I made the trip to Philly on Saturday to see the second round of skating and cheer on my old league.  At several points, current DRD skaters asked me, “Are you proud?” I was totally stunned by that question.  To say that I’m proud is an understatement.  I’m SUPER proud.  And excited. And thankful.  And relieved.  And also sad. It’s complicated – because it’s roller derby.

Indulge me for a moment as I get into the way-back machine here, but my thoughts inevitably wind backwards on this matter.  All the way to 2006, in fact, when we played our first interleague bout.

MHC Original Roster: Jersey Trouble, Friction VixXxen, Toxic T, Boo Boo Radley, Dharma Gedden, Ivona Killeau, Ro Chambeau, Primal Rage, Rockett, Disco-A-Go-Go, Daytona Beyotch, Diamond Lil, Sissy Rinkshaw, Ms. Drrrty, Sheila Tack, Angela Death

When Kansas City agreed to play us in fall of 2006, it felt like something of a minor miracle. Because even though we were always confident we could be successful at home, our path to interleague play was totally unclear.  For nearly a year, we’d run up against the fallout between DRD and our former Rocky Mountain teammates whenever we so much as talked to another league.  So when KC, a team that would go on to win the national championship, invited us out to play, it felt like vindication – but Denver was still a long way from WTFDA membership, and the MHC was a long, long series of bouts away from nationals.

It’s hard to overstate how proud I am that Denver skated to third place at Nationals this year.  That achievement both represents and obscures all of the other achievements of the past four years.  Thanks to the hard work of so many dedicated skaters – including numerous skaters who’ve never played as part of the MHC – the league overcame countless obstacles and frustrations to earn the right to play in regional tournaments.  The work, on and off the track, has been tremendous.  Way to keep the faith, Dolls.  You’ve earned this.

Three years after that first Kansas bout, an (especially awesome) handful of skaters from the original line-up are still in the MHC (Angela, Disco, Jersey, Boo Boo and, until recently, Rockett, Dharma and Sheila), but most of the original league skaters have retired, suffered career-ending injuries, or transferred.  The MHC, as well as the league, is now full of skaters I don’t know at all – which is as it should be.  The league belongs to no one except the skaters who are in it, and I’m most proud of all that it’s rolling along with a life of its own.

Halloween Bout, 2006

Nostalgia is probably inevitable at this point, so let me share one more memory.  Just a few days after we got kicked out of the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls, we found ourselves at a pretty somber all-night skate party at the Wagon Wheel, wondering exactly what was going to happen to our derby lives. For many of us, it seemed increasingly likely that we were going to have to think about starting a new league. So Rockett, Ivona Killeau and I ended up sitting in Rockett’s living room in the wee hours of the morning, dreaming out loud and polishing off the remains of the PBR we’d been drinking all night.  But as we were thinking out loud, we started to realize: we could actually pull it off.  By the time the sun came up, we’d decided: if we had to start a new league, it was going to be the best dang league anyone had ever seen.

And guess what?  You all made that happen. Sitting in the stands at Philly, I was not just proud, but overwhelmed with gratitude.  Thank you, Dolls, for making the league so awesome.  Thank you so much.

Ask a derby a girl on a good day, and she’ll tell you that roller derby saved her life. Ask a derby girl on a bad day, and she’ll tell you that roller derby ruined her life.  Ask a retired derby girl on any day, and she’ll tell you she’s glad to have her life back – but that she misses skating.

I miss skating every day.

Sitting in the stands at Philly, I experienced a lot of sadness.  I kept trying to figure out what it was about.  It would be easy to miss bouting.  I skated my last bout in 2007, and we had just reached a milestone in ticket sales: 2,000 people came to watch us skate.  It’s a stunning realization that so many people will pay to cheer you on to do something that you love to do.  It would be easy to miss that.  But I don’t.  And I also don’t miss all the drama, the meetings, or the emails associated with derby.  So what do I miss?

I miss the practices.

DRD Tryouts at the Wagon Wheel, 2007: Aim 'N Buster, Angela Death, Primal Rage, Fawn Stalking, Granny Apple, Barbie Boop, Diamond Lil

The practices!  Because what I really miss is setting aside two or three nights every week to put on my skates and play the craziest sport in the world with the craziest women I’ve ever met.

What I really miss is skating with my friends.

I’ll never have that type of opportunity or experience again.  Thank you, Dolls.  It’s been a blessing.

I will never be surrounded by this much crazy love again.

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