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Women's Roller Derby

There used to be a league on TV many years back that was pretty obviously fixed. It was a male league, though. Guys doing power bombs and things of that nature. Still a blast to watch, though.

These leagues you guys are mentioning seem to be legitimate competition. And with encouraging the participants to pander to the crowd, I can't see it NOT being a blast to watch.
 
Darkwing Duck said:
There used to be a league on TV many years back that was pretty obviously fixed. It was a male league, though. Guys doing power bombs and things of that nature. Still a blast to watch, though.

These leagues you guys are mentioning seem to be legitimate competition. And with encouraging the participants to pander to the crowd, I can't see it NOT being a blast to watch.
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I remember those leagues. Didn't they run the episodes on Comedy Central?

Anyway, this issue is actually addressed on one of the website's FAQs.

Q: Is the action real? I thought roller derby was fake, kinda like pro wrestling.
The short answer: It's not fake any more. Unlike the derby of the 70s or pro wrestling of today, modern roller derby is a completely legitimate, competitive sport.

The long answer: From its invention in the 1930s up through the 1950s and later, classic roller derby was a basically legit and very popular sport. Through the 60s and into the 70s, theatricality and predetermined outcomes became more prevalent.

By its demise in 1973, classic roller derby had fully embraced the pro wrestling philosophy of spectacle over sport, and most people today retain a vague memory of the sport in that state. Ill-fated revivals attempts in the 80's and 90's went even further down the rabbit hole, culminating in RollerJam's figure-8 track and alligator pit.

When roller derby was reinvented in Austin, Texas, starting in 2001, those same recollections of the old spectacle and fakery definitely informed the derby girls' original intent. As they trained up, though, they came to discover that the best way to make a knockdown look convincing was to actually knock the other skater down, and before long they'd dropped the choreography entirely in favor of real contact with consistent and enforced rules.
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I kind of wish they'd kept the alligator pit.
 
I feel like this quote from Family Guy regarding the WNBA fits here. Maybe not, but no better place and it should go somewhere.

Brian: "God, this place officially sucks worse than the WNBA."
Announcer 1: "And at the top of the second half it's 16-9. Easton leads the scoring with 4."
Announcer 2: "And that's why she commands $7,000 a year. These gals sure do make it look difficult."
Announcer 1: "But is having this minor skill worth being so unattractive? That's for the fan to decide."
Fan: "Yay!"
 
Archie Moses said:
Wow, did you see how burley and ugly those chicks are? Gosh, I sincerely hope you don't think they're hot or anything. I know you didn't say that, but still, I really do hope.
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Its funny, as I watched the video I thought "Someone is going to comment on how beefy some of these chicks are and completely miss the point". Way to be that guy.

I'm with Gameface, I thought a few of them were attractive. Looks like it would be a good time.
 
Gameface said:
Haha. Yeah, I didn't marry her for her looks.

Not sayin' my wife isn't beautiful, just sayin' that's not why I married her.

Archie, I don't care what you say, I found many of those women attractive.

I'm going to take my wife on Sep. 25th for her b-day. Thanks for the thread kicky!
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I like you. No homo.
 
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