Thrown down in the Hometown Day 2

Saturday was the second coming of that magical day I call Double Derby Day. It was an epic day of human endurance. A day when two of my passions in life merge to spawn the question, "How drunk was he? Was he Derby Drunk?".  I spent the first part of my day soaking up the sun, many beers and the fantastic jackass-ery that is the PDX Soapbox Derby, followed by a full evening of Roller Derby action.

Of course the recap would have to begin with...

When my cab pulled up to the Hangar, I was loaded for a full evening of All Star Roller Derby.

First up was B.A.D. vs Rat City. After the Friday bouts and my recollections of the Wild West Showdown, I sort of thought I had a good idea of how this would play out. I was of course wrong and treated to my favourite bout of the weekend.

B.A.D. jumped to a quick 3-0 lead on the back of an Astronaughty jam. Much to my surprise B.A.D. would prove they had the juice to carry and build on that lead through the first half. With the B.A.D. Pack Monsters in full effect, they were able to hold the Rats scoreless through a five jam run. After giving up 8 points, then 4, B.A.D. shut Rat down again for six jams building their lead to 63-14 after 16 jams. It was awesome! When I wasn't being mesmerized by Demanda Riot, I was being impressed by the play of Windingo Jones, Aunti Christ and Velveteen Savage of B.A.D.

Rat found a boost in their focus after Carmen Getsome hit for 14 during a Power Jam in the 17th jam, despite starting with a two on four pack situation. That was followed by a 10 point Primp Daddy jam which brought it to 63-38 Seattle. A scoreless jam brought us to half time with B.A.D. riding a 25 point lead.

I expected B.A.D. to run out of gas. I thought the Rats would come back with a fierce second half game plan. It took Rat three jams and some more Carmen Getsome magic to really gain any traction against B.A.D.  After four jams into the second half the score was 77 B.A.D./ Rat City 55. Little gains for both teams over the next few jams led to a monster Rat jam for 25 points. It was now 88-83 Rat. My cellphone was blowing up and I failed to note who the hell had the big jam. B.A.D. didn't let the Rats keep the lead for long, taking a 96-88 lead in the next jam. Four more jams and one goat later Rat was up again with a 102-99 lead.

Without any time outs left to calm the team, B.A.D. managed to came back with a quick five points as Demanda drew Carmen Getsome into a major back block for some Power Jam time. It was beautiful. After a scoreless jam, B.A.D. hits again for four and the 108-102 lead. Rat called for a time out, formed a plan, executed and added five to the board. Two fierce scoreless jams later we had our final,108-107. B.A.D. had picked up a hellarad one point win.

I was psyched and felt like the night was full of possibilities. And again, I was...

We all knew Gotham was going to be a tough bout. After the Rose City loss to Rat the night before, I expected to see a single minded, unified WoJ defend their home track like never before. When Bonnie Thunders faced Rhea and racked up a 7-0 lead for Gotham in the first jam, I was convinced that WoJ would overcome. The next jam Sully put the first WoJ point on the board after squeaking out past Suzy Hot Rod for the lead jammer. Two jams later Rhea would hit big against Hyper Lynx and WoJ was only down by two, bringing it to 13-15. Gotham held WoJ for the next few jams until Rhea hit again for four, but the Bonnie Thunders/Suzy Hotrod jammer rotation had left us with a 17-52 point differential.

For the next six jams, Gotham showed what great pack play, tight defense, coordinated transition strategies paired with creative jammers can do. Racking points and holding off our jammers, Gotham stretched the point margin to 72. It was 17-89, Gotham at the half.

I had to abandon my clipboard for the second half. I could no longer just sit and watch this bout. So from the Beer Garden, peering through the crowd and enjoying the summer breeze tainted with the lofting scent of the Honey Buckets, I watched the second half play out.

It was fast paced, hard hitting and Gotham looked like they were digging it. Want to play the slow game? They could play that too. Not to diminish the abilities of our hometown heroes, but Gotham seemed to have an answer to anything WoJ would throw at them. Though the Wheels would find more offense in the second half, so would Gotham, ultimately building their margin of victory to 127 points. The 190-67 loss to Gotham should serve as another wake up call to our ladies in purple. Hopefully they see some of their short comings, the things that must change and the corrections required before we get to Sacramento in October.

All I could do was call for a ride home and wonder what day 3 of the Hometown Throwdown had in store for me and my hometown heroes.