My favorite things the bout were meeting Mrs. JeLLyPiG, all the laughs to be had by sitting in front of the bellowing Harmacist (in Harm's way, as it were), watching Rhea DeRange jam, and birthday boy Kurt getting to be Smackya's waterboy for the evening.
I was saddened that G'n'R didn't mount a cohesive defensive strategy, but enjoyed, as always, watching Viva Vendetta put down some great blocks and hits.
See you in the comments, and HPV!
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Well there is no way to talk about this bout without giving props to the Betties, something I certainly do not enjoy doing. Since I often deride the Betties for a simple “Go Fast, Hit Hard” style of play, it’s time for me to man up and eat my crow.
The Betties did an awesome job controlling the pack, creating opportunities for their Jammers. They brought much more than their usual speed game. I’m quite sure I saw several blocking schemes that were not only effective and well executed but also a part of a bigger game plan. The Betties would create walls in the front of the pack that would set up a trap gap. Once the GnR took the bait, the Betties could push the pack inside or out. Most often they pushed GnR to outside, giving Rhea, Licker and the rest of Betties Jammers free run of the inside line. The Betties also made great use of blocking assignments at the rear of the pack effectively tying up the GnR’s Jammer through pushing the blocks into their path and crowding the line with their own players.
By half time my mind had wandered. Actually the bout became more of a date night with the wife. I am not just a drunken derby degenerate, I am also a hopeless romantic, LOL!
I was disappointed that the GnR never really figured out that their loss of position started at the double whistle. Most jams seemed to start with the Betties jockey into the spot they wanted. GnR’s only answer seemed to be more aggression. Of course that would lead to Napalm Beth’s ejection in the second half. Certainly come “rematch” time, the GnR needs to figure this sh!t out or settle once again for being an “also ran”.
I also found a new derby pet peeve. If your team is down at all but especially a substantial amount, and you are the lead Jammer do not waste your f@#k!ng jamming energy showing off for the crowd. SKATE! Dig in and go! Those antics have to be costing you time. They certainly are taking away your skating energy and focus….just skate damn it!
Though I hoped for a different out come, I had a lovely derby evening. The wife had sworn off Hangar bouts over a month ago, so it was good to get her out and enjoying the bout. She says she understands now why I dislike the Betties (likening the teams to Sororities, LoL!) so it was a VICTORY for me.
I think that Scrappy-Go-Lucky stated it best on Saturday when she said "Gee George, it's great to know that we're your third favorite team. I really feel the love." I didn't have the heart to tell her that it would have been more aptly stated if she had said "second most hated team", but she captured the basic idea.
"The wife had sworn off Hangar bouts over a month ago…"
Isn’t that grounds for divorce?
Dude, I am one lucky summabitch and married well above my station.
I get Roller Derby, she gets her College Basketball. We got a system. Of course that system has me taking a cab from airport when Villanova plays, but it's all is fair. LOL!
Well, I wish I was able to say I too had a lovely derby evening. It's funny, but with all the hullabaloo recently with fans getting upset by the "strategy", now I'M the one griping about what we saw...but this time it's a complete LACK of strategy!
In my opinion the Betties are what they've always been - a team of strong, talented skaters, who rely perhaps a bit too much on the "first-stringers", but those skaters have enough talent/endurance for them to get away with it and still win.
That is unless the opposing team employs ANY semblance of a game plan. GnR skated some of the most undisciplined, disorganized, and ugly derby I've seen this season - they tanked it as bad as the High Rollers did against the Betties...maybe the constant is the Betties themselves - both GnR and the High Rollers skated better games against the Heathers than they did against the Betties...a sure sign that the Betties are positioning themselves well for a run to the Championships!
Sure, there were some GnR individuals who stepped it up: as The Coroner noted Viva left her guts out there, and so did A-Wrench at times...but by and large their team play was non-existent!
I'd argue that their weakness was more on offense than defense - they DID manage to hold the Betties to ONLY 134 - but couldn't even crack the triple-digit barrier themselves.
They refused to even attempt to control the pack - even when they had a full complement of blockers (which seemed rare given the numerous trips to the box), they'd willingly split themselves in front and back, allowing the Betties to skate tight and strong right in the middle.
In any case I've got very little faith that GnR will win even one more game this season. So disappointing, but that's my take on it.
Ditto to the other posts. The Betties created a lot of the problems for GnR, but GnR looked so out of it mentally/emotionally/physically that it was quite shocking. When November Pain doesn't score in four straight jams (and maybe more b/c I stopped counting) something more is going on than just excellent D.
I can't wait for the rematch.
don't hate us cuz you ain't us....
"don't hate us cuz you ain't us...."
I'm not sure what this means, "anonymous." Does it mean that one shouldn't hate you because you lack the requisite keyboard skills to identify yourself and your ersatz posse ("us"), or is something else going on here?
And even if you did identify yourself, could your identity really inspire hatred, or do you suffer delusions of grandeur?
I think you probably just watch a lot of TV and memorize stupid bullshit phrases for anonymous use on public blogs.
Best to you, whoever you are!
FYI:
"DHUCYAU" is a little GnR thingy. I saw it in the program. But in that case "cuz" was spelled "coz."
Oh, thanks, Kurt. And sorry, anonymous G'n'R for being Mr. Crankypants. Thanks for posting! Come again!
that swag is nothing if not dreamy
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