In the days that followed I did a little research and mentioned to her that Atlanta had its own
roller derby league. She was surprised
and excited, so we made plans to attend their next bout. Being the newbies that
we were, we decided to simply drive down to the venue to purchase tickets at
the door. When we arrived, it was a
party scene with vendors, a band, and a bevy of open containers. At the ticket counter, we learned that Atlanta bouts sell out several days in
advance, and it wasn’t likely that we’d be seeing them skate that night. As it turned out, the derby goddesses were smiling down upon us
for two people were
trying to unload their tickets just as we were denied admission. Our timing was impeccable.
The event itself was memorable.
The game actually moved slower than I had expected. Having grown up in the ‘70s, I was exposed to
vintage roller derby with banked tracks and brawling babes. This however was something much different. It was more serious, and more strategic. And while at first I was disappointed at the
lack of spectacle, I began to appreciate it for what it was… a sport.
After the bout, my bride talked incessantly about derby, and
how she’d like to look into joining such a league. The next several months involved open skate
invitations, training sessions, try-outs, rejection, skate purchases,
rejuvenation, bearing purchases, more try-outs, wheel purchases, eventually culminating in her attaining fresh
meat status for the Atlanta
league. It was a whirlwind of emotions that had flung our lives around for nearly a year before she finally reached this
point. But the success was short-lived. After a setback due to injury,
she failed to pass her assessments, and once again she was sent to the back
of the line.
While on this rollercoaster, she had met some women from
another league interested in starting a new league in Marietta .
Their attempts to enlist my queen sparked new fire in her for this sport
which she yearned to play. It was then
that I began to see a transformation in her.
She’s always been confident and straight-speaking; two traits which I admire most about her. So this transformation didn’t necessarily build confidence in her, but rather, it gave her purpose. She had finally found something which she was deeply passionate about, (besides me of course).
With this new motivation, we essentially switched roller
coasters mid-ride. And this track took
many unexpected turns involving a new learning curve; one involving business. Starting a league from scratch was daunting,
yet she embraced it whole-heartedly. As
I watched, I saw that this new effort highlighted her strengths as a natural
leader and motivator, recruiting and supporting other women like her who just
wanted to play roller derby.
Amidst the noise surrounding this new venture, her
skating and derby skills quietly began to improve. I can recall the day when she came home from
practice to tell me that she finally (and suddenly) figured out how to do the plow
stop. That devil was finally beaten. There was nothing she couldn’t achieve.
It’s been a year and a half and I recently trekked about 90
minutes to see my wife bout for the first time at a scrimmage with Scenic City . It was a laid-back event, but was treated as
a genuine bout, replete with admission, fans, refs, and concessions. I didn’t know what to expect but used it as
an opportunity to take some action photos.
I watched as the love of my life, Vexing Violet, found her footing and
blocked during her first jam. I could
tell that the track was a little slick for her but she persevered.
The bout began slowly, and her team struggled
to score points. About 10 or so jams
into the first half, she was called upon to play the role of jammer. Again, not knowing what to expect, I watched her
blaze her way through the pack, taking lead jammer status and scoring the
team’s first substantial points. To my
novice eyes, she was a natural, but more important, I was witnessing a side to her
which I had never seen before. For the
first time, I viewed her as an athlete. I
was excited for her, but also for me.
Having endured what it has taken for her to get to this
point, I now better understand the allure of roller derby. It’s not solely about the opportunity to
display a bad-ass persona, or about the sisterhood of derby, or even about the
punny names they choose for their alter egos.
More significantly, it’s about becoming someone who you’ve always wanted to
be, and the journey to make that your reality.
So be it Lipstick Thespian, Lucy in Disguise, Purple Hazel,
or her final settled-upon moniker of Vexing Violet, my wife has become the
person that’s always been lurking beneath her surface, waiting to show the world
what she can do.
And so begins our derby life.
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