Hey derby fans! Remember last October, when our beloved Wheels of Justice suffered heartbreak at the WFTDA Western Regionals, then brought a terrible vengeance in the form of a brutal 134-89 win over North Central top seed Windy City? Doesn’t that seem like ages ago? So much has happened since then- we rang in the New Year, the Oregon Ducks fought for the BCS Championship title (and got a power ballad), and I finally got an iPhone. Okay, a lot of other important things happened too. But unless you’re a first-time visitor to this awesome hub for Rose City Rollers news and shameless editorializing, you’ve heard it all. If you need a recap of the goings-on since the end of the Travel Team season, click here. And here. And here.
All caught up? Fantastic. Moving on…
boo d. livers jams for Detroit
This Friday, February 4th, Rose City’s all-star travel team Wheels of Justice will take on the Detroit Derby Girls of, you guessed it, Detroit, Michigan. Currently ranked #4 in the North Central region (as of WFTDA Q4 rankings), Detroit has a history of being a pretty solid team. They went 10-3 in 2010, losing only to Eastern powerhouse Philly (69-121 and 89-120) and to Minnesota in a startling Regional Play-off upset (99-118) which kept Detroit from the WFTDA Championships. Prior to the Thunda on the Tundra Regionals in September Detroit had been enjoying the #2 spot in North Central. Their loss to Minnesota dropped them to their current ranking of #4 (their showing at Regionals ended their season). Detroit has hammered out some severe punishment over the past 4 seasons (I don’t count 2006, as they played only 2 bouts), beating opponents by as much as 148pts (195-47 vs Brewcity Cruisers last season). And just like Wheels of Justice, they’ve been beaten by the best, suffering losses in past seasons to Gotham (38-187, ouch), Rocky Mountain (70-162), and like I mentioned, Philly.
Rose City’s Wheels of Justice are currently #4 in our region (the West). WoJ went 9-6 last season, triumphing over formidable foes one month, then losing to them later (they beat and lost to Rat City and B.A.D.). After the now-infamous disappointment at the Western Regionals WoJ had one final bout against Windy City (#1 in North Central), where they pulled off an impressive 134-89 win to show the derby world that they did in fact belong in the WFTDA Championships. Wheels of Justice made a major change during their off-season, giving skaters who met certain eligibility requirements the option to retire from their respective home teams and skate exclusively for Wheels of Justice (see my explanation of the “travel team only” policy). 11 skaters chose this option and have since dedicated themselves to making Wheels of Justice an even bigger and better force to be reckoned with this season.
Now let’s look at some side-to-side comparisons. Last season DDG managed a +47.5pt average. WoJ’s points average was +11.8. DDG is ranked #4 in North Central, WoJ is #4 in the West. Now there is some debate as to the level of skill and competition within the regions, so let’s also look at the Derby News Network Power Rankings, which combines all regions. Here Wheels of Justice is ranked #5, while Detroit is all the way down at #17. Detroit’s lackluster ranking is largely because they finished in 5th place in their regional playoffs and then sat the rest of the season out. Wheels of Justice grabbed the #5 spot by tenaciously beating Windy City after Regionals (and by leapfrogging over B.A.D., who lost their spot by falling to Texas in the WFTDA Championships).
Windy City's Varla Vendetta is going nowhere- photo by Steve Price
I know it’s shocking, but I’m going to have to give the edge to our Wheels of Justice here. DDG comes up with the points, but WoJ gets the job done when it counts and has momentum going into the season. Detroit suffered heartbreak at Regionals and went home dejected, tail between their legs, while WoJ dealt with their anger over Regionals by handing out some bitter justice to a top-seed team. We already laid waste to the #1 North Central team. Detroit is #4 in North Central. You do the math. I’m excited and anxious to find out if the highly-touted travel team only option delivers on its promise to make Wheels of Justice an even fiercer competitor. This is the first test. After playing WoJ Detroit goes on to play Rat City (Seattle) and Oly (Olympia, WA) on their tour of the Pacific Northwest. It all starts at the hangar this Friday, doors open at 7pm, bout starts at 8pm. Click here for more info and tickets. I’ll see you at the hangar!
Blood Clottia 2U // Cadillac V8 // Devaskating Deva 42 // Fire Crotch 16 // Heidi Go Seek 210 // Honey Hellfire 72 // JK Rolling 9 ¾ // Layla Smackdown 55 // Mel Mangles 5 // Mick Swagger 53 // Minstrel Psycho 28 days // Mobi-wan Kenobi 444 // Napalm Beth 8 // Rhea Derange 357 // Scratcher In The Eye 243 // Smack Ya Sideways 140 // SoulFearic ACID 20 // Sully Skullkicker 8 // Twat Rocket 3500 // White Flight 54
Black Eyed Skeez 313 // boo d. livers 24/7 // Cookie Rumble 33.3 // Cool Whip N20 // Del Bomber 76 // Effin Money $ // Elle Iminator 11 // Elle McFearsome 6 // Fatal Femme 46 // Honey Suckit 1974 // Polly Fester 100% // Racer McChaseHer 28 // Summers Eve-L 68 // tinja 813
**What’s that? More derby you say? Come back to the hangar the following night, February 5th, and watch two of Rose City’s home teams The Heartless Heathers and The High Rollers battle it out on the flat track. Yep, I’ll be there too!**
Just what I was wanting to read on my lunch hour. Thanks, Amanda!
Getting pretty excited to see some WoJ action again. That is one hardcore line-up they’re bringing to the track this year.