Whoooooooooo, CANADA!!!
The different levels of talent was astounding – there were girls who had been skating for years, and some that have only played in a handful of bouts. To have the chance to compete at an international tournament, no matter the skill level, would be an exhilerating experience.
I love that all the girls playing looked like they were having fun. Towards the end of the Canada/Finland team, all the skaters on the track before one of the last jams got together for a big group hug. That was awesome, and something you likely won't see in any other sport.
Another cool thing about this sport? We have more opportunity to meet and learn from the national team skaters. Like I said here, I got the chance to take part in a skate clinic with two Team Canada skaters – luludemon and 8mean Wheeler. Yesterday I watched luludemon score 10 points on Team USA. Last month she showed us how she can practically tap dance in her skates during an agility drill. How cool is that?!!?
I think I'm going through derby withdrawals – knowing that I don't have a game to watch today makes me sad.
But something else made me sadder. And by sadder, I mean madder.
Throughout the weekend, I reading a lot of the comments on DNN where posters were complaining about these huge points blowouts between the more experienced teams and the up-and-coming ones. 377-8, 408-7, 435-1, 499-8, 532-4 were some of the scores when teams played Canada or the USA. Some are calling it unsportsmanlike (unsportswomanlike?) to do 40-0 jams when the lead team is already up by a ridiculous amount of points. That teams like USA and Canada were being disrespectful and totally not cool for not going easy on the other less experienced teams.
I only have one thing to say to that: Fuck You.
Okay, that's a lie. I have more things to say about that.
This is roller derby, not elementary school where we have to hand out participation ribbons to everyone. Going easy on anyone in a bout is the ultimate insult to those less skilled players. They went there expecting to play the best in the world, not a team that's going to stand to one side and let them score a few mercy points.
Those teams that went against the USA earned every point they got. None of them were just given away for free, they had to work their asses off offensively and defensively to get those points. And they should be (and likely are) proud of themselves.
This whole concept of "running up the score" and "mercy rules" is a North American concept. No where else in the world would anyone ever consider going easy on another team just because they were losing. You're here to play a sport, you're here to compete. You do you're absolute best, and if that's not enough to win against a powerhouse team, well, that's just they way it is.
No one expects the Canadian Men's Hockey Team to take is easy on any other team during the Olympics – they expect a thrashing. Nor does anyone expect Spain or Brazil or Germany to take it easy on Canada during the FIFA World Cup. Soccer/Football is not a sport we're known for, but we send a team anyway and watch them get slaughtered by better teams. Brazil is not going to go easy on Canada or call a match if it's obvious they're going to win. If that were the case, they might as well just call the game in favour of Brazil before anyone walks out onto the pitch.
How I picture those posters on DNN that are
complaining about the point differential.
"Waaaaaah! You're so meeeeean for not letting us score points!!"
Derby girls are not pussies. They want to go into a competition and give it their all and know that the other team is going to do the same.
Even better were some posters claiming to know what the girls on the losing team were thinking! Despite a Scotland skater claiming she was having the time of her life after her team's loss to the USA, one poster said that despite what that girl said in the post-match interview, she really must be devastated by the loss.
I'm sorry, are you a mind reader? Or are you just projecting your own personal feeling you have about losing that were drilled into your head as a kid? Maybe that's the problem, we have a tendency to make losing out to be a much bigger deal than it is. Losing a game shouldn't be devastating, nor should it be rewarded. It's just a part of life. Win some, lose some as the saying goes. Losing should inspire kids to work harder to succeed, and even if they don't become to top team, then for fuck's sake, have fun!
Sports should be competitive, but they should also be fun. If people didn't instill this sense of WIN WIN WIN and then belittle them when they lose, maybe we wouldn't need mercy rules.
Roller Derby is fun. Like a shit-tonne of fun. I don't think I've played a bout where my team won, but you know who gave a fuck? No one, especially not me. I learned so much from those bouts and will continue to learn more the more times I play. And I can't wait to play again. And I bet the other teams at the B&T World Cup can't either.
Don't hate, roller skate!
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