Woah!! What a way to break in the Pepsi Coliseum!! A crowd of nearly 3500 Derby fans filled the Pepsi Coliseum last Saturday night as the Naptown skaters faced the Hearts of Bloomington and it was an incredible night for the Nap faithful as both the Belles and the Sirens came totally focused and willful. From the outset it seemed that both squads just had Bloomingtons number and were both offensively and defensively on top of their game. Even tho at times it seemed that the Hearts were overwhelmed they will gain valuable experience from these 2 bouts. Indy's experience was quite evident in both bouts but especially so in the Sirens v Flatliners game. You know that I adore KaKa but she just had nowhere to go ALL NIGHT. And containing her was an on fire defense that saw Sin, Touretta, Sweet, Ima, 4 Leaf and CK killing it ALL NIGHT long. And I'm talking NO let up whatsoever. What an incredible night of Derby we witnessed.
Look...I'll go over the bouts in a bit but lets start at the beginning 'kay? The unseasonably warm weather drove home the point that even tho I would be comin from north Indy all the way to Mooresville in the cold at night there was no damn way I wasnt gonna RIDE. And so I did. Had a gorgeous cruise to Broad Ripple for the Prebout Hangout w/the gang. Caught up w Dill, Tom K, Lux n Lori, Amby, CR, Johnny and other Rollerheads and that was a fine way to start my day. I have to admit that I was scanning the TV constantly lookin for early Breeders Cup results and sippin some Blue Moons 8). At any rate I then took a lil ride downtown before headin to the Coliseum. Saw some of the gang then headed in and was struck by the fact that...oh yeah...NRG is doing SportCourt this season! The surface drew a mix of responses from both NRG and BHRG skaters but all in all a majority were positive. You wanna know how much that nice surface costs tho?? $20,000 or so!! Holy freaking shit they're proud of that SportCourt!! Quiiiiite a bit of money there...sheeeesh. Is it faster?? Yes! Is it slower? Yes! is it easier to fall on? Yes! Is it tuffer to fall on? Yes! And so on and so on...just seemed like such a subjective thing w/the skaters really. Sure as hell LOOKS nice...nice and professional. Love it.
What an excellent turnout for the season opener too. A great crowd showed with a smattering of Hearts fans in the seats cheering on their Rollergirls. I said it before but I'll say it again...I really like the Hearts. There is some real talent to be seen on this team and with more experience and learning to play for each other they will be an interesting team to watch over the next couple of seasons. More team chemistry and pack communication will hopefully be gained and I have to just come out and say it...the Hearts need a full time Coach and Bench Mgr. They just DO. Like all the up n coming teams. KaKa is needed as the star Jammer with nothing to distract her from her point scoring mission, know what I mean?? KaKa is fantastic and with better team blocking and speed control she will be able to fly.
On the Hearts side of things I have to say I was a bit surprised that I didnt see Felanie Charges. Wher was Felanie? At any rate I thought that Zero did the most she could all night with what was given her. And not much was given. And Oh yeah...ya knew I was waiting for the Assassins intros so I could see how the announcers would introduce Anita Fingerbang 8). For the record she was intro'd as A.F. Bang (haha). Cool name Anita...love it! I wanna see Anita Fingerbang tee shirts EVERYWHERE next season 'kay? Seriously...a virtual SEA of Anita Fingerbang collectibles need to be produced...can ya see the $$$? Can ya Bloomington??! Hell yes. Betty Wreckognize had a nice nite too. I saw her crushing hits several times during the game.
And on the Belles side of things I was totally shocked when Strawberry Jam skated out!! Are you freaking kiddin' me?? SJ!!! THAT was great! Seriously cool. And maybe I've been outta the loop this summer but...Old Broad?? On the BELLES?!? WTF? That was another shocker for me. It was cool to get to see all the new skaters in action for the first time too...Freddie,Smashley, Trauma,Dazy, Fonda and may I say ,the very impressive Maiden America. The "Iron" Maiden was kickin total ass all nite people. And I told her so at the Afterparty too. Keep yer eye on this Jammer Napfans because she could be a point scoring star. The entire Belles roster did an amazing job all bout long and they have much to be proud of. Di and Jen did a great job coaching too. In addition to the Iron Maiden, Racer had another solid nite Jamming. Even tho the Belles lost several key skaters to the Sirens you sure as hell couldnt tell...they were impressive.
And so on to the Flatliners we go. Look...Im just a guy okay?? And so I have to say...Hell-No Kitty is a knockout. *smirk* Just sayin'. And we all love the Cult of Rollergirl Kitties! All hail the once and future Queen Kitty Liquorbottom!! On a sidenote I actually heard from Kitty Killjoy about a month ago...and it made my day. LOVE the kitties!! The Hearts have a lot of personality and style and even tho, to be honest, they werent ever really a threat to the Sirens, they were fun to watch just the same. Terror had some moments but both her and KaKa had a frustrating nite up against that NRG pack. Like I said earlier...the Bloomington skaters need a full time Head Coach and Bench Mgr. Really helps when what you're doing isnt working and you need to adjust on the fly or at least at the half.
And then there's those Serious Sirens...who came, saw and conquered from the very first jam. I have no superlatives left for Ace...she was UN...FREAKING...BELIEVABLE. It is an utter joy to watch her skate...makes my Derby lovin heart just POUND. Damn...she's unreal...just a star. Thank you for coming back Ace...I know you heard those chants and cheers every time you took the floor. Feels great doesnt it? Hell yeah. And when she went in at the end of the bout to play Pivot(!!) she was just as impressive. And when "the Natural" got her chances to jam she made the most of them as always. Blue is such a talent. And howzabout that Cap'n Katya? Fire and zeal all nite from her of course. Slammy had a solid nite and how awesome was it seeing the Superhero Shadi out there Jamming again?? Shadi! Shadi! Shadi! She's as much a fan favorite as any Siren for sure. Love her! The entire Sirens squad killed it. Coach J is back people and she aint taking any prisoners!! A glorious night for the Zaptown Girls and that raucous crowd was just eating it up. I know I was.
The new venue worked brilliantly. We still have adequate suicide seats and plenty of excellent seating for the ever growing crowd of Napfans. It was perfect...just perfect. And I cant even tell you how many hugs I got from skaters and fellow fans. We have a very special Derby community here in Indy and it got to the point where it was like some kind of family reunion. And oh yeah...before I forget...how beautiful is it that bad ass Touretta came back for another season?! Touretta just rules. As we all know.
The afterparty was a great time and I have to say that the Hearts and the Naps got along really well and genuinely seemed to enjoy each others company. Which was cool. B'ton has their own flavor and will be interesting to watch as they grow as a team and begin bouting serious WFTDA teams. Its a process. Had fun chatting with Zero, Unicoroner, Rocket and the Illustrious KaKa. Keep yer chin up KaKa...your rollergirls are gonna grow from this experience, just like Naptown did in their losses.
And so I eagerly await the upcoming rematch with the Burns. It wont be like last time, I can assure you of that. Those Burns have been battle tested and are a vastly superior team to what we saw last time. Its gonna be epic. And yes...the long, somewhat chilly ride home did give me a head cold and a scratchy throat. Well worth it! Great job Zaptown...an awesome way to begin the season.
Look...I'll go over the bouts in a bit but lets start at the beginning 'kay? The unseasonably warm weather drove home the point that even tho I would be comin from north Indy all the way to Mooresville in the cold at night there was no damn way I wasnt gonna RIDE. And so I did. Had a gorgeous cruise to Broad Ripple for the Prebout Hangout w/the gang. Caught up w Dill, Tom K, Lux n Lori, Amby, CR, Johnny and other Rollerheads and that was a fine way to start my day. I have to admit that I was scanning the TV constantly lookin for early Breeders Cup results and sippin some Blue Moons 8). At any rate I then took a lil ride downtown before headin to the Coliseum. Saw some of the gang then headed in and was struck by the fact that...oh yeah...NRG is doing SportCourt this season! The surface drew a mix of responses from both NRG and BHRG skaters but all in all a majority were positive. You wanna know how much that nice surface costs tho?? $20,000 or so!! Holy freaking shit they're proud of that SportCourt!! Quiiiiite a bit of money there...sheeeesh. Is it faster?? Yes! Is it slower? Yes! is it easier to fall on? Yes! Is it tuffer to fall on? Yes! And so on and so on...just seemed like such a subjective thing w/the skaters really. Sure as hell LOOKS nice...nice and professional. Love it.
What an excellent turnout for the season opener too. A great crowd showed with a smattering of Hearts fans in the seats cheering on their Rollergirls. I said it before but I'll say it again...I really like the Hearts. There is some real talent to be seen on this team and with more experience and learning to play for each other they will be an interesting team to watch over the next couple of seasons. More team chemistry and pack communication will hopefully be gained and I have to just come out and say it...the Hearts need a full time Coach and Bench Mgr. They just DO. Like all the up n coming teams. KaKa is needed as the star Jammer with nothing to distract her from her point scoring mission, know what I mean?? KaKa is fantastic and with better team blocking and speed control she will be able to fly.
On the Hearts side of things I have to say I was a bit surprised that I didnt see Felanie Charges. Wher was Felanie? At any rate I thought that Zero did the most she could all night with what was given her. And not much was given. And Oh yeah...ya knew I was waiting for the Assassins intros so I could see how the announcers would introduce Anita Fingerbang 8). For the record she was intro'd as A.F. Bang (haha). Cool name Anita...love it! I wanna see Anita Fingerbang tee shirts EVERYWHERE next season 'kay? Seriously...a virtual SEA of Anita Fingerbang collectibles need to be produced...can ya see the $$$? Can ya Bloomington??! Hell yes. Betty Wreckognize had a nice nite too. I saw her crushing hits several times during the game.
And on the Belles side of things I was totally shocked when Strawberry Jam skated out!! Are you freaking kiddin' me?? SJ!!! THAT was great! Seriously cool. And maybe I've been outta the loop this summer but...Old Broad?? On the BELLES?!? WTF? That was another shocker for me. It was cool to get to see all the new skaters in action for the first time too...Freddie,Smashley, Trauma,Dazy, Fonda and may I say ,the very impressive Maiden America. The "Iron" Maiden was kickin total ass all nite people. And I told her so at the Afterparty too. Keep yer eye on this Jammer Napfans because she could be a point scoring star. The entire Belles roster did an amazing job all bout long and they have much to be proud of. Di and Jen did a great job coaching too. In addition to the Iron Maiden, Racer had another solid nite Jamming. Even tho the Belles lost several key skaters to the Sirens you sure as hell couldnt tell...they were impressive.
And so on to the Flatliners we go. Look...Im just a guy okay?? And so I have to say...Hell-No Kitty is a knockout. *smirk* Just sayin'. And we all love the Cult of Rollergirl Kitties! All hail the once and future Queen Kitty Liquorbottom!! On a sidenote I actually heard from Kitty Killjoy about a month ago...and it made my day. LOVE the kitties!! The Hearts have a lot of personality and style and even tho, to be honest, they werent ever really a threat to the Sirens, they were fun to watch just the same. Terror had some moments but both her and KaKa had a frustrating nite up against that NRG pack. Like I said earlier...the Bloomington skaters need a full time Head Coach and Bench Mgr. Really helps when what you're doing isnt working and you need to adjust on the fly or at least at the half.
And then there's those Serious Sirens...who came, saw and conquered from the very first jam. I have no superlatives left for Ace...she was UN...FREAKING...BELIEVABLE. It is an utter joy to watch her skate...makes my Derby lovin heart just POUND. Damn...she's unreal...just a star. Thank you for coming back Ace...I know you heard those chants and cheers every time you took the floor. Feels great doesnt it? Hell yeah. And when she went in at the end of the bout to play Pivot(!!) she was just as impressive. And when "the Natural" got her chances to jam she made the most of them as always. Blue is such a talent. And howzabout that Cap'n Katya? Fire and zeal all nite from her of course. Slammy had a solid nite and how awesome was it seeing the Superhero Shadi out there Jamming again?? Shadi! Shadi! Shadi! She's as much a fan favorite as any Siren for sure. Love her! The entire Sirens squad killed it. Coach J is back people and she aint taking any prisoners!! A glorious night for the Zaptown Girls and that raucous crowd was just eating it up. I know I was.
The new venue worked brilliantly. We still have adequate suicide seats and plenty of excellent seating for the ever growing crowd of Napfans. It was perfect...just perfect. And I cant even tell you how many hugs I got from skaters and fellow fans. We have a very special Derby community here in Indy and it got to the point where it was like some kind of family reunion. And oh yeah...before I forget...how beautiful is it that bad ass Touretta came back for another season?! Touretta just rules. As we all know.
The afterparty was a great time and I have to say that the Hearts and the Naps got along really well and genuinely seemed to enjoy each others company. Which was cool. B'ton has their own flavor and will be interesting to watch as they grow as a team and begin bouting serious WFTDA teams. Its a process. Had fun chatting with Zero, Unicoroner, Rocket and the Illustrious KaKa. Keep yer chin up KaKa...your rollergirls are gonna grow from this experience, just like Naptown did in their losses.
And so I eagerly await the upcoming rematch with the Burns. It wont be like last time, I can assure you of that. Those Burns have been battle tested and are a vastly superior team to what we saw last time. Its gonna be epic. And yes...the long, somewhat chilly ride home did give me a head cold and a scratchy throat. Well worth it! Great job Zaptown...an awesome way to begin the season.
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