Being an Oregon Ducks fan who loyally and fervently despises the Beavers (GO DUCKS!), I was immediately intrigued by the “sibling rivalry” that this bout promises. But I simply do not have the patience to wait until May 15th to find out more. So I did what any new SuperFan would do: I begged for stories, info, any kind of fan fodder to hold me over until this epic match-up. Oh, and I did some research on my own. So here’s the story behind the rivalry:
Rat City (of Seattle) has been around longer, since April of 2004. They play in Key Arena, where they set attendance records of 5700+ fans. They are currently ranked #5 by WFTDA in the Western Region. They have a slew of talented blockers and experienced jammers. And they are undefeated this year. But they don’t have Scratcher. They don’t have Blood Clottia, or Sully, or Smack Ya, or any of the other explosive skaters our roster boasts. They don’t have a Pegacorn. They don’t have the loudest, craziest fans. And did I mention we are ranked #4 in the West, above our rivals to the north? After several years of jostling for rank and in the wake of some shameful (for them) losses to their little sisters, Rat City is coming to the Portland Expo Center with something to prove.
Wheels of Justice vs Rat City 2009 (photo by Steve Price)
In the early days of the Rose City Rollers our home teams were schooled on the track by Rat City. According to Sol Train, who remembers an alarming amount about these early match-ups, they taught us a lot about derby. So when our all-star teams first clashed helmets in September of 2008 and we handed them a shocking 63-154 loss, it felt like a dream. Although it was not a WFTDA-sanctioned bout, the message was clear: the student has become the master. Ok, maybe not the master, but boy, what an ass-kicking. Still, Rose City’s stunning victory was plagued by controversy from critics who claimed we only won because Rat City was missing so many key players. Some fought to defend our talent and hard work, and none of the naysayers were actual Rat City skaters. But it left a bad taste in the mouths of many. In our first official WFDTA-sanctioned bout the following Spring we silenced any doubts of our awesome abilities, beating Rat City 148-134 and briefly knocking them out of the DNN Top Ten.
Thus ends the bias. Here are the facts. Rat City is on an impressive 4-0 winning streak this season, beating Tuscon 270-55 and Philly 128-123, both bouts at the Wild West Showdown in Bremerton, WA last February. Since then they’ve added wins over the Dairyland Dolls of Wisconsin (175-100) and Charm City (145-103). They have several recent transfers, including Kamikaze Kim from Duke City, who was described by Lord Rolldemort as “an incendiary jammer”. Look for her to burn up the track alongside other notables such as Anya Heels and Jalapeño Business (which may be my favorite derby name since Licker*N*Split).
Wheels of Justice 2010 (photo by Steve Price)
Our Rose City All-Stars (aka Wheels of Justice) are 3-1 this season, our only loss was a close battle with 2009 National Champions Oly (149-157) at the Wild West Showdown. In that same tournament we picked up wins against Bay Area (154-27) and Philly (118-116). Last month we welcomed Charm City to the Northwest by shutting them down 135-67. Skaters to watch include the formidable blocker Smack Ya Sideways, and recent addition and lightning-fast jammer Soulfearic Acid. Powerhouse skater Cadillac racked up roughly a third of our points against Charm City last month, and whether she is blocking or donning the jammer cap her contribution on the track is always significant.
As a newcomer to the derby world I lack the insight and knowledge to analyze this match-up or to make any predictions, so for now I’ll leave that to the experts. In my humble opinion it looks to be a closer game than we’ve had so far, and I can’t wait to see what happens. Hopefully this will hold you eager fans over until we can see these ladies battle it out at the Portland Expo Center, May 15th at 6:00pm. I’ll be there, in the crash zone, remembering the words of Draggin Lady: “we just need to remind them why, bout for bout, Rose City is where it’s at”.
Check out the discussion about our rivalry with Rat City on our Fan Forum- includes input from skaters and links to photos of past RCR v RCRG match-ups.
**Rosters are current as of 5/1/2010, and are not the official line-ups for the May 15th bout, which I will add if I can get them**
Anya Heels 6 // Carmen Getsome 12 // Drea the Slaya 6 // Georgia O’Grief 2 // Hard Cora 247 // Ima Handful 19 // Jalapeño Business 22 // Juliet Bravo 76 // Kamikaze Kim 00 // Katarina Whip 60 // Nasty Trick 40 // Primp Daddy 73 // Reanimate Her 31 // Rebel Belle 711 // Sara Problem 26 // Shedonist 615 // Sirius Mischief 9 // Valtron 3000 // Wile E. Peyote 21 // X-Khan 18
Axl Blows 52 // Blood Clottia 2U // Cadillac V8 // Chest Nutz 127 // Honey Hellfire 72 // J.K. Rolling 93 // Layla Smackdown 55 // Licker*N*Split 52 // Mercyful Kate 80 // Mick U Cry 53 // Miss Mel Mangles 5 // Mobi-wan Kenobi 444 // Napalm Beth 74 // Rhea DeRange 357 // Scrappy Go Lucky 594 // Scratcher in the Eye 243 // Smack Ya Sideways 140 // Soulfearic Acid 20 // Sully Skullkicker 8 // Wreck Deckard 23
Excellent! I can’t wait for the bout!!!
Fabulous debut blog post!
Love it!
very nice write-up, indeed. new derby-lovers that jump right in.