On May 17th the Crossroads City Derby Sucias hit the road for a now very familiar drive north to Colorado, this time to the town of Parker to bout against the Castle Rock ‘n’ Rollers. For most of us this was our 5th bout in four weeks, and with only 11 skaters rostered this time (we only have 12 total on our entire team), we were feeling the strain.
What better way to wind up the day after spending 10 hours on road? Thai food! It’s become a pre-bout ritual for us. We found the tiny but absolutely delicious Dancing Noodle restaurant in the appropriately named Crossroads Plaza.
Bout day! My roommates (Fearless Foxy Fighter, Captain Howdy, Sgt. Smite) and I first visited Waffle House, where we unexpectedly caught the attention of a Denver Roller Doll who recognized our shirts from the Colorado Cup and came over to congratulate us on our performance there and wished us luck that night. That led to a waitress asking us to sign her hat, right next to her Harlem Globetrotter’s autographs. After breakfast we decided to stop and check out the Parker Field House, where we would bout later that night. It was a truly amazing facility; it included a hockey rink w/sport court (where we would bout), a climbing wall, batting cages, a gym, sports turf, and an elevated track. We wistfully walked past the climbing wall (it looked REALLY fun) and settled for watching groups of children play soccer and volleyball. Then we made the drive to Derbyville in Denver (not because we necessarily NEEDED anything but when you live in a town without a skate shop you can’t pass up the opportunity to visit one that caters specifically to derby). Last stop, The Shoppe Bakery, to admire the wonderfully original and amazing cupcakes (the Nutella and Bacon Salted Caramel are some of our favorites). While making our purchase a family in the shop commented on our league shirts (seriously, we represent CCD everywhere we go), leading to a discussion about derby and concluding with us signing autographs on their copy of Westword (a free weekly Denver newspaper), which just happened to feature a cover story on roller derby.
After that it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready to bout! When we took the track for warm up all thoughts of being tired and worries about nagging injuries were replaced with the energy that only a bout can create. We’d trained hard, we were together, and we got to play derby!!! The 1st whistle blew and we ended up scoring a quick 20 points on a power jam. We never relinquished that lead; the score remained close (within 30 points) during the 1st half but then we showed why we’re considered a 2nd half team by gradually pulling away during the final 20 minutes. It was a fast paced, physical bout but thanks to our excellent fitness (thanks coach!) we were up to the challenge: final score 189-104. Onto the after party, which we also won, thanks to some outstanding dance moves and some old school hip-hop. Our referee Sgt. Smite was even voted after party MVP.
So we played derby, it was awesome, we all made it safely home, what else could add to the weekend? Seeing Crossroads City Derby listed on the newly released top 100 things about Las Cruces. Seeing that made me realize that although we’ve only been around for four years we have a solid fan base and are becoming recognized as part of the community. We proudly represent Las Cruces everywhere we go, and we look forward to our next away bout August 17th in San Angelo, TX.
– Nikki Six-Shooter #colt 45
What better way to wind up the day after spending 10 hours on road? Thai food! It’s become a pre-bout ritual for us. We found the tiny but absolutely delicious Dancing Noodle restaurant in the appropriately named Crossroads Plaza.
Bout day! My roommates (Fearless Foxy Fighter, Captain Howdy, Sgt. Smite) and I first visited Waffle House, where we unexpectedly caught the attention of a Denver Roller Doll who recognized our shirts from the Colorado Cup and came over to congratulate us on our performance there and wished us luck that night. That led to a waitress asking us to sign her hat, right next to her Harlem Globetrotter’s autographs. After breakfast we decided to stop and check out the Parker Field House, where we would bout later that night. It was a truly amazing facility; it included a hockey rink w/sport court (where we would bout), a climbing wall, batting cages, a gym, sports turf, and an elevated track. We wistfully walked past the climbing wall (it looked REALLY fun) and settled for watching groups of children play soccer and volleyball. Then we made the drive to Derbyville in Denver (not because we necessarily NEEDED anything but when you live in a town without a skate shop you can’t pass up the opportunity to visit one that caters specifically to derby). Last stop, The Shoppe Bakery, to admire the wonderfully original and amazing cupcakes (the Nutella and Bacon Salted Caramel are some of our favorites). While making our purchase a family in the shop commented on our league shirts (seriously, we represent CCD everywhere we go), leading to a discussion about derby and concluding with us signing autographs on their copy of Westword (a free weekly Denver newspaper), which just happened to feature a cover story on roller derby.
After that it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready to bout! When we took the track for warm up all thoughts of being tired and worries about nagging injuries were replaced with the energy that only a bout can create. We’d trained hard, we were together, and we got to play derby!!! The 1st whistle blew and we ended up scoring a quick 20 points on a power jam. We never relinquished that lead; the score remained close (within 30 points) during the 1st half but then we showed why we’re considered a 2nd half team by gradually pulling away during the final 20 minutes. It was a fast paced, physical bout but thanks to our excellent fitness (thanks coach!) we were up to the challenge: final score 189-104. Onto the after party, which we also won, thanks to some outstanding dance moves and some old school hip-hop. Our referee Sgt. Smite was even voted after party MVP.
So we played derby, it was awesome, we all made it safely home, what else could add to the weekend? Seeing Crossroads City Derby listed on the newly released top 100 things about Las Cruces. Seeing that made me realize that although we’ve only been around for four years we have a solid fan base and are becoming recognized as part of the community. We proudly represent Las Cruces everywhere we go, and we look forward to our next away bout August 17th in San Angelo, TX.
– Nikki Six-Shooter #colt 45
