The roller derby queens' debut

I saw a bald eagle last week high up in a tree. It was probably looking for something to eat.

The next day, Timmy and I were driving home from his piano lesson when we saw over 30 deer grazing in the neighbor's pasture. Then last week two skunks walked across my husband, Tom's path when he was driving home. The other morning I awoke to hear an owl hooting outside my bedroom window. All the activities by the wild animals are definitely signs that spring isn't too far off. I am looking forward to warmer weather. The wind has been so raw lately, that it shoots right through me.

My three oldest daughters, Mary, Bridget and Molly, along with 57 other girls, had their Minnesota Roller Girls debut in Coon Rapids at Cheap Skates on Sunday. There are four teams in their roller derby. My daughters' team is called the Garda Belts. Garda is police in Irish. The Garda Belts' uniforms are tartan skirts and Kelly green blouses.

Since their dad looks just like a leprechaun, he has become their unofficial mascot. The team had shorts and a shirt to match their outfits sewn for him. Each roller derby girl has her name printed on the back of her shirt. Tom's shirt has Tom the Leprechaun printed on the back.

For the Garda Belts' debut, Tom led them onto the roller rink and threw out chocolate candy covered with gold foil to the crowd. He is a leprechaun after all. Not your typical leprechaun, in that I don't think that a leprechaun normally shares his gold. But he is a mortal after all.

There were over 1,300 spectators that were watching the Minnesota Roller Girls debut. This number of people far exceeded the girls' expectations.

They have gotten quite a bit of press lately. Saturday they were written up in the Variety section of the Minneapolis Tribune. They have been in City Pages, Women's Press, on radio programs and numerous television stations. Sitting behind me at the derby were two boys around ten years of age. I heard the boys talking about the little man that led the Garda Belts out.

"That really is a little man," one of the boys said. "Yeah, he is really little. He is littler than me," said the other boy.

The girls on the other teams, which are named the Atomic Bombershells, Silver Bullets and Dagger Dolls asked my girls where did they hire that Leprechaun from?

The girls laughed and said, "Oh, that's our dad."

Tom had a great time being his impish self out in the rink. He hid the water bottles from the water boy from the Silver Bullets team that the Garda Belts were competing against. Tom high-fived the girls when they made points and yelled so much that he lost his voice by the end of the night. It was a fun night and no one wanted it to end. The four teams did two bouts each and a band called the Soviettes played during half time.

The band sang a song that was written just for the Minnesota Roller Girls debut. I had never seen the girls perform, and I was impressed by their athletic abilities and how fast they could skate.

The roller derby girls had the crowd rapt with excitement. The crowd was oohing, and aahing when the lead skater called the jammer would skate through the tough blockers. The crowd would groan when a skater would take a fall or if there was a pile up of skaters. The crowd was on their feet cheering and laughing when two or more girls would get into a tangle. This sport is not for wimps. These girls are tough and have great showmanship. I can't wait for their next bout, which will be on March 20. I just wish I didn't have to drive so far to see their games, but it is really worth it.