After Epic Opening Weekend, it’s Queens and the Bronx’ Turn on Saturday

By Thomas Gerbasi

Queens’ #124, Nail Diamond, knew it instantly. “The first game I saw of Gotham was Brooklyn vs. Queens, and the second Queens came out, I wanted to skate for them.”

Nail Diamond, Queens of Pain. Photo: Jean Schwarzwalder

She’s not alone. Plenty of newcomers to roller derby sat in the bleachers around New York City and Brooklyn, saw the black-clad Queens of Pain and said, ‘oh yeah, that’s my team.’ The same thing went for those who watched the Bronx Gridlock race around their foes during their glory years in the Gotham Girls Roller Derby league.

How glorious were those years? From 2005 to 2010, no other team won a home team title other than Queens or the Bronx. Six titles, divided evenly among squads that were the best of the best in a league widely considered to be the gold standard for flat track roller derby. Six years later, things may have changed for both teams and the sport, but memories of those days are never too far away. 

“We’re lucky to still have Speed (McQueen), because she tells us stories of the good ol’ days, and the history’s really important,” said Bronx captain Cherry Napalm. “We look at the championship banners and see all the yellow that was up there, and we get really excited and we want to make that happen again.”

Photo: David Dyte

“You can feel the experience in the words of the veterans, which is pretty amazing,” added Nail. “So it doesn’t feel like the glory days have ever left.”

But while respecting the history of the sport is essential, there is also the business of the present and the future. For both teams, the present is a Saturday bout at John Jay College Gym in New York City. The future? Hopefully a return to the championship circle.

“We need to remind everyone that we still run the place,” said Nail, whose squad won the 2013 title and was in the championship game the past two years as well. “There’s no question of us being bosses.”

And if Queens is to get over the hump and raise another championship banner, there can be no resting on their past laurels. “There’s definitely a power to the history and a power to how the sport has evolved, but as a skater on the track, all you think about is that jam, and when that jam’s over, it’s done and it’s the next jam,” Nail said. “Everything is that two minutes that you have and how you’re going to use them.”

Photo: David Dyte

The Gridlock, despite a rough few years in which injuries, skater turnover and plain ol’ bad luck left them with a winless 2015 campaign and 1-2 records in 2014 and 2013, have packed plenty of action into those two-minute jams, making them fan favorites along the way. Maybe even more telling is that while the cabbies’ early championship years saw them as a brutally efficient machine on the track, in recent times, they’ve been a gritty, never say die unit that has put hearts in throats as they battle against seemingly insurmountable odds. Will it be more of the same in 2016 or back to the Bronx machine of old?

“I guess we’re more of the heart in your mouth type of team,” Cherry laughs, “but this season we’re definitely more focused on playing our game and playing together. So we’re not an unfeeling machine, but we’re trying to be a kickass machine.”

To get there, Bronx will send five skaters to the track that weren’t on the team last year, while Queens presents six new members of their squad, even though Queens’ Erin Watershow and the Bronx’ Bunny McBones will be familiar to Gotham fans.  It may seem like a lot for each team to handle for the season opener, but according to Nail and Cherry, everything is coming together at precisely the right time. 

“It feels like old hat,” said Nail, pointing out that a recent team viewing of Pee-wee’s Big Holiday was quite the off the track bonding experience. “Most of the skaters have all skated for years before Queens, so it’s not a lot of teaching things. Everything fits really well. It’s very magical in a way.”

“We feel really strong,” adds Cherry. “We were lucky that all the skaters we drafted were either in the league before or were on Diamond District last year, so they’re all pretty accustomed to how Gotham does things. They just have to learn the Bronx strategies for the season. So I feel like we’re working together really well. It’s a great team dynamic this year, and I’m really excited for this weekend.”

Cherry Napalm, Bronx Gridlock. Photo: Jean Schwarzwalder

The Bronx and Queens do have a tough act to follow after the GGRD home season opener last month, which ended in a 161-158 win for Brooklyn over Manhattan, but you get the impression that these former dominant champions are up to the challenge.

“We definitely feed off the energy of the crowd, so if the crowd’s pumped up and cheering for us, it definitely helps us,” said Cherry, who hopes her squad wins the crowd and the game.

As for Queens, Nail believes that when all is said and done, winning is not about being perfect. “We’re a very rock and roll team,” she said. “So for me, it’s the same way as playing in a band. If you miss a note, figure it out, get back to where you’re supposed to be, and put on the show. Never say die.”

Brooklyn Roars Back to Beat Mayhem, Producing Another Instant Classic

By Thomas Gerbasi

photo: david dyte

Last Saturday at John Jay College in New York City, it was just another ho-hum chapter in the rivalry between the Brooklyn Bombshells and Manhattan Mayhem. You know the drill – put two of the best teams in the Gotham Girls Roller Derby league together for 60 minutes and watch them slug it out until one squad emerges with a nail biter of a victory.

This time, it was Brooklyn getting the nod, 161-158, and with the typical New York sarcasm out of the way, it was another instant classic and a fitting follow up to the teams’ last two meetings, which were decided by a combined six points.

“It's enough to give a person a heart attack,” said Brooklyn MVP Lady Fingers. “Player and patron alike.  I think these games consistently go down to the wire because we're very evenly matched.  Manhattan has a deep jamming roster and some incredibly skilled blockers; not to mention their powerful offensive strategies.  They play in a way that really shocks other teams from the start.  Either you absorb that shock and keep playing your game or you play their game. Brooklyn has the amazing ability of staying calm through the chaos.  It allows us to continue to play our game, our way.  We just stayed the course, battened down the hatches and kept sailing to a win.”

“I think these two teams don't ever give up,” adds Manhattan MVP Bruzin Brody. “The score doesn't dictate performance; they are both bringing one hundred percent, one hundred percent of the time, which makes for an exciting bout.” Yet while all the GGRD home team games are tightly contested, Brooklyn and Manhattan make a habit out of it, and to have a bout like this opening the 2016 home season campaign was a great omen for the rest of the season. 

photo: david dyte

For most of this bout though, it did look like Manhattan was going to take the victory and a substantial one at that, as they put the Bombshells on the ropes early thanks to a 24-9 start. And once they extended that lead to 39-19, Brooklyn – who were missing co-captain and GGRD All-Star Sexy Slaydie due to injury – had to find other options to get back in the bout.

They found them, with former Manhattan jammer D.A.R.Y.L. (28 points) and All-Star scoring machine Miss Tea Maven (a game high 91 points) pulling Brooklyn to within two points by the tenth jam of the game. Manhattan wouldn’t relinquish that lead, as the All-Star trio of Violet Knockout, Roxy Dallas and returning captain Bonita Apple Bomb opened the door for Brody (63 points) to lap the pack and keep the Mayhem in control heading into halftime, with the inmates heading into the locker room with an 87-73 advantage.

The nip and tuck action continued in the early stages of the second half, but slowly, cracks began to form for Manhattan as the penalties piled up. “As far as a difference maker,” Brody said, “I think too much time in the box didn't help us. Myself included. That is something we can remedy.” 

On this night though, it was going to be an issue, with Roxy, Full Metal Jackie and Spork Chop all fouling out. Add in nine jammer trips to the penalty box in the second half to Brooklyn’s three, and the stage was set for the Bombshells to make their move, one aided by a mindset that allowed them to focus on the game and not the scoreboard.

“Brooklyn has worked for many seasons to really improve not only our physical game, but our mental game,” Fingers said. “We have some key players on our team that help us accomplish this, and it's where some of our vets really shine. Animal, Evil, Schnitt, Slaydie, and so many more, are stalwarts of our team.  They remind everyone to stay calm both on the bench and the track, shake off whatever happened and be prepared to do your best in the next jam, because every new jam is an opportunity to continue your hard work, make up for a slip up and be a better partner. But most importantly, it's a chance to improve and learn from your mistakes.  We try to stay positive, which helps us in those key last minutes where anything can happen.”

And it did happen.

With Brody, J-Rod and Em Dash putting Manhattan up 145-103, it looked like it was time for Brooklyn to pack up and concede defeat, but after slowly chipping away, the Bombshells got a 15-point jam out of Maven and a 10-point jam out of D.A.R.Y.L., and the lead was chopped to 14 points. Twelve more points out of Maven over the next two jams made it 158-156 for Manhattan with 33 seconds to go, and with Brooklyn getting a power jam and Maven taking the lead jammer slot, her five-point run was enough to give her team the victory. 

photo: david dyte

Of course, that begs the question, is this just an appetizer for a rematch for the GGRD championship in August?

“Sure, but I'm also not counting anyone else out,” said Brody. “Each team has their own strengths. I don't know who we'll meet up with in August, but I do know I believe in Mayhem and know we'll be there, ready for whoever shows up.”

“I definitely think we could be seeing Manhattan again,” adds Fingers. “They're aggressive and determined and the final point differential was only three points.  The last time we saw them it was five points.  But the first game of the season is kind of a blessing in disguise.  It gives each team an idea of what to improve on for their next game, where their opponent is weakest and the time to put in some serious work.  I have no doubt that we'll both be going back to the drawing board a little to prepare for a second encounter.”  

photo: gotham girls roller derby instagram

BROOKLYN vs. MANHATTAN STATS

                           1         2        F

Brooklyn     73   88 161                                           

Manhattan      87       71 158

Brooklyn MVP – Lady Fingers

Manhattan MVP – Bruzin Brody

Leading Brooklyn Scorers

Miss Tea Maven – 91 points (22 jams)

D.A.R.Y.L. – 28 points (14 jams)

Hela Skelter – 27 points (7 jams)

Leading Brooklyn Blockers

Papierschnitt – 22 jams (-4)

Sissi Fist-a-Lot – 19 jams (+2)

Tail Gunner Flo – 19 jams (-3)

Leading Manhattan Scorers

Bruzin Brody – 63 points (17 jams)

J-Rod – 41 points (13 jams)

Em Dash – 34 points (8 jams)

Leading Manhattan Blockers

Violet Knockout – 28 jams (-38)

Sunshine Skate – 26 jams (+10)

Bonita Apple Bomb – 26 jams (+1)

Brooklyn Penalties

Minutes in Box: 35 Jammer Box Trips: 8

Manhattan Penalties

Minutes in Box: 61 Jammer Box Trips: 17

Stats compiled via Rinxter

Just Like Old Times: Bombshells and Mayhem Prepare to Go Toe to Toe in Season Opener

By Thomas Gerbasi

When looking at the history between the Brooklyn Bombshells and the Manhattan Mayhem, one that has seen the two teams trade Gotham Girls Roller Derby home team titles over all but one of the last five years, while engaging in bouts over the previous two seasons that have been decided by a combined six points, it’s safe to say that when the blue and orange clash this Saturday at John Jay College gym in NYC, it’s going to be a fight.

Brooklyn’s Tail Gunner Flo disagrees.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a fight,” she said. “It’s a bloodbath. For every second of that game.”

If that doesn’t get derby fans amped up for the 2016 season opener, nothing will. But it’s not just hyperbole from the six-year veteran, who – along with her teammates and the Manhattan squad – have the bumps and bruises to show for it. Simply put, in a league where every home game is a pitched battle, Brooklyn and Manhattan have taken it to a new level in terms of intensity, with last season’s 153-148 nail biter just the most recent example.

“That particular game was really hard-fought against Brooklyn,” said Mayhem newcomer Miss US Slay, who has a unique perspective on the rivalry, first as a spectator and now as a participant. “I know it was really tight, there were injuries and ejections for Mayhem.” 

Mayhem captain Bonita Apple Bomb was lost for the season, ROCKS! hit the sidelines as well, and star jammer Bruzin’ Brody was ejected. But with Brooklyn holding a commanding 130-97 second half lead, the shorthanded Mayhem crew roared back, eventually taking a 148-137 advantage. But they would not score again, with the Bombshells regaining the lead and holding on to it for good en route to an unbeaten season and their second league championship. There’s no time to bask in the glory, though.

“We have to look at this as 0-0,” Flo said. “We’re not going in as undefeated champions, but we’re going in with the intention of winning this game. I think our ability to stay calm, keep your head on straight and not get rattled will be an absolute advantage. Manhattan has an uncanny ability to rattle the cages. They create a lot of chaos, they’re loud, and that’s their thing.”

They also have a core group of veterans that has been through the wars together, and with newcomers Slay and Kid Vicious added to the mix seamlessly, they will once again be a strong contender for 2016 title honors.

“Even though it is so early in the season, joining Mayhem, which is a team that’s already so cohesive, it feels like we’re gelling really well as a team,” Slay said. “So it’s really encouraging and exciting to go into the game already feeling that way. Mayhem is really fun and together on and off the track. That was immediately apparent for me as soon as I joined the team. This team enjoys playing together and also spending time with each other, and if you get to know people and have a good rapport with them off the track, then that’s something that can translate to game play, and one of the amazing things about Mayhem is that everyone is a real leader in their own right.”

Miss US Slay jams for Suburbia Roller Derby, before joining Gotham for the 2016 season. Photo Rick Odell.

The ladies in orange also have their share of GGRD All-Stars, with Bonita, Roxy Dallas, Cork Rebel and Violet Knockout all taking the track for the five-time world champions. They have some counterparts in blue though, with Sexy Slaydie and Miss Tea Maven both donning the black jersey for the renowned road team. 

Yet the beauty of Brooklyn vs. Manhattan, a rivalry that is deadlocked at 4-4 since 2008, is that it’s not about the All-Stars on both teams or having the most talented squad; it’s about so much more, with the stage set for either a perennial All-Star or the 15th person on the roster to step up and make a statement.

“I don’t think it’s going to come down to who has the better level of skill, who has a better jammer or better offense and defense,” Flo said. “We’re all from the same league, we all represent Gotham, we’re all trained in a specific way of how to skate, and I think that’s what makes our home team games so good. The level of skill, energy and commitment that we have as a league to one another and to getting better and always improving.”

Tailgunner Flo jams for Brooklyn. Photo Sean Hale.

And when two teams are evenly matched, the winner is usually decided by whoever does the little things right.

“We’ve been trying to work on engaging really tight and controlling the walls right from that first whistle,” Slay said. “So it’s a matter of taking it one jam at a time and kicking things off right from the start. It (the rivalry) is a lot to live up to, but we’re ready for it. Bonita is back, we’ve already been gelling really well as a team and our jammers are also multi-faceted. We have such an impressive mix of strength and agility, and I know the team is totally up for the challenge.”

“Derby is a very intense sport, and it’s crazy,” Flo adds. “You have people racing through the pack, you have people playing offense and defense at the same time or switching from offense to defense or defense to offense in seconds, based on where the pack is moving or where the jammer is. And one thing that Brooklyn does really, really well is that we have this uncanny ability to find peace in the chaos. We know, going into this game, it’s gonna be a fight, it’s gonna be physical, and it’s gonna be really hard.”

So what happens on Saturday?

“The way that we practice, we’re ready to play an intense game and turn the intensity up every single time,” Slay said. “We can only get better and gel even more. So we think it’s going to be a really good year.”

“It’s gonna come down to simple things, but at the end of the day, there’s gonna be one winner and one loser,” Flo said. “And the winner’s going to be Brooklyn and the loser is going to be Manhattan.”

Let the games begin.

Tickets available here

2016 Season Schedule - Save the Dates!

Save the dates for our 2016 season! 

Game 1:  March 19  @ John Jay College
Brooklyn Bombshells vs. Manhattan Mayhem

Game 2:  April 9 @ John Jay College
Bronx Gridlock vs. Queens of Pain

Game 3:  May 7 @ John Jay College
Bronx Gridlock vs. Brooklyn Bombshells

Game 4:  June 11 @ John Jay College
Queens of Pain vs. Manhattan Mayhem

Game 5 & 6 (Doubleheader):  July 16 @ Abe Stark Arena, Coney Island
Manhattan Mayhem vs. Bronx Gridlock & Brooklyn Bombshells vs. Queens of Pain

Game 7:  August 6th @ John Jay College
3rd & 4th place game

Game 8: August 27th @ John Jay College
GGRD NYC Championship

Signup for our newsletter to get alerts when tickets go on sale!

For The Golden Skate – Brooklyn & Queens Meet in GGRD Title Bout

At the start of Gotham Girls Roller Derby league’s 2015 season, the odds wouldn’t have been good had you picked the Queens of Pain and Brooklyn Bombshells to meet in the championship game. Brooklyn was coming off a winless season in 2014, while Queens had lost a bit of their heart and soul with Ana Bollocks and Donna Matrix no longer on the team.

But as the old adage goes, that’s why they play the games, and on August 29 at John Jay College in New York City, it will be black versus blue – or as the skaters are calling it, “the BQE Championship” – as Queens meets Brooklyn for the league’s 11th championship game.

Queens already has four spots on the GGRD championship banner; Brooklyn just a single one. And while the Bombshells enter the bout unbeaten this year – their last victory being a 219–183 win over the ladies in black just last month – they’re not assuming that the Golden Skate trophy is already theirs.

Photo by David Dyte.

“Obviously, I think the Brooklyn Bombshells are the best team in all of roller derby, but when it comes down to it, Queens isn’t a lesser team than us,” said Brooklyn captain Evilicious. “I don’t think you can predict who’s gonna win this game and I don’t think it’s worth placing bets on because it’s going to come down to whatever happens on the track when the first whistle blows. And then every jam thereafter for the next 60 minutes. I don’t think you can say that we have much of an advantage going into this game undefeated.”

It’s a humble approach, but don’t think for one second that the Bombshells aren’t confident heading into the biggest bout of the year. They’ve said from the start of the 2015 season that this is the “Year of the Bombshell” – and they’ve proved it, defeating the Manhattan Mayhem, Bronx Gridlock and Queens of Pain in impressive fashion. You wouldn’t expect that kind of swagger on and off the track after a winless 2014, but this team has never wavered in their belief that hard work will ultimately pay off.

“It’s a much more subtle shift, going from losing all of our games last season to winning all of our games this season,” Evil continued. “It’s less of an adjustment than it may seem. Coming out of a losing season, it’s hard because you know how hard you worked, and I know what commitment and effort everyone put in, and we still lost every single game. That alone is a catalyst to win. So we worked as hard last year as we did this year and we just ended up with Ws instead of Ls. It’s a really interesting way to go into the championship game.”

Perhaps not as interesting as the way Queens is going in. Losing two of the team’s anchors in Donna and Bollocks was a crushing blow, even with Suzy Hotrod and Hyper Lynx waiving their spots on the GGRD All-Stars roster to focus solely on home-team play. The team even assumed that 2015 could end up be a rebuilding year. But then the opening whistle blew against the Gridlock on April 11 and those competitive fires came roaring back, leading them to a 181–126 victory.

“[Bollocks and Donna] have been a fixture with Queens since the team first started, so losing them was a big loss to us,” Lynx said. “So we said ‘it’s a rebuilding year’, we’ll take it as that; when we won the first game it was definitely a shock to us, especially when it was against the Bronx, who have the most All-Star players on their team. So we were just using the regular math we’ve been using year after year: the more All-Star players you have the better, because you get more practice time. But I guess we were able to gel as a team better, and it was basically those first few jams where we executed really well. That won us the game.”

Whatever it was, it lit a fire under the Queens team, and let them know that a fifth championship was possible. In May, they won a razor-close bout over Manhattan 194–187, and while they lost their final regular-season game against Brooklyn last month, neither team is putting much stock in that result, at least when it comes to predicting August 29th’s outcome.

“Every win is important, but there’s a freedom that you have when you know that your place in the championship is decided, and I think that both teams knew that, and so because of that, we were able to treat our lineups in a different way than we would have otherwise,” Evil said. “We were able to do things differently than we would have had we not had the calming effect of knowing that we’d go to the championship game win or lose.”

Photo by David Dyte.

“We played that game down quite a number of players and obviously, we also had a lot more penalty trouble than they did,” Lynx adds. “You play every game to win, and we didn’t win that one, but we’ll have another chance and we want to make sure we clean up our fouls and give them a much better game this time.”

And oddly enough, while Queens was always the team with the veteran core taking on squads that had a rough time with turnover nearly every season, this time it’s Brooklyn with a unit that has largely been together for several years.

“An advantage we have that you used to be able to say for Queens a bit more than now is that the core of our team has been together for years,” Evil said. “You used to have Bollocks and Donna and Suzy and Lynx together, and now Brooklyn’s got a similar group of skaters that has been together for five, six and even seven years in some cases. That is a pretty special thing, and I think with adding really smart, awesome, newer teammates to that mix, the trust that we have with each other is a big advantage and why we can add little things that won’t take away from our core – which is ‘walls stops jammers,’ and that’s what we need to do to Queens. And our jammers need to score as many points as they can.” The Brooklyn captain laughs. “It sounds really simplistic when you say it like that, but that innate understanding of how to skate with each other and those really simple rules are what help us win.”

So who will win next Saturday? Both teams have the talent and desire, as well as plenty of personal reasons to get that championship bearing once more.

“For me on a personal level, I’m trying to take some time off to finally start a family, so maybe this will be the last game in a while for me,” said Lynx. “So I would love to go out with a win. And we’re gonna fight as hard as we ever did. We’ve got a lot of new skaters, so that’s always exciting, but we also want to prove that the foundation of Queens is always there, even if the players change.”

As for Evilicious, she gets right to the heart of the matter for the skaters formerly known as lovable underdogs.

“We didn’t change much this year,” she said. “We had a foundation of skaters who are really committed to each other and to the team, and we’re certainly not underdogs anymore. So it would mean so very much to be able to get another blue banner up on that pile of orange, black and yellow.”