Hey people,
Long time no write. I've been doing lots of shit, most of it related to derby, and I haven't had the chance to do more than reblog the funny "Call Me Maybe" Chatroulette video and photos of Suzy Hotrod's fine...parts. Anyway, VT Men's Derby partook in the Mohawk Valley Cup on August 18 &19, and boy was it fucking amazing!!
We started off by skating against the New York Shock Exchange. Yes, they whooped our asses *cough* to 27 or something, but we all had fun!! A few highlights to mention:
1) I jammed against Jonathan R!!!! I've done this in NYSE practices before and since then, but FUCK YES it was EPIC!!!
2) The Mean Mountain Boys had, I believe 2 jams, where we outplayed, AND outscored NYSE (not bad huh?).
3) I fouled out for the very first time ever, and got sent to the locker room by a Level 5 WFTDA ref!!! Sugar Daddy was awfully nice about it afterwards.
4) I knocked Jefferee on his ass, and that felt amazing!!
And finally:
5) The Mean Mountain Boys never gave up, and Ferrari Kid never stopped smiling.
(OK, I'll admit, in all the chaos, I wasn't really paying attention to other skater's highlights, and this blog is a bit self centered, but shit, can't a man boast a lil bit...?)
One thing I noticed about the Shock Exchange is that they're really generous nice dudes. After the bout, they offered all of us tips, and compliments, and I honestly expected nothing else. They have a reputation within Men's Derby for being assholes, and I cannot figure out why, for the life of me. Class acts and nice dudes all around, except for Jefferee when he's jam coaching LIRR... :oD I made good on a bet with Maulin' Brando pitting VT Maple Syrup against NY Cheesecake in a winner take all quest for sweetness, and the only catch was that I got the cheesecake no matter who won. Great bout, great experience, and a lot of fun, despite the blowout...
Bout 2, also on day 1, was against PVRD's Dirty Dozen. We've played these dudes several times before, and came pretty close to beating them in a public scrimmage in April, but they got back several of their injured skaters since then.
Highlights:
1) I knocked Will Jettison into the penalty board on the inside of the track, which caused the officials to scatter, and the crowd to gasp.
2) We figured out how to wipe the resin off of our wheels, which made gripping the floor a whole lot easier;
3) Mongo was back!! Mongo, one of MRDA's favorite skaters returned from a wicked shoulder injury that kept him from contact for a lot of months skated again at Mohawk for the first time in a long time. I must say that I Lawrence Taylored him right onto his ass when he was trying to skate behind me. We laughed it off...
4) We finished the bout strong, and ended up losing something like 290-75, but shit, earning those 75 and giving up those 298 were fun as shit!!
Bout 3 was against the Quadfathers on day 2. Both they and us had lost both of their bouts up to that point, and so this was the battle to stay out of the cellar. We finally played a team on our level, and it proved to be a super competitive bout throughout.
Some highlights:
1) After working the damn things for so long, we finally did well and triumphed at many scrum starts. I was proud of my teammates, that we were able to work so well together, finally.
2) Ferrari Kid was fucking unstoppable. He and Wraith did the lion's share of the jamming, because our blocking was awesome when I was in the pack (that's what the jam coach said, not me). He must've scored 80 points, at least. Wraith, as usual, was totally dominant, and I believe I scored 24 points on a power jam, but I honestly cannot remember the specifics at this point.
3) The Mean Mountain Boys killed penalties better than I've ever seen them do it. We all know it's a "stop the bleeding" strategy with penalty kills these days, and we did so very effectively.
All in all, the MVC was amazing. The Shock Exchange totally cleaned up, earning the gold by annihilating the Mass Maelstrom in the championship bout. Mass got 2nd, and I think Race City got 3rd, although I really can't remember on account of being so fucking toasted after our bout ended... Also of note, Undead Zed #0, for the Maelstrom broke the shit out of his leg. I have seen him since, and he's on the mend, determined to get back into the action. So, in a way, many of us were playing for him after he got hurt, and hoping that he makes a speedy recovery. Now that my crazy musings are over, I hope to post some photos of the tourney in the near future.
Cheers!!