Pamela Ander-slam

This weekend I caught up with some Wake folks (Lauren Rico and Robin Dove!) and went to a roller derby. This is that thing that Drew Barrymore made that movie about recently. Girls in knee pads and roller skates slamming into each other around a track. I didn't see the movie, but the real deal was pretty ridiculous. It's not as rock 'em sock 'em as professional wrestling, or a NASCAR race, and the attending demographic skewed a little younger, hipper and more lesbian, but the event had a similar combination of spectacle and sport. Also, it had toothless men drinking PBR and hollering "Git 'er!!" at people going fast and hitting each other. And slightly scary, hulking women hollering the same thing (through a full set of teeth). Lots of tattoos, and chuck taylors, and white people.

Apparently part of the entertainment value is in the creative names the girls come up with for themselves. You can't see really read them here on the program, but I thought I'd share some of the best: Ella Titzgerald, Hands on Gretel, Puncher P. Hole, Shrimp Lo Mean (the only Asian), SexaQShunHer, Ovarian Cyster, and Amy Fister. Subtle they are not. Cringe-inducing? Absolutely. Half the fun? Yep.

Also part of the fun? The local ads included in the program.
In case you're wondering why this child appears to be wearing her underwear over her pants, that's because that's the outfit worn by a lot of the roller girls. Or, an alternate approach was to wear your underwear UNDER a short skirt, but then put something like "Get Back Wenches" on the butt of the underwear so you can flip your skirt up as you whiz past the opponents. Both looks are best accented with ripped fishnet tights or brightly striped leggings.

Basically, it was awesome and I want to go again.