At long last the Nap skaters will take on the Bleeding Heartland team from Bloomington. For those of you not aware of the past history of these teams they used to be one. The league was called Crossroads Roller Derby and was set up to draw from both Indy and Bloomington. Due to a variety of reasons the league split into Naptown and Bleeding Heartland. Naptown was first out of the gate and took Indy by storm. They quickly rose and joined WFTDA. The Hearts on the other hand took a while to get off the ground and slowly built their league on a steady diet of intraleague bouting. The Hearts have only recently joined WFTDA and have a record of 1-1. Having been down to B'ton sveral times to catch some BHRG bout action I would have to say that its quite a change of Derby culture. Considering that only a half hour trip separates the 2 leagues there is a marked difference in the crowd and the flavor of Derby being played. More than anything I think the fact that the Hearts play each other all the time and Race City is set up strictly for travel team play is the difference. Neither is necessarily better than the other and much debate has been had discussing the pros and cons of each style of league. Ultimately I am of the opinion that for the sake of team health and chemistry that the "One Team One League" style of Naptown is the way to go, but there are also some good things that come from having a league of 2 or more teams.
At any rate...this may be the bout of the season. Lets be frank...both of these teams REALLY REALLY want to emerge victorious from this epic bout. I am so pumped up for this one and you should be too because its gonna be as intense as last years legendary F Dubb bout. And then there's all the changes that have happened. A change of venue and Coaching staff will add a new and different dimension to Naps squad. Theres all the retirements of last year (come back Jane!!!!) and the new roster of Rollergirls. I was ecstatic to hear that the Amazin Blazin ACE is gonna return for another season too. She remains Race City's great superstar and killer Jammer and is so critical to NRG's attempt to rise back up in the WFTDA rankings. But theres a wealth of young talent being groomed on the Belles squad and some of those skaters will prove to be invaluable additions to the Sirens roster.
Naptown is currently ranked by FTS at #40 with an overall record of 6-6. BHRG won a game against Hard Knox 97-75 but it was closer than the score would suggest. Their first official WFTDA bout was a butt kicking by the way more established G Rag. They ended up losing by 205 points. Ouch. But as is often the case that aforementioned butt kicking has served the Hearts well and they grew from the experience to be sure. The biggest star on the Hearts squad is without any doubt Jammer KaKa Caliente. She is absolutely amazing and I guarentee that when shes jamming you wont be able to take yer eyes off of her. Well...unless she's up against our ACE! I really like BHRG's team. They have some real potential and with Jammers like KaKa, Unicoroner (back from injury?), Bad Mudda Trucka (backfrom injury?) and Felanie Charges theres much to be optimistic about. The crowds have really grown for Bloomington and now that they're officially WFTDA the future is bright indeed for those Rollergirls in IU-ville.
I just have to believe that in the end Zaptowns vast experience against well established, experienced teams will prove the difference. If NRG can contain KaKa then they will be difficult for the Hearts to beat. It will be very interesting to see what transpires in this heated bout tho. What will all the changes since last year mean for the NRG girls? Who will be the top Jammers (besides Ace of course)? Will the new Pepsi Coliseum venue bring in more fans? Will there be a loss of the intimacy of the Toyota Pavilion? What new strategies will the Coaches employ? Will Kamikaze Chicken make an appearance? Will every Napfan shout in unison "Right you are Dill!"?? Will Anita Fingerbang be allowed to have her name on her jersey? Yeah..its gonna be very interesting. And perhaps the first bout of an annual grudge match the likes of Nap v Cincy or Nap v F Dubb. Do not miss this bout people!!!
Flatliners Roster (A Team)
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Hmm, not sure where you found that roster, but it's very outdated. People retired, are on different teams, and missing. I'm a CBA, but this will be my last bout as a member of BHRG. And heck, my commute is an hour and a half down 67. I wish it was only 30 minutes. ;)
ReplyDelete- Rockit Ma'am
Lol...Ive been taken to task for that roster...I dont have the current one but maybe one of the Hearts could get one to me. Oops.
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