Photos: Big Easy Roller Girls first bout

They sold out. Good job girls!

Being one familiar with how failure can plague volunteer organizations, I was crossing my fingers that they'd get through whatever difficulty might come up -- while they were trying to compete and provide entertainment. On top of that, I have no desire to fall on a cement floor -- even with protective gear. That's just too hard a fall.

I admire that fighting attitude (wrapped around big hearts), but I worry about them getting hurt. Despite my worries, the first Big Easy Roller Girl bout was pulled off without a single glitch ... oh ... okay, I suppose they could have had another bar setup, but that's a good sign.

The excitement opened up with the girls doing warm-up laps around the rink to "Don't Fear the Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult. It seemed an odd choice at first, but sounded fresh on the powerful sound system, and induced flashbacks to another era -- exactly what was called for. The crowd roared for either The 'Aints, or the Hor-Nots, depending upon who they knew. I was truly excited to see those jammers speed, nudge, and shove their way through the pack. Yeah, Cherry Pi was put in the penalty box, but when she did, it was for delivering a really gratifying good hit. And I did have the privilege of seeing a couple of the girls change their panties.

IMHO, it was one of the best things to happen in New Orleans to raise people's spirits since Mardi Gras for locals happened earlier this year. I fell in love with a couple dozen roller derby queens on Saturday night.

Roller derby is even more exciting than Reggie Bush defending the fleur de lis from The Pack.


Photo: Susan Poag/Times-Picayune.

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