last night. The team’s blocking has tightened and it has acquired
a depth of experienced jammers. NJRD’s
Maulin Rouge put points on the board in the first jam; Shannanigunz, Miss USA-Hole,
Tuff Crust Pizza, and Chase Windu followed in quick succession. Despite game
jamming by the Shore, notably by SoCo who persevered through tough blocking,
only 10 minutes into the bout NJRD led 59-7. NJRD continued to dominate, though
Shore was able to gain points, notably by Emma Effa and Hodan. At halftime NJRD
led 131-27. The second half was rough-and-tumble but continued on the same
path. Despite some impressive individual jams, including a 15 pointer by Soco,
NJRD built its lead, taking the win 211-99. MVPs were Maulin Rouge (jammer) and
Rosa Ruckus (blocker) for NJRD, and Emma Effa (jammer) and Pinky and the Pain
(blocker) for Jersey Shore.
In
the second bout a Jersey team once again showed its strength in the first jam.
Robert Brawlson for JBRD made multiple passes through the pack while Señor
Weiner from Toronto ran into determined JBRD resistance for a first jam score
of 23-1 in favor of Jersey. Despite occasional strong jams by Toronto, notably
by Sleeper Cell, Ford, and Weiner, the first jam had set the pattern. Barndt, Scooter
McGoot, and Brawlson added to the Jersey totals. Blocking stiffened toward the
end of the first half; a ref was caught in the action and was
helped off the track. At halftime the score stood 196-54. In the second half both
sides upped their blocking. Toronto with some effect employed a blocking
formation that originated in Australia, and tried alternate jamming tactics
including a star pass from Flyin Bryan to Ford. It wasn’t enough to alter the
general trend of the bout. The clock ran out with the score at 411-90 in favor
of JBRD.
Benny Goodman Jersey Bounce
I see Mr. A-Hole is one of their coaches. Nice :)
ReplyDeleteIt's an odd sport to be a fan of, how did you become one? I remember for a while they used to show some of these on TV late a night until, I guess, they grew out of favor. But they were fairly popular at one time.
Back in 2010 I watched the Drew Barrymore movie "Whip It" in the company of a Millennial quasi-niece (long story). The film, which is pretty good, involves a girl (Ellen Paige) joining a roller derby team in Austin TX. After it was over I commented that there was likely to be a local team. A google search turned up one. We went. She wasn't hooked but I was.
DeleteI wrote a brief account a few years back of the sport's history which dates to the 1930s: http://richardbellush.blogspot.com/2011/04/wheel-appeal.html . The original professional teams shut down when they stopped making money. But in a way I like the reborn version better. They are just gals going out there doing what they do not for a paycheck but because they love it. (I'll watch the men if they are in a double header as above, but I prefer the women's teams.)