Back on the Beat With the Windy City Rollers

The Windy City Rollers Home Team Season Bout #1 is tonight!  The Fury takes on Hell's Belles in the first match.  The Manic Attackers and the Double Crossers will battle in the second match.  The action starts at 7.

I've been covering the Windy City Rollers for a few years.  I went to my first night of roller derby action not really knowing what to expect.  I was familiar with roller derby from television, but this was billed as a legit sport now.

After one night of action, I was hooked.  This version of roller derby was just as fun and colorful as the old televised roller derby, but this was a real competition.  While the ladies still had theatrical names (Sara Problem, AliSin Chains, Jackie Daniels and more), it lacked the over-the-top theatrics of the televised variety.

I admit that although they explained the rules and scoring before the bouts, I was still a bit confused about some of the specifics.  Still, I got the basics and certainly enough to cheer on the ladies as they raced around the track.

I started interviewing some of the Rollers that night.  Over the years, I've managed to get interviews with 20 of them, which can be found on the Johngy's Beat Windy City Rollers playlist on YouTube.  Through the interviews, I learned a bit about the history of derby, the origins of WCR and some interesting things about the women athletes.

Much like the elite athletes on the Chicago Bandits and the Chicago Bliss, the women of the WCR are dedicated, skilled athletes, who train virtually all year.  They sacrifice a lot for the sport they love.

The fans are interesting, too.  You are likely to see a wide variety of people in the stands.  Young and old, singles and couples, students and professionals all are rabid fans.  It's quite interesting just crowd-watching.

I'm looking forward to seeing some of my old favorites and the rookies, too.  Derby season is upon us and I am loving it.

Check WindyCityRollers.com for more info and schedules.  Also, follow the Windy City Rollers on Facebook.

Project Mayhem, Peacock, Emtropy, Albus Rumblemore, Shake N Bake and me in Chicago, IL-Spring 2017.

On the Beat with Shake N Bake of the Windy City Rollers

Today, we feature our third interview from our last night of exciting roller derby action courtesy of the Windy City Rollers.  We always learn a lot more each time out and it just keeps being more entertaining.

While the first game from Saturday was a battle of two undefeated teams, the other game saw two winless teams face off against each other.  The Manic Attackers prevailed over the Double Crossers 326-121.
As the regular season winds down, the travel season starts.  The schedule is not out yet, but I'll be watching for it and I am looking forward to seeing those games for the first time.

We interviewed Shake N Bake of the Double Crossers.  THE WCR rookie is temporarily on the sidelines as her broken arm heals.  She broke it in a practice session.  As I have said, these ladies play hard and practice hard).  She hopes to be back in action for the upcoming Ivy King Cup, but only time will tell.

Shake N Bake discussed her path to the WCR, the Ivy King Cup, the WCR schedule post-Cup and more.  You can tell she is itching to get back into action and her fans definitely want to see her out there, too.

Once again, we thank the Windy City Rollers for their hospitality.  We appreciate their time and consideration.  We always have a fun night watching WCR action.

I encourage everyone to come out for the Ivy King Cup on Saturday, March 28.  After you watch the interview below, head over to WindyCityRollers.com to get all of the info and updates.