Let’s Play Two – Title Challengers Get Acquainted in Coney Island

They’ve already stamped their ticket to the Gotham Girls Roller Derby league home team championship game, but before the Queens of Pain and the Brooklyn Bombshells head to John Jay College on August 29, they will first meet in the second game of the GGRD doubleheader at the Abe Stark Arena in Coney Island on Saturday.

The bout poses an interesting dilemma for both squads. Is this an opportunity to come out all guns blazing and send a message to their opponents, or is it a chance to simply stay sharp and test out strategies against the team they will face for all the marbles in a month?

With both teams holding an unbeaten record and wanting to keep it that way, expect the usual level of intensity, along with some serious scouting going on at the same time.

“We’re absolutely not looking at it as just another game,” said Queens’ Whiskey Lullabye. “We want an undefeated season – that is our number one goal – and we think we have a chance to do that. So we’re going into this game with just as much seriousness as we went into our first two games of the season.”

“[The Bombshells] have trained really hard and the tone of the season is a very serious one,” adds Brooklyn’s Lady Fingers. “We have been meshing really well and we go into every game with the intention of winning and playing our best, so even though it’s like having the same game twice, we may be trying some other stuff out. Because we’re going to be facing them again, it’s good litmus test to see what’s working really well and what’s not working, and then have some more time to focus on those things before the championship game.”

Competing against each other in the league’s first BQE title game, Brooklyn and Queens have taken similar paths to the final, each having trouble with the Manhattan Mayhem while having less so against the Bronx Gridlock. Seeing Queens in the championship is not surprising, given their 6–2 record over the last two seasons heading into their 2015 campaign. And if the veteran squad does one thing better than most derby teams, it’s adjust on the fly. So if Brooklyn thought they were going to catch the ladies in black napping next month, this weekend’s bout will likely kill any chance of that happening.

“Any mistakes that we might make in this game, we’re going to be able to learn from because we’re playing them again,” Whiskey said. “Any mistakes that they make, we’re going to be able to hopefully exploit and capitalize on because we’re going to play them again. So we’re going to get a good indication of what that final game is like, and we’re going to know what we need to work on to win that championship game.”

The Bombshells, league champs in 2011, had always been the league’s loveable underdogs up until that memorable season four years ago, and while that tag always stung the skaters, as Fingers points out, “I think it’s safe to say those days are over.”

Brooklyn did enter 2015 off a 2014 season that saw them go winless, so maybe those underdog whispers were coming back, but with B. Zerk and Hela Skelter returning to the track, Sexy Slaydie intimidation of opposing jammers and Miss Tea Maven continuing to cement her status as one of the league’s elite scorers, the Bombshells got their groove back.

“There wasn’t much that needed to be changed,” Fingers said when discussing the team’s plan of attack for 2015. “After every game last season, we would come back to the locker room and I would say ‘I’m proud of the way we played, I think we played an excellent game, I’m proud of all my teammates, and we felt really good about our performance.’ We knew there were minor tweaking issues and we had the same attitude coming into this season. We know we’re a great team, we know we have great defense, we know we do all these things well – let’s just fine-tune the areas that we thought were not as ideal. People were really excited about this season.”

And with good reason, as the GGRD home season has been more competitive and evenly matched than ever before. In the NFL, they used to call it parity. In derby, suffice to say that when everyone’s playing at the highest level of the game, it’s the smallest details that make the difference.

This Saturday, it’s not a championship bout, but it will feel like one, and don’t think for a moment that every hit and every point scored won’t be remembered come August. This will be no calm before the storm.

Written by: Thomas Gerbasi

Manhattan and the Bronx Battle for Pride this Saturday

Considering that home teams in the Gotham Girls Roller Derby league only get three games per season, every win is pivotal and every loss hurts. Some hurt more than others though, and no one knows that better than the members of the defending champion Manhattan Mayhem.

The inmates won’t get the opportunity to repeat in the league’s title game next month, but it’s not from a lack of trying, as their 0–2 record was achieved with losses that came by a total of just 12 points. If you’re looking for a heart-wrenching season, you’ve come to the right place.

“It’s been a really challenging season,” said seven-year veteran Em Dash. “We’ve had some bad breaks – unfortunately literally in our case – and the hardest thing is that we haven’t gotten to play as a whole team for a whole bout this season. I think anyone who watches Mayhem sees how close-knit we are, how good our teamwork is, and how much we love and support each other. So in that first game, to have [Bruzin] Brody ejected and to lose two players to injury, including our captain [Bonita Apple Bomb], that was really devastating. Our second game, both our captain and Full Metal Jackie were out, so when a team has great chemistry, losing anyone is awful. I think anyone who watched those bouts would say that the way we work together as a team is apparent. Even more than the losses for me is feeling like there’s been a hole in our team this season on the track.”

The losses to Brooklyn (153–148) and Queens (194–187) have given the Mayhem an unofficial title of the best winless team in sports, but their opponents this weekend in Coney Island, the Bronx Gridlock, could give them a run for their money when it comes to that distinction.

Also checking in with an 0–2 record, the Gridlock didn’t have the razor-thin defeats Manhattan did this year, but there is no shortage of talent on the cabbies’ squad – seven members of the GGRD All-Stars is the big roster stat that jumps out at you. One of those All-Stars, blocker Cherry Napalm, knows how good this team is when it comes to individuals, but what hurt them this season is that with so many of them suiting up for the Bronx for the first time in 2015, it’s been hard to get the cohesiveness that brings teams championships.

“Half the team is new this year, so we’re still getting used to playing together, but by this next game, we’re feeling really confident and excited to get in there and have all the pieces fall in place instead of fall apart.”

Having over two months of working together since their last bout on May 9 has helped the Gridlock become a unit, and not just a collection of All-Stars.

“We’ve definitely got to know each other better,” Cherry said. “We’re working together, working on our skills, and everybody has gotten a lot better individually and as a team. We’re all on travel teams as well, so we’ve gotten experience there, and I feel like it’s solidified. It finally feels like we’re a team.”

Dash has seen the development of the Bronx over the last few months, and while most would consider the Mayhem the favorites to win this Saturday, she’s not counting them out in the slightest.

“The Bronx is a really impressive team, and they’ve been rebuilding for a couple years, but they’ve got some incredible players, they have a ton of All-Stars this year and they really seem to be jelling quite well, which is really wonderful to see,” Dash said. “I think the tougher every team in the league is, the better it is for the sport and for our fans and for all of our development as skaters. So I can’t wait to skate against them on the 18th.”

The fact that two talent-rich collectives such as the Mayhem and Gridlock have not won a game between them this year shows just how good the Gotham home teams are. Seemingly every bout is a war pitting evenly matched teams against each other, and the veteran skaters know that once the whistle blows, anything can happen. But how do new skaters adjust to the league’s talent level and intensity? Dash believes team culture has a lot to do with it.

“I have loved our rookies every year, but especially the last couple years, because they come in with so much energy and so much drive, and that reenergizes the whole team,” she said. “And I think that what our rookies see when they land in Mayhem, is that we have a wonderful team culture. We’re all really supportive of each other, the veterans take the rookies in hand and help them to build skills and learn how to play the sport and how to play Mayhem’s version of the sport.”

It’s why Manhattan has picked up league titles in two of the last three seasons, and even though 2015 won’t see an orange banner hanging from the rafters, don’t call Saturday’s bout an opportunity to salvage the season.

“I don’t like the idea of salvaging a season, because every single player on our team has learned and done great things this year,” Dash said. “We had a little bit of bad luck or maybe a couple bad decisions or foul problems, but the work we’re doing on the track every practice, as well as running together and working and scrimmaging together, it doesn’t feel like an 0–2 record is a reflection of our team this season. All of us are going into that bout on July 18 the way we take the track every game, which is that we’re going to play our game with our team, focus on what we’re great at, keep calm heads and stay positive. And hopefully this will be the beginning of our 2016 winning streak.”

Bronx is equally inspired to end 2015 with a win and carry that momentum into next season with a return to championship form for the first time since 2010. It’s not too early.

“We definitely want to come out and win this one,” Cherry said. “We’re both 0–2, so we both really want that win, so it’s going to be a good game. We do want to end the season on a high note and keep the momentum going into 2016. I’m actually really excited for next season – and after this season, it can only get better.”

Written by: Thomas Gerbasi

Queens and Manhattan Prep for Possible Bout of the Year this Weekend

A friendly warning to those sitting trackside for Saturday’s Gotham Girls Roller Derby league bout between the Queens of Pain and the Manhattan Mayhem at CCNY…there might be some bodies flying around.

“There are so many big hits that people get a little hot-headed, so the games are really intense and they must be fun to watch,” said Queens’ Babe Brawlins. “I don’t know why it works out like that with these two teams but there are big hitters on both teams, for sure.”

Brawlins is one of those big hitters for the ladies in black, countered by the always imposing Manhattan duo of the aptly named Violet Knockout and Roxy Dallas. And despite the three being members of the same GGRD All-Star team and friends off the track, when the jerseys read Queens and Manhattan, it’s on for 60 minutes on game night.

“It gets intense,” she said. “I’ve hung out with [Mayhem players] off the track and they’re lovely people, but when you separate us into our teams, it’s strictly business. We’re intense on both sides, and since I’ve joined the league, it’s like it’s always been Manhattan, Manhattan. It feels a little extra special to win against them.”

Photo by Sean Hale

A win over Manhattan would mean even more this weekend, as it would not only avenge a 189–150 loss in the 2014 title game, but also eliminate the Mayhem from this year’s championship race and secure a Queens vs. Brooklyn title bout in August. High stakes indeed, but Manhattan has the same championship ambitions as their rivals, and they’re not ready to let those goals fall to the wayside.

“There’s definitely a lot more riding on this game than just the win,” said the Mayhem’s Full Metal Jackie. “There’s the big picture as far as the championship, and I know that I want another bearing [the championship necklace pendant]. We were always about the big picture. It’s like the saying goes: you may lose some little battles, but we’re all about the war and we want to win it.”

The “little battle” that has placed Manhattan in a precarious spot heading into this weekend’s bout was a razor-thin 153–148 loss to Brooklyn in the league’s season opener in March. The bout proved just how evenly matched every home team in Gotham is, with one call or one jam going the other way likely the difference between victory and defeat. When that’s the case, it’s not that the losing team needs a total overhaul between bouts, but perhaps that they just ran out of time.

“I’d like to think we just ran out of time,” Metal agreed. “I was actually really happy with the way we played. We played against a highly competitive team, and we played Mayhem derby, which is really all that we care about. We’re together, in cahoots with each other, and obviously I want to win, but first and foremost, as a Mayhem player, I want to just play with my team. We lost by five points, we were down three players, and there was a lot of insanity, but the whole time I knew I could look at any of the other girls on the team and they had the mindset I did. We were calm, collected, we knew what we had to do, and we gave it our all.”

It didn’t help that the team lost GGRD All-Star and team leader Bonita Apple Bomb and blocker ROCKS! due to injury, and that standout jammer Bruzin’ Brody was also sent to the sideline after being ejected. But those negatives could be seen as positives—Manhattan still only lost by five points with three key players off the track. And with plenty of time to get ready for this second bout against Queens, Mayhem is in a good place mentally and physically.

“It’s definitely been interesting this time around with having that long pause in between the bouts, but it’s also been really fun to hone our strategies and push ourselves and figure out the next step where we need to go, instead of thinking about the next bout,” Metal said. “We had time to pay attention to our skills, rather than ‘Oh, what do we need to do for the bout?’ It was more ‘What do we need to do as a team?’”

Photo by Sean Hale

As for Queens, their opener saw them in the same fearsome form they were in back in 2013 when they won their last GGRD title, as they defeated the All-Star-laden Bronx Gridlock 181–126. The way Babe and her squadmates see it, it’s just an omen of things to come.

“We’re always thinking about winning everything,” she said. “It’s on our minds. We want to go there, we want champs, we want it this year, so why not win all of them?”

Why not, indeed. And if you get to knock off an old rival along the way, even better, right?

“It’s always extra special,” Brawlins said about playing Manhattan. “There’s been a rivalry between the two teams where it’s always really intense and I don’t know what it is—it’s just really good competition. And it ping-pongs back and forth, but we’re going to make up for [last season’s] loss. We’re gonna win.”

If so, is Queens ready for two straight against the Bombshells?

“We’re going for it, and I think it would be interesting to see Brooklyn,” Babe said. “They’ve always been kind of an underdog team and I think this year they’re going to play really well. So it would be cool to have a BQE championship.”

Written by: Thomas Gerbasi

Brooklyn and the Bronx Meet at the GGRD Crossroads this Saturday

With each team having one game in the books, the Brooklyn Bombshells and Bronx Gridlock come to that familiar crossroads this Saturday at John Jay College in Manhattan. It’s an odd thing to say after just a single bout, but with each squad in the Gotham Girls Roller Derby league only getting three home games per season, this second matchup has the potential to determine an ultimate outcome for 2015.

For the Bombshells, who broke a losing streak that lasted over a season when they won a nailbiter over Manhattan back in March, a victory this weekend could conceivably secure a spot in the 2015 championship game. For the Gridlock, who dropped an April bout to the Queens of Pain, a win gives their season new life, while a loss will likely eliminate them from a title run.

In Las Vegas, they call that high stakes. In New York, it’s just another week for the Gotham Girls, and despite opposite outcomes in their initial 2015 bouts, this is as evenly matched showdown as you will find—though one Brooklyn believes they will emerge victorious from.

Photo by Manish Gosalia

“We’ve had a longer period of time to go back and watch our own footage, so we can really deconstruct the areas of strength and weakness that we had during the Manhattan game,” said the Bombshells’ ShadowboxHer. “We’ve had a lot of time to focus on things like being able to defend against a power jam and how we can be more effective offensively. Secondly, we’ve had the advantage of watching Bronx play very recently and because of that, I think it’s going to be more indicative to how they’re going to be playing on Saturday, as opposed to us, who have been able to really grow and develop since our first game.”

An interesting point: one might think that the team who played more recently would have the edge, simply because they’ve had less time to get back into game shape and more consistent time staying sharp. About the only negative of making a quick turnaround is that any injuries have not had time to heal, but Shadow believes whether you’ve had six weeks or six months, some things stick with a team.

“As far as healing the aches and pains, I’m gonna put it out there that I don’t think a derby girl ever heals her aches and pains,” she laughs. “I think you would have to go on a yearlong sabbatical to even start to heal. So as far as physically, I think we’re coming at it from an equal standpoint.”

Maybe overall, but Bronx did suffer a key loss when the MVP from the Queens game, Massacre Marie, broke her leg the week after the bout. The good news is that she expects to be back by the end of the summer. The bad is that she won’t be on the track this weekend. That doesn’t mean she’s not helping her squad though, as she’s been at practice becoming another set of eyes for her teammates.

“It’s a lot easier to get a read on some of the smaller aspects of what could be going better and there’s definitely an advantage to sitting and taking time to see what’s going on from the outside,” Marie said. “We take notes, and aside from the videos that are taken at scrimmages and practices, we’re able to give real-time feedback. It’s a lot easier to see something, tell your teammates and have them fix it as quickly as possible.”

And with the largest contingent of All-Stars in the league on the Gridlock, that feedback is taken in and digested quickly, with the results showing up on the track almost immediately. So while penalties and communication issues hampered the Bronx attack against Queens, that’s not the case leading up to the Brooklyn bout.

“We have a worked on communication a lot; our move to offense has become much sharper; and our teamwork as a whole in terms of coming together and knowing each other and how we play,” Marie said. “That’s what has increased in terms of getting much better and stronger. So the more we play together, the better we become overall, and it’s just a matter of specifically focusing on some of the strategies that we needed to tweak a little bit more, and we’ve definitely been working on that. It’s something that we have been putting into practice and that has gotten better each week.”

You might have assumed that having seven GGRD All-Stars would guarantee a spot in the title game, but in derby, teamwork is always the key, and that often takes a while to come together, especially with a bunch of new skaters playing together for the first time. That’s not the case with Brooklyn, which only has two new skaters, and also brought two veteran Bombshells back into the fold in the form of Hela Skelter and B.Zerk.

“I think it’s the team mentality that the stars are completely aligned right now,” said Shadow. “We fought really hard last year and worked really hard, but it doesn’t even compare to what we felt going into this season. Just having the two of them back on the team in full capacity has just been a physical and mental motivator for us. They’re two incredibly strong, positive women and big driving forces on the track.

Photo by Sean Hale

“As far as Bronx having a ton of All-Stars and the Amazons of the league, I think Brooklyn has the secret talent,” she continues. “We may not have as many skaters who wear All-Star jerseys, but we have so many women on this team that have skills that meet the elite level of roller derby.”

And for those like Shadow, who went through an entire season winless with the Bombshells in 2014, getting that taste of victory in March was something she enjoyed so much that she’d like to make it a habit.

“It was the first win I’ve been able to celebrate with my team and it was honestly the best feeling in the entire world,” she said. “I have never felt that sense of joy. The game [against Manhattan] was such a nailbiter and it could have gone either way. We had to pull out everything we could and band together as a team, so we fought as a team and won as a team and it was an amazing feeling. To this day, I’ll think about it and just smile to myself. I hope that we’re able to continue this streak because this is the Year of the Bombshell. The Manhattan game was a start and we’ll do it again on Saturday, and again against Queens [on July 18th]. We’re a tough team this year. We’re no joke.”

The Gridlock aren’t laughing because they know they’re in for a fight. But they’re also aware that all it takes is one win and they’re back to where they want to be.

“It [the loss to Queens] was something we weren’t expecting, but we didn’t take it as an absolute downfall. We knew we had a lot of room to grow.”

On Saturday, the true test arrives.

Written by: Thomas Gerbasi