Magnifisyncopathological: Texas Rollergirls Hit it Big!

May 14, 2004

Texas Rollergirls Hit it Big!

Felix Gillette has an article in Slate about the increasing popularity of the Texas Rollergirls.

Lone Star Skate: Roller derby makes a Texas-sized comeback

On a recent visit to the roller derby, I discovered my all-time favorite sports cheer.

It's a Sunday night in Austin, Texas, and the Hotrod Honeys are taking on the Hustlers in a low-slung roller rink behind a car dealership. Midway through the first period, the Honeys' manager - a rockabilly greaser dressed in coveralls and waving a wrench - turns to the crowd. Following his cue, we raise our arms, spread our hands in devil-finger formation, and salute: "Faster! Faster! Kill! Kill! Kill! Faster! Faster! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

It's no mistake that the chant evokes Russ Meyer's seminal girls-with-guns flick Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! If the lecherous Meyer invented a sport, it would look a lot like this - part girl-on-girl athletic competition, part burlesque show, and all covered with a thick coating of hipster irony. Austin's roller derby is a modish variation of the classically cheesy spectacle on wheels that won a cult following in the Bay Area during the '60s and on Saturday-morning television in the '80s. Austin's derby revival got started in the summer of 2002 and currently features two independent leagues, the Texas Rollergirls and the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls, which share nearly identical aesthetics, rules, and shtick.

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There's more to read at the link. An altogether great column about a local sport I've had the pleasure of experiencing several times. Action, hot women, rowdy music, Lone Star beer...and I live right across the street from the main roller rink at Playland Skate Center. One of the many reasons I moved to Crossroads Apartments. *evil grin*

Hell Marys, Honky Tonk Heartbreakers, Hotrod Honeys, Hustlers. I have a soft spot for the Hell Marys and the Heartbreakers, but I root for the sport as a whole. Just one more reason Austin Is Weirder Than Your City.

Posted by Drizzten at May 14, 2004 04:41 PM

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Comments

Owwwww another thing to envy you Texans for 'lol' They should introduce it here too.

Posted by: LC on May 16, 2004 04:42 AM

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