RMRG's 5280 Fight Club vs. MRD's Dairyland Dolls: A Fan's Perspective

Saturday, October 20, 2007
Final Scores: RM Fight Club -131; DDs 98

By Geoffrey Saucer

Most of the fans who crowded into Fast Forward Skate Center on Oct. 20 hadn't seen their Dairyland Dolls since the July bout with Tucson. Scheduled as an end to the inter-league season, the bout felt more like an entirely new season. Many of the recognizable skaters from past seasons were in street clothes, or in uniform but without skates. The Dolls' team that night was mostly first-year skaters who had never bouted competitively as a team, and the night's opponent, Rocky Mountain Roller Girls' 5280 Fight Club, was a complete unknown.

After team intros and an a cappella version of the Star Spangled Banner sung by Girl Neighborhood Power, derby action returned to the Fast Forward track. The Dolls skated veteran jammers Dolly Pardon Me and Darling Nikki to start off. Against them was the RMRG pairing of Frida Beater and She Who Cannot Be Named, who, as the evening progressed, would skate all but three of Rocky Mountain's jams. After the first two jams, the score was tied at 4. Harlot Brontë took a turn at jammer, and then Mack the Knife put Madison ahead 8-7 with a four-point jam. Dolly Pardon Me grabbed lead jammer once again on the next jam, but the chase for points ended in a big result for RMRG's Ida Hustler, who scored 13 points to Dolly's 8.

The 5280 Fight Club showed their mettle by capturing the next four leads. During this stretch, Dolly Pardon Me went to the penalty box as jammer, and RMRG took full advantage of the situation, building up a 40-22 advantage. Although Darling Nikki grabbed lead in the tenth jam, she earned her fourth minor penalty and took her own trip to the box, while She Who Cannot Be Named ran up nine more points. The Dolls' penalties, coupled with the solid skating of RMRG's jammer duo, gave Rocky Mountain a dominating 57-27 lead at the end of the first twenty-minute period.

With the big lead, RMRG could begin to dictate the game if they avoided mistakes. Frida Beater and She Who Cannot Be Named proved their speed and endurance as they continued to break through the inexperienced Dolls' defense to build the lead to 44 early in the second period. It was Darling Nikki who stepped up to close the gap. With Ida Hustler cooling her wheels in the box, Nikki scored eight points without being lead jammer. Three jams later, the Dolls' defense began to gel, and Nikki once again patiently scored nine more to close the gap to 31. Unfortunately for the Dolls, first-year skater Sassafras went down with a tweaked knee late in the period, and the RMRGs built the lead back up to 98-60 to close out the period.

With a 38-point deficit, a comeback seemed unlikely for the Dolls. The Rocky Mountain duo continued to grab lead throughout the third period. But, the Dolls' play improved as the pack was able to get their jammers through the pack, and the two teams matched points throughout the period. Rocky Mountain also began to accrue penalties, and at one point almost their whole line was in the penalty queue. The Madison fans showed their love by staying through the till the end, and loudly cheering their team when the play went their way. They had much to cheer about with an eight-point jam for Harlot Brontë, and an impressive three-point jam by Maverick with less than three minutes remaining. Rookie Kill Billie also showed she was learning the ropes on defense as she repeatedly stalled the RMRG jammers in the pack.

While they came out on the losing end of a 131-98 score, the night was not a complete loss for the Dairyland Dolls. With only four veteran players on the track, the younger Dolls had to learn the hard lessons of inter-league play for themselves, just as the Dolls before them have. They learned they needed to set aside the rivalries of their league teams and skate together, and they learned that the there are other women out there just as talented and determined as any of their local heroes. What they put on the track was just part of the hard work they've put into getting there. As is so often the case in derby, everyone seems to be a winner in the end. Kill Billie told me a few days after the bout, "Hard work DOES pay off. . . . our league will only be stronger this season, and in interleague bouts next year."

Who loves Double Ds? We do.