Got an email in my inbox for next week’s Gotham Girls Roller Derby Game, which I am thinking about going to (but am still on the fence as I don’t know how long the Bike Fashion Festival will run). And I figured I’d check and see who was playing and if their photo policy is still the same (it seems to be). I haven’t checked them out in a while, ever since they moved on to bigger venues and left the “good old days” of small operations at Key Rink (ironically, although they have bigger venues and higher ticket prices, they seem to be more financially insecure as their expenses have skyrocketed). I figured I’d check to see what Rolletta Lynn was up to, as she retired at the end of last year (she’s RollerDerby Royalty, having been part of the national resurgence from the start in Texas, to helping found the NYC league).
Shocked, SHOCKED I was to find out that nearly half of the players from the last time I saw a game have retired. I knew that the sport was rough on the players, but I wasn’t expected so many of my favorites to be gone. Joey hardcore – out. Baby Ruthless – gone. Leggs Luthor – out. Carmen Monoxide – retired. Sugar Smacks, Tyranny Sue, Sharyn Payne – all gone. And my favorite, because the name was so punny and the outfits were so cute – Penny Larceny? She’s left the building too.
It’s really been nearly three years? WTF?! I mean, I’m glad to see Ariel Assault, Ann Phatamean, and Suzy “You Can’t Stop Her, You Can’t Even Contain Her” Hotrod are still there, but what the hey?! And Lil’ Red Terror is still skating?! She had to wear an eyepatch for an entire season, and she’s still in the game? Does time really go by that fast?
