A passion unlike any other...

So those who know me well, know that I LOVE football...eat, sleep, live for football. The off season is a time of mourning for me. But, recently I have found a new love. One, I did not expect, one that...I am currently obsessed with. I'm talking about roller derby...specifically, flat track women's derby. Haha, yes the women are cute and all that but I really do love the sport. I really enjoy playing chess...and the way I see it, roller derby is a rolling fast version of chess...instead of a board-you have a track and instead of pieces-you have people. Each side with a strategy and every person has a specific title, position and role. It's like nothing I have ever known, and it's not fake by any means. I have season tickets on the floor which lines the track...I am only 10 feet at most away from the boundaries of the track itself with only a foot high bumper separating me from any sort of disaster. Which by the way...is so freaking cool. Last Saturday night was the Rat City Rollergirls charity bouts and during one of the bouts a freak accident occurred that sent two girls flying into the air and one landing and then skidding into the bumper in front of me...she pushed it closer with her momentum and was so close I could touch her. Scared the crap out of me...she didn't move for over a minute. Was helped up by medical staff and later joined back up with her team in another bout. Amazing.

Many of my facebook "friends" are members of the Rat City Rollergirls which is basically the main league and then there are 4 teams within the league. The Throttle Rockets, the Derby Liberation Front, Socket Wenches and Grave Danger. It is the captain of Grave Danger that got me hooked on roller derby. I met her while going to physical therapy, if you recall I have mentioned her before...Carmen Getsome (aka Lacey). While we aren't really friends I was so intrigued by what she said and how freaking celebrity like she was that I bought season tickets. And so, this new passion...this love affair if you will, I give all credit to her. With a little credit sprinkled in for the "friends" on facebook who play for the Rat City Rollergirls. I cannot wait until the next bout which is in Feb.

I took lots of photos, but inside photography is not my forte and so many were blurry and pretty much useless, however there were a few that I managed to salvage and will now share with you. There are leagues sprouting up all over the world and while they may not all be flat track like the Rat City Rollergirls, there are banked track leagues as well...in fact, a new league just started here in Everett for banked derby...I think they are called the Tilted Rail Birds. I have not been to one of their bouts but am thinking of volunteering to get my name out there and meet some people. For any of you that have not seen the movie Whip It with Drew Barrymore...I highly recommend it. Gives you just a tiny taste of the passion I have newly found. And if I were more athletic and didn't pull a muscle with just a simple sneeze, I would be a roller derby girl.

Welcome to a passion unlike any other, please keep your hands and feet inside until the ride comes to a full and complete stop...

The score board.

One of the bumpers I was talking about.

Quadzilla of Grave Danger doing pre game stunts.

Grave Danger vs. The Throttle Rockets

Carmen Getsome as lead jammer...you can tell she is the jammer by the star on her helmet. Jammers are the only members who can score points.

Another shot of Carmen Getsome as a member of the pack trying to block the other teams jammer.

The occasional fall down...and when I say occasional, I mean very frequent.

After the bouts, I thought I would take a night shot of the Seattle Space Needle...not my best work but you get the idea.