Double Decker: Remembering Derby

Seeing how most of my readership is composed of family, you might only know my good friend, Sara Wolff, as the fourth bridesmaid in our wedding. What do you know about her? She has dark hair like me and blended in with my sisters easily, she has a noteworthy giggle, and she was great under stress that day. It was probably hard to notice more in the short time you may have crossed her path in September, but the very extraordinary part of our relationship involves an even larger group of women.

Sara and I met in August or September of 2007. She lived next door to my good friend Brian, and as Sara and Brian spent more time together, so did Sara and I. By January, we were in the depth of Missouri winter (which now I find temperate and wonderful) and bored. We felt like we needed to do something, anything, and fast. I mentioned that my co-worker, Adrienne, continually mentioned trying to start a derby team, and we.....did it!

Today, a great article ran in the Columbia Missourian recounting this infamous (at least to us) beginning of the CoMo Derby Dames. When we began, I would guess I spent 20 hours a week doing derby-related things, be it working out, planning practices, going to meetings, helping with fundraisers, etc. Will and I were fairly new to each other at the time and he frequently worried for my safety and sanity. No words could describe to him the empowerment, camaraderie and downright awesomeness I felt while knocking down my best friends, even when it resulted in a suspected hairline fracture. It really was hard to attempt to validate my experience while I cried and he iced my leg; he thought I was upset because my leg hurt, but I was infuriated because it would keep my off my skates.

I realized he was over his hesitation during our first bout. After my first good block that resulted in our team scoring, I looked into the stands to see my future husband standing up, screaming for me at the top of his lungs. My heart swelled and it hit me- this was the first time in my life when I was the star, my friends were the stars. The stands were full of boyfriends, husbands, friends and derby children all present to support the strong women in their lives. And I was part of it.

In June last year, I went to Columbia for a visit and went to have a drink at a familiar haunt. Sara, several friends and I sat in the corner window on a busy corner. Soon, we saw a derby girl and her friend standing a few feet away on the street corner. We left our table to join them and they greeted my excitedly as if I'd never moved to Chicago. As we chatted, more derby girls accumulated on their way to different destinations. Momma Knee Ya screamed, "Foxy! You're here!" from across the street and made a mad dash to join in the fun. Simply by standing in a high traffic area, there were friends all around, and the vast reach of this organization really touched me.

Enjoy the article; it makes me proud that I still make the news, even though we moved almost two years ago. Below are some pictures from Season I and some more links to publicity.

Roller Rumble

Derby Dames

Derby Fundraiser with Ninja Skwidd