Atlanta Roller Girls - previously completed item #97

Atlanta Roller Girls, a photo by Jeff__ on Flickr.

Dirty South Derby Girls vs Cincinnati Black Sheep

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© 2010 CarrPhotography; all rights reserved

I remembered roller derby when I was a kid but the sport seemed to have faded away as I grew older. I noticed a few years back a resurgence in popularity with all-female roller derby or the Atlanta "Roller Girls" as the local organization is named here. My interest piqued, I requested tickets from my wife for my birthday. Mrs. C was a little tentative but she did buy us tickets. I enjoyed it more than my wife but I don't think it was that big of a turn off for Elizabeth which would prevent her from attending again.

As with wrestling, one sees spectators of all ages and personalities from kids to grandmas to Pabst Blue Ribbon drinking couples.   It seemed the only drunk people in the place were right behind us; they weren't horrible in behavior but still a bit annoying. The rules of play and scoring were explained to the audience beforehand so we were definitely able to follow along.  The humor from the team cheer squad was a bit risque but fine. The names the women had were funny ("Nora Gretz", "Slamborghini", "Regreta Garbo", etc); in fact one of my daughter's school teachers was a former Roller Girl; "Teacher Pain". :)  I have much respect for their dedication and athleticism; that is a rough but exciting game.