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CAROLINA ROLLERGIRLS ROLLER DERBY | INTERLEAGUE BOUT 2 WRAPUP
Raleigh, North Carolina - January 29, 2006... The Mid-Winter Meltdown. The ladies from the land of a thousand lakes made their way down to Brawleigh for a little derby action, the second of the two interleague bouts between the teams. The Minnesota Rollergirls took the first bout up north in a rough and tumble match... but I don't think they could have imagined the intensity that awaited them in the bout down south. Vince Lombardi, who knows a few things about winning, once said "Winning isn't everything, but the will to win is everything." This past Sunday, the Carolina Rollergirls had the heart, the skill and the will to get things done. But they don't sacrifice their bodies for nothing... winning is the thing they are after in the end... and winning is what they did. After all, the scoreboard is in place for a reason... thus Lombardi also quipped "If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?" I am sure if old Vince was still around, he would be a derby fan!
A more than sellout crowd eagerly awaited the start of the match. This was the largest crowd I have seen thus far and they were rowdy. Some of them had great homemade signs supporting their hometown rollergirls. Not only were the ladies of Brawleigh playing for their own pride, but for the pride of their city and the great fans in Raleigh. It was great to see this kindof support, and the Carolina girls put on a helluva show for their fans.
Each team started off with a slew of points, with Carolina taking a slight scoring edge... going up by 2. Minnesota quickly took the lead by a small margin, but Carolina stormed back in a matter of minutes behind Princess America's 3 points to regain the lead. They took advantage of Minnesota's Mitzi Massacre pulling double duty in the penalty box. Then Carolina went on a bit of a scoring run, boosted by Teflon Donna's 8 points, and went ahead by 9 before Minnesota closed the gap again... this time to 6 points. The scoring went back and forth for a few jams, when Penelope Bruz of Carolina went down hard and had to come off the floor with an arm injury. The bout stayed close for the next few jams, with Carolina maintaining their small lead, until Roxy Rockett busted out 10 points in one jam to give Carolina an 11 point advantage bringing us to the end of the half.
Halftime was kicked off by Robo Sapien, who played a great set to get the derby fans on the floor. Once the tunes were done, it was time for the spinning of the wheel. Arm wrestling came up for the penalty challenge and Zella Lugosi of Carolina squared off with Patty Whack of Minnesota to battle for an extra point for their team. In a quick win, the Minnesota girls find themselves with a bonus point to start off the second half. Also during the halftime break, injured Carolina player Penelope Bruz fought through the pain, taped her arm stiff... and got back out there to throw down. It was only after the bout that she discovered her arm was broken. That shows you the toughness of these Carolina girls.
So now after the scoring adjustment from the penalty challenge, the second half gets kicked off with Carolina up by 10 points at a score of 69-59. After the first few jams of the second half, Minnesota managed to cut the lead in half before closing within 2 points a few jams later. The bout was close until Violet Femme cranked out a whopping 13 points in one jam to get Carolina's lead back up to 12. Minnesota started to scratch and claw their way back into the bout, and once again cut the lead down to 5... but in the subsequent two jams, Carolina racked up enough points to get the lead up to 12 again. Unfortunately, Carolina's Shirley Temper went down with a shoulder injury during the action. Even with a valiant effort by Minnesota in the next few bouts, the Carolina Rollergirls proved to be too much on this day... taking the match by a final of 136-126.
After Minnesota took the first interleague bout between the two teams last year, Carolina was determined to get their revenge on their home turf... and they did. The Minnesota team was good, but not good enough this time. The Carolina speed seemed to be the one thing that Minnesota could not contend with. This is the fastest I have seen them skate... and they have been fast as hell in the past. You could tell that Carolina wanted it more. While Minnesota was handcuffed by the playing surface... with them being used to concrete instead of hardwood, ultimately I do not think this was a huge factor. I would think the softer wood surface would be easier to adjust to than the other way around.
The Carolina Rollergirls continue to impress and continue to put on a great sporting event. They continue to be tough, and are representing Brawleigh with all the femme and fury of wheeled goddesses cast from the fires of Mount Olympus. Their will to win and the ability to go along with it put them a notch ahead of Minnesota in this match. The Skate Ranch was full, and if they continue to draw the type of crowds they do... we might be seeing them in a larger venue. Tickets were tough to come by this time, and Evil Ed even mentioned a story about a pair of guys who traveled from Greensboro to see the bout, even with the knowledge that it sold out early. They made the typical, "I Need Tickets" sign, walked the parking lot, and then happily spent $40 on a pair of
tickets to get in the door. Derby is getting big in Raleigh and the crowds are pouring in to prove it. It was great to see them get the win, and all of their fans are proud to back them. To finish with another sentiment from Vince Lombardi, "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing."
» Carolina Rollergirls Overall Stats
» Minnesota Rollergirls Overall Stats
Next up for the Carolina Rollergirls, they face off 20 other leagues across the country in the Dust Devil Invitational, February 24-26 in Tucson, AZ.
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