Nashville Rollergirls vs. Red River Sirens & Munecas Muertas bout recap...

As per usual, this recap is in no way a professional opinion...it is my ass's opinion, and my ass is biased toward the Nashville Rollergirls.  If you want some real info on derby, check out DNN...if you want some snark, a little bit of real info, and really pretty photos, look no further than here!  Photos courtesy of Alexandra Lee Photography.  


The second day of June; a blue-skied and sunny Saturday.  I spent that morning as I do every single Saturday, with some very entertaining friends, recovering from Friday night insanity while eating bagel sandwiches from Mitchell's Deli and coffee from The Sip Cafe (unpaid advertising!!).  Ah, but this was the best kind of Saturday, because instead of having inane errands looming on the afternoon schedule...it was BOUT DAY!!!

Red River Sirens

Team number one, playing the Nashville Brawl Stars, was Clarksville, Tennessee's own Red River Sirens. Sort of a sister team to NRG, this league formed in 2010 and has been steadily and fiercely turning their derby passion into some mad skills.  Being a newer league, I'm sure it's somewhat daunting to jump onto the home track of an established league of veterans. These girls do not let it faze them, they love this sport and want to learn, and if they have to take a defeat to do it, they do some with enthusiasm and grace. 

Hippy-Ki-Yay with Heartless Martis

The Brawl Stars cracked out a very early lead, but were by no means handed points. Some amazing footwork from Ann T Histamine, E. Lemonator and Stella Live, including an apex jump and 14 point jam from Stella started the first half off with some gasps and cheers. Nashville also pulled out some new tricks, jamming fierce blockers Tear O'Bite through a star pass, and Devask8Her to great success. The second half, included a lengthy time-out where some kind of bodily fluids needed removed from the track. I'm not going to speculate as to what kind of fluids  Ew. But after that, the party resumed and the indomitable pair of NRG's Hippy-Ki-Yay and Rocco Sock'em held the Siren's jammer behind a tight wall that led to a beautifully executed lead jam for Electra Cal.


Red River Sirens jammer stand-outs, Heartless Martis, Ammo Aimee, Rayevin Linatic, and Knotty By Nature put their team on the board with some hard-earned lead jams.  I am such a big Heartless Martis fan...(not just because she let me interview her) she's really one of the Sirens' most consistent skaters and really fights out a jam hard and fast.  I will definitely be following her derby career as it progresses.


For the live-action recap, check out this highlight video that NRG's very talented Tear O'Bite created:

Final score:  Brawl Stars: 199, Red River Sirens: 56 

On to bout #2!!!  The Nashville Music City All-Stars vs. Duke City Derby's Munecas Muertas.

HAIR!!

Let me just get this out of the way first thing, because it's what everybody mentions when I bring up this bout: Duke City has the market cornered as far as crazy-awesome hair is concerned.  First, there's just so damn much of it, and second, it's so big and impressively coiffed!  I was mesmerized.  Hair was not the only thing they had going for them though...these girls played like their pants were on fire!  There was a sense of urgency about them that might have been due to the fact that they had to play short at the last minute due to some unfortunate food-poisoning circumstances.  At any rate, Duke made it known that they would not make anything easy for NRG. 

A Sugar Magmaulya and Maulin' Monroe beat down.

One particular person that I was consistently impressed with this entire bout was newcomer Sugar Magmaulya, a transfer from Blue Ridge Rollergirls in Asheville, NC. Her first bout with Nashville was a stellar performance and I believe I've found my new role-model as far as blocking technique goes.  Another extreme stand-out was the always illustrious Maulin' Monroe. She was a freaking bulldozer, creating textbook derby carnage at every turn. Pair this with a jamming/blocking combo from the likes of Slayla or Four-Leaf Roller on several jams and you just had a mass pile-up of Duke City limbs and hair and a huge point lead for the All-Stars.   

Overall, Rambo Sambo's last NRG bout was one hell of a beautiful send-off...every single jam had a Nashville standout. Her fans were gifted with some indelible Rambo-isms, (i.e. instantly garnered lead jam statuses, physics defying footwork, and 19+ point jams), which would not have been possible without the symbiosis of a team hell-bent on claiming a victory for a parting friend.  

The final jam had Rambo stepping through the pack untouched as her teammates held every Duke City skater back...a tearful solo lap, complete with a crowd standing ovation and uproarious cheers and applause. I felt extremely lucky to have been able to witness this moment of a dear friend being so loved and honored by so many people. Honestly, how often does that happen?  

  

A fond farewell and a smoothly executed hand-off to a new team era.   

Final score:  All-Stars: 191, Munecas Muertas: 68 

See you later, friend.