Roller Derby

I'm not a sports fan.  I don't understand most of them and they bore me.  I do kind of like hockey.  We had a hockey team for about a second a few  years ago and I really enjoyed going to the one game I made it to.  But this is Arkansas... not really hockey country. 

I have found something else I enjoy now.  Roller derby.

My sister has a friend who is into roller derby and she got my sister going to meets and eventually going to practices.  She started learning how to skate and ended up tearing up her ankle.  She's still recouping, but fully intends to get back to it when she's able.  This is really odd for me.  Growing up, my best friend and I always called my sister "White Bread."  We were more the type you would think would get into roller derby.  But my sister has been finding her inner freak.  ;)

She invited me to go to the meet they had scheduled last night.  At first I lamented the fact that I wouldn't have anyone to watch the kids and couldn't go.  She told me to bring them and she and her husband would help me with the girls.  I had been counting down the days.

We got there and the first thing I noticed was the ambulance in the parking lot and I got all excited.  In case you didn't notice the similarity between roller derby and hockey - they are both kind of violent.  People don't find this all that odd about me, even though I'm not a violent person.  I don't like to watch violent movies or wrestling or boxing.  But the hockey and roller derby kind of violence... I like it.  I can't really explain it.  Just go with it.

Now, I know you're thinking... you took your small kids?  It wasn't THAT violent.  Not any more violent than they already are towards each other.  At one point, they had found a little corner to play in and they were running in circles, tackling each other.  My sister said, "it looks like they're playing roller derby."  I thought, "hmmm... they do that at home all the time..."  Plus, they hardly watched the meet at all.

I had a blast.  It was excellent people-watching.  The meet itself kept my attention.  I understood the rules.  It was just a ton of fun. 

I just found out that there is another team close by that has a meet next weekend and I'm debating going.  I don't know if my sister would be interested and I'm not sure I would want to go alone. 

It makes me wonder... is 35 too old to be a roller derby girl?  It could be some good motivation to get this weight off.  I'm bad on skates and would probably hurt myself worse than my sister did (I broke my wrist skating when I was in elementary school, so I already have a bad track record).  But it looks like so much fun.