Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes

The trip this past weekend was a new one. I paid my first visit to Indianapolis, to see the Circle City Derby Girls (CCDG) play a home doubleheader. I had seen Circle City play three times before: they played at the Cincinnati Rollergirls' Silent Lambs, then their rookies played an exhibition bout here in Toledo, then earlier this season, they played here against Glass City for a full bout. I have really enjoyed watching them skate in the past, and I searched in vain for an opportunity to visit them in Indy last season. Saturday's bout happened to fit into my travel schedule (between two weekends in Cincy), and I was excited for the opportunity to visit the Forum at Fishers.

I dropped off my dog for her overnight play date and got on the road Saturday morning. I made my way across to Indiana and down I-69 to Fort Wayne to pick up my fraternity brother, Mark, who was joining me for the festivities. He was not a derby virgin, having seen a few bouts in Fort Wayne, so it wasn't necessary for me to explain the rules and such. We caught up a bit as we made a smooth drive the rest of the way to our hotel. Upon our arrival, we were told that the hotel had experienced a power outage, and that only some of the power was back online. Namely, the elevator and TV/Internet were completely down, and each guest room had power to either the main living area or the bathroom, but not both. Mark volunteered to go upstairs and see which one our proposed room had, and he reported power in the main room, so we opted to finish checking in. We were cautiously optimistic that by the time we returned, eight hours or so later, things would be fixed.

We had decided to have dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise before the bout. I am a big Jimmy Buffett fan, having seen him in concert more than a dozen times and in four different cities. I did visit his other restaurant chain, Margaritaville Cafe, on a drive down to Key West when I was a law student in Miami. I always wanted to eat at Cheeseburger in Paradise while on one of my many visits to Chicago, but it's pretty far out in the suburbs, and just not worth the drive. The decor was pretty much what one would expect from a Buffett eatery, with beach chairs in the waiting area and a tiki bar in the middle. I was a bit surprised by the music, however. I expected either an all-Jimmy playlist or the Radio Margaritaville satellite radio station. Instead, we got a Buffett song every fifth or sixth tune, and some off-mood choices (Nickelback, Run-DMC) thrown in among various country songs. At least the restaurant lived up to its name when it came to my entree. I opted for the "Chesapeake Bay Burger," which is topped with a medley of cheeses, lump crab meat, and crab-and-spinach dip. It and the fries were excellent, and we polished everything off in record time.

We made one more quick stop on the way to the Forum at Fishers, knowing that we could make the 6pm "doors open" with a few minutes to spare. Upon pulling into the parking lot, it seemed like there were quite a few cars there over an hour before the first bout. When I opened the car door, I could hear the garbled sounds of a PA system bleeding through the wall. What kind of place runs PA announcements before the doors even open? At that moment, I got a sinking feeling. Had I actually checked the time on the tickets, or did I just assume the CRG schedule of doors at 6pm, bout at 7pm? A quick look at the tickets confirmed that I had been incorrect, and we were glad that we at least arrived before the action started.

We made our way into the Forum, which is primarily an ice hockey arena. The wall behind the team benches was covered with hockey banners, while a set of bleachers five or six rows high sat behind the boards, running the entire length of the backstretch. Ample space for suicide seating surrounded the track, especially in the "end zones," where another four or five rows of folding chairs were available behind it. As we walked in and made our way around the outside of the track, the first and most obvious thing I noticed was the air conditioning. After the previous week's sauna at the Cincinnati Gardens, it felt great. We made our way to my favorite derby-watching position, turn three, but had to settle for seats in the second row of chairs. I have done suicide seating at a number of venues before, but not recently, and my legs and back begged to be spared three hours sitting on the floor. I readied my scorebook to take notes, while Mark wandered off to get programs and a frozen custard cone.

Before I move on with the bout recaps, it's disclaimer time! I am merely a fan, not a journalist. While I do watch the action carefully, I'm very likely to mess up a detail here and there. A few factors made my job difficult this time, mainly difficulty reading numbers on jerseys (especially the Dire Skates), and some scoreboard issues (points suddenly appearing from previous jams, the fact that it was more or less behind me). And now, on with the recaps.

*** The evening's first bout featured the homestanding Circle City Derby Girls (CCDG) Party Crashers (B-Team) versus the Dire Skates of Richmond, Indiana. Cassie Khaos took the line for CCDG, while Foxy Hellrider opposed her in the first jam. Circle City's Megan Enemies provided an excellent assist to allow Cassie a clear lane on the inside, and the resulting grand slam gave CCDG a 5-0 lead. Nova Blaze followed with a clean 4-0 for Circle City, and after a scoreless jam, Dire jammer Maniac Jack was sent to the penalty box. The Party Crashers' pack did an excellent job slowing things down, enabling Cassie to collect two grand slams before she went to the sin bin herself. The Dire Skates managed three points after the jammer switch, and the score stood at 19-3 in favor of CCDG.

*** Foxy Hellrider started the next jam all by herself, but she apparently didn't realize that her pack had given her a "no pack" kneeling start. She stood by as the pack inched ahead, and her advantage slowly ticked away. A good opportunity for the ladies from Richmond turned into a scoreless jam. With 23 minutes remaining in the half, Nova Blaze again took the star for CCDG, going against Dire's RollHer Zombie. CCDG's Cherry Slapstick and Jackie Bauer provided a solid wall at the back, and Nova Blaze chewed up the open track en route to a 20-1 jam. Circle City's excellent pack play continued on the following jam, as it put on the brakes to force a 20-foot call and give jammer Wrecker Becker lead status on the way to a 14-0 result. CCDG's Strawberry Smackquiri threw a punishing block to keep Dire off the board, and Circle City's lead was 53-4.

*** The Dire Skates caught a break on the next jam, as Cassie Khaos was sent off on a major back block. With the help of a sharp assist by pivot Stubborn Itch, Dire picked up two grand slams. Unfortunately, any chance for Dire to keep the momentum was lost to yet another jammer penalty. Nova Blaze and Wrecker Becker started the next two jams unopposed, and CCDG picked up a combined 24-0. On the very next jam, Dire's Emily KickNsum took the star to the box, and Cassie Khaos called the jam quickly to give CCDG's next jammer a solo start. Circle City's pack took a knee, and a wall of four Dire skaters couldn't so much as slow Nova Blaze, who collected a pair of grand slams. With nine minutes to go in the half, the game was getting out of hand, and CCDG led, 90-14.

*** After a pair of scoreless jams, Jackie Bauer completely shut down the Dire jammer at the front of the pack, giving Nova Blaze a clean 6-0 jam. The next time out, Wrecker Becker took the jammer penalty for CCDG, but her pack (Nova Blaze, Bunnie Low-Browski, Dread Pirate Roberta, and Barb Dwyer) did an excellent job killing it off, allowing Dire a mere 2-0 victory. A pair of uneventful jams left the score 96-20 in favor of CCDG at the half.

*** The second half began with CCDG scoring 30 unanswered points over the first five jams. Foxy Hellrider then scored a 2-0 jam, significant because it was the only jam in which Nova Blaze lost the point differential (9 wins, 1 loss, 1 tie). The next three jams were a blur of penalties, and the score stood at CCDG 132, Dire 31, with 13 minutes remaining. Four mostly uneventful jams pushed the Circle City advantage to 108 before Dire's Necessary Roughness showed some nice speed and balance to win a 9-0 jam over CCDG's Megan Enemies. The Party Crashers took the next four jams by a total of 22-0, a stretch highlighted by Jackie Bauer picking up a grand slam in her first jam of the evening and Nova Blaze showing off some nifty jukes to add a 4-0 of her own. Jackie Bauer and RollHer Zombie tallied four points each as time expired, leaving CCDG with a 175-54 victory.

*** The Party Crashers used a three-jammer rotation for most of the bout. The most effective of them, and the bout co-MVP, was Nova Blaze. As previously mentioned, she won the point differential on nine of eleven jams, for a cumulative score of 68-5 in her favor. Nova showed nice speed and seemed equally comfortable racing by on the outside or picking her way through a congested pack. She had excellent balance and seemed to shrug off most of the hits from the Dire Skates' blockers. Perhaps most importantly, I don't believe she took the jammer's star to the penalty box even once. Nova even chipped in with some effective blocking when she wasn't wearing the star.

*** Wrecker Becker looked like the fastest skater on the track for this bout, and she also wasn't afraid to pound her way through an opposing wall a few times. She did take a few jammer penalties, but her teammates mostly bailed her out with some great penalty killing. Cassie Khaos had a few big jams, but also succumbed to the whistle a few times. Toward the end of the bout, both Jackie Bauer and Megan Enemies got into the action from the jammer line, taking the star twice each. While Megan was shut out in her attempts, Jackie acquitted herself well, winning one jam and tying the other.

*** Primarily for her blocking work, Jackie Bauer is my other co-MVP for the Party Crashers. She had a great combination of nimble feet for positional blocking and powerful shoulders to lay a big hit. Strawberry Smackquiri also received some consideration, based on her strong work at the back of the pack. Bunnie Low-Browski showed off some punishing hits, while Bona Contention seemed to be everywhere, doing a great job on both offensive and defensive pack play.

*** For the Dire Skates, Foxy Hellrider was tireless from the jammer line. She took the star on 13 occasions, and although she won only three of those, she showed good toughness and some nice moves. Aside from Foxy, Dire employed a very eclectic jammer corps, including RollHer Zombie, Emily KickNsum, Malice B. Stopless, Maniac Jack, Necessary Roughness, and Six Inch Killettos. The strange rotation left none of them truly able to establish a rhythm against tough CCDG packs. Dire's packs often seemed disorganized, and they had significant trouble keeping walls together. Unfortunately, the difficult-to-read numbers on Dire's jerseys made it very difficult for me to single out praiseworthy skaters within the packs.

*** After a short intermission, which featured a kids hockey contest and me voraciously downing a cake batter flavored custard cone, it was time for the second bout. The visiting Des Moines Derby Dames brought only eight skaters (maximum roster is 14) to clash with the CCDG Socialites (A-Team). While the Dames were outnumbered, they were by no means overmatched. CCDG's Roll-R-Damage took the first jam of the bout by a slim 1-0 margin over Des Moines' Cosmo Disco. For the next 16 minutes, it was all Des Moines. The aptly named Stella Italiana ("stella" means "star" in Italian) was buonissima in taking advantage of Circle City jammer Vivi Section's penalty. The Dames' pack moved like a precision timepiece, always in the right spot, and Stella flew around the track, at one point getting a hellacious shirt-whip from Show Stopper. The jam ended 24 points later.

*** From there, things fell into a pattern. The Des Moines pack would beat on the Circle City jammer until she took a penalty. Then, Des Moines would quickly call the jam and bring in Stella (who also skates for derby powerhouse Oly Rollers) to jam unopposed for the big power jam. On the third jam, the imposing Des Moines blocker Megger Bomb unleashed hit after punishing hit on petite CCDG jammer Liberty Spykes. Liberty eventually incurred a penalty for a track cut, and the Dames' Autopsy Turvey immediately called the jam. Then, Stella came in and scored an unopposed 23 points, bringing the CCDG deficit to 51-1 after just nine minutes of play.

*** CCDG's Robin Sock'em was the next jammer to head to the sin bin, but this time, her pack killed the penalty nicely. Faye Stunaway and Salacious T formed a sweet double bridge to prevent their front blockers from going past the 20-foot mark, and Kimmie S'more finished the action with an emphatic jammer take-out. Unfortunately, Roll-R-Damage went to the box on the very next jam, and the pattern repeated, with Stella scoring 9-0 on the ensuing power jam. Cosmo Disco then picked up nine points on two far-too-easy passes to the outside. I'm not certain that she was even touched on either scoring pass. Autopsy Turvey added another 11, as Stella did some nice blocking, forming a tough twosome at the back of the pack with MOAB to bottle up Liberty Spykes. Des Moines had scored 82 unanswered points to take a commanding lead midway through the first half.

*** Robin Sock'em came out for the next jam, and she finally put an end to the carnage, using her speed and nimble footwork to rack up nine points. Salacious T put a big hit on The Dames' Smallsbury Steak to keep her from getting through the pack, and Smallsbury eventually was sent to the box near the end of the jam. Roll-R-Damage started the next jam solo, but she was slowed by an excellent front wall. CCDG's Shock Hop sacrificed herself, drawing an obvious penalty in order to break up the wall and allow her teammate to score. Roll-R-Damage picked up eight points before being sent off herself, and Smallsbury Steak picked up nine after the jammer switch, putting the score at Des Moines 91, Circle City 18.

*** The next three jams were relatively uneventful, and Des Moines added to their lead with a cumulative 12-2 margin. On the ensuing jam, Roll-R-Damage was held back by a great front three-wall of Autopsy Turvey, MOAB, and Neuro Sis. Des Moines' jammer Cosmo Disco eventually took a trip to the sin bin, and Roll-R-Damage took a quick four points before calling it off. Vivi Section then had a chance to jam unopposed, but a great jammer take-out by MOAB left the jam scoreless. Cosmo Disco again came out to jam, racking up a grand slam against Liberty Spykes before a thunderous hit by Ionic Bondage sent her hard to the floor on the outside. Cosmo was shaken up, and the jam was called for her to receive some medical attention. She would not return to jam for the remainder of the night, but I'm not sure if she returned as a blocker. A quick 3-2 jam for Des Moines closed the half at 111-26.

*** The second half was dramatically different from the first. Big point totals for individual jams were rare, and the teams seemed very evenly matched. After Autopsy Turvey started things off with a quick 4-0, Robin Sock'em took the line for CCDG against Show Stopper. Both packs did some nice work, but Faye Stunaway cleared out blocker Stella Italiana to give Robin lead jammer status, which she converted into a grand slam.

*** A pair of low-scoring jams passed, and then Roll-R-Damage lined up against Stella. The CCDG pack had made a major adjustment at halftime. Throughout the first half, Circle City had tried to set up two-walls, but mostly ended up as four individual blockers. Stella, with her explosive speed and quick cuts, danced through time and time again. In the second half, CCDG went primarily to three-walls and kept them together, leaving Stella fewer gaps and knocking her down or out of bounds more consistently. The strategy change worked well in this instance, as Stella took the star to the penalty box. Circle City's pack displayed a textbook example of trapping a blocker and slowing the pack, giving Roll-R-Damage a chance to put ten points on the board. That 10-2 result was the highest point total for any jam in the second half, and it shrunk the deficit to 120-42.

*** After Stella took a quick, sharp 4-0 jam, Vivi Section put together her best jam of the bout. Vivi was extremely quick and decisive in and out of her cuts, generally going against three blockers with no assists from her pack. On her first scoring pass, she squeezed past the final Des Moines blocker on the outside, tip-toeing by to stay just to the inside of the boundary. Thanks to her great moves and balance, she won the jam 8-0. A series of forgettable jams then left the score at 130-58 in favor of Des Moines, with 15 minutes remaining.

*** From there, neither team managed to score more than five points on a single jam. The most exciting moment of this final portion of the game came when jammer Robin Sock'em took a strong whip in turn two, only to be thrown into the business end of a punishing hit. Over the last 15 minutes, CCDG outscored their opponent by a slim 30-24. The final score was Des Moines 154, Circle City 88.

*** Circle City employed a four-jammer rotation throughout the bout. While it's a close call, I decided on Robin Sock'em as my co-MVP for the Socialites. Robin won the point differential on six of her ten jams, including five of six in the second half. She wasn't the fastest jammer on the track, but she was extremely tough, and she seemed to have an edge in the mental game. Robin made smart decisions and yielded only a single, low-scoring power jam via jammer penalty. This quiet consistency earned her the nod as the top jammer for her squad.

*** Roll-R-Damage was the same fast, strong, and aggressive skater I remembered from the bout against Glass City. While she did get out of control once in a while, her passion for the sport made it easy to see why she's a crowd favorite. In terms of pure, all-around talent, she may well be the best in her league. Vivi Section had an up-and-down game, but once her team got it together in the second half, she proved easily the equal of her talented opponents. Like most of the Socialites jammers, her stature makes her dependent on great pack work at times, but she also showed the skill to take control of a jam on her own when necessary. Liberty Spykes had difficulty getting on track, as she was consistently battered by the excellent Des Moines blockers. She has excellent speed, and she was able to keep pace with Stella Italiana on the open track, but Liberty often found herself stranded at the back of the pack.

*** Quite a few blockers turned in noteworthy performances for CCDG. Chief among them was my other co-MVP, Faye Stunaway. Faye has good size and speed, and she's certainly able to send an opponent into the suicide seats. Her greatest attribute by far, however, is her derby acumen. She is one of the smartest skaters I have seen, and she always seems to see things develop just before others do. So many times in this bout, she used her good lateral quickness to slide into an opening, shutting down an opponent's lane or providing an assist just when her jammer needed it.

*** Other effective Circle City blockers included Salacious T, who provided the muscle with some powerful hits. Trouble Helix helped in dishing out the pain. Kimmie S'more joined in the hit parade, while Lady Miss Bier and Ionic Bondage quietly turned in good performances, especially in the second half.

*** For Des Moines, Stella Italiana was clearly the, er... star. She was lightning fast and had the shifty moves of a star running back. Autopsy Turvey and Cosmo Disco were also impressive with the star. On the blocking side, I was extremely impressed by Megger Bomb, who has excellent quickness to go with her size and power. MOAB also did some excellent work in the pack, joining Show Stopper in shutting down the Circle City attack in the first half.

After the bouts, we made the short trek over to Claude and Annie's for the after-party. It was a bit slow at first, and we grabbed a booth and ordered some appetizers. I had told Mark on the way down that I would not likely sing anything at karaoke, but held out the possibility of doing Biz Markie's "Just a Friend." He took a song list and jotted a few down as I scanned the door for skaters with whom I wanted to chat. He took his slips up to the DJ, and within a few minutes, he was earning his title as the white man with the least rhythm in the world. He stole the only song I would have considered, and I decided to spare the crowd my attempts at singing.

I spotted Roll-R-Damage and sent a drink her way. She was very gracious and friendly when she made her way over to say hello. She remembered the good things I had to say about her in an earlier post, and I really enjoyed talking to her. I used the same tactic to meet both Vivi Section and Robin Sock'em, both of whom were very sweet and willing to share their insights. As I waded into the crowd near the Karaoke stage, I managed to catch up with both of the Circle City Skaters I had previously met, Faye Stunaway and Liberty Spykes. Both of them were as bright and charming as I remembered. Just before we paid our tab, I managed to catch up with Nova Blaze. We had a short, but fun, conversation. I definitely look forward to seeing all of them again, and hopefully meeting more, when I return to Indy for North Central Regionals this fall.

We left the bar and made the short drive back to our hotel, where power had been fully restored. A bit of channel surfing closed out the evening, and we decided to sleep in before heading out of town. We weren't ready to leave the hotel until after 11am, so we discussed lunch options. I was secretly thinking I'd be more than happy to go back to Cheeseburger in Paradise, when Mark unexpectedly suggested just that. After a good lunch, I took him back to Fort Wayne and continued my easy drive home to Toledo.

So, I'll finish with my overall impressions of the trip.

THE GOOD:

*** The roller derby action. Granted, the teams weren't on the level of many others I've seen this year (Rose, Denver, Cincy, Windy, and such), but there were excellent skills on display. The caliber of play was strong, much better than I'd expect of WFTDA Apprentice leagues. Circle City has grown so much in terms of their play since I first saw them, and I truly believe this is a team on the rise.

*** The "cool" parts of the venue. Namely, the air conditioning and the outstanding frozen custard.

*** The (minimal) between-bout activities. The only non-derby activity was the kids having a hockey shooting contest. The absence of filler allowed for two full 60-minute bouts.

*** The charity. Paws and Think connects at-risk people with at-risk pets, and it was nice to see them with a table and a presence at the bout. I was very disappointed at the prior week's CRG bout when I brought a number of games and items for the Yellow Ribbon Project, only to find nothing but a small, unmanned box on the floor of one concourse.

*** The after-party. This was very different from my two most recent after-parties, the overpriced dance club at Wild West Showdown and the semi-private room and general cliquishness (I'm not sure that's a word) of Cincinnati. The bar had good munchies, and the skaters were much more willing to engage with fans than at any other I've attended. Although I'm not generally a fan of karaoke, it seemed to set a good tone for getting people to mingle and enjoy the evening. Of course, the best part was getting to talk with some great skaters and fun people!

*** The food at Cheeseburger in Paradise. Mmmmm, Chesapeake Bay Burger.

THE BAD:

*** The venue in general. I've been spoiled by the bigger crowds and more derby-centric set-ups of places like the Cincinnati Gardens, the UIC Pavilion, and even Toledo's Seagate Centre. By my count, there couldn't have been more than 200-300 fans in attendance, and they weren't too vocal for the most part. Also, the hockey scoreboard was tough to see from my end of the room, and it couldn't manage the triple-digit scores common to roller derby.

*** The lack of a meet-and-greet / autograph session at the venue after the bout. Circle City should take a cue from CRG on this, as this type of thing would really help to build the fan base (especially families).

*** The fact that smoking is allowed inside Claude and Annie's. I've come to appreciate states such as Ohio and Michigan, where I can go to a bar and not inhale smoke all night.

*** The music at Cheeseburger in Paradise.

THE UGLY:

*** Mark's rendition of "Just a Friend" at karaoke.

THE FINAL VERDICT: In the end, this roller derby trip was unlike any other I'd experienced, in ways good, bad, and just different. I continued to be more impressed by Circle City as a league, and I'm certainly willing to plan one or more trips to see them skate next season. I know that Indy has multiple derby leagues, but I hope local fans come out in greater numbers to support CCDG in future bouts. Thanks to the Circle City Derby Girls for inviting me down!




(Edited by Ruby)