I really dislike this clip of Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb with the LA Derby Dolls. Come on, they could have at least made a damn effort. What was the point of putting on all that gear?
But I am not writing this post to bash the giddy hosts of Today's Show 4th hour (even though I would love to see them replaced). I'm actually writing this because since I took advantage of this winter's 20at20 promotion and experienced Atlantic Theater Company's amusing production of Rolin Jones' The Jammer, I've been seeing a lot of coverage of the roller derby. The Today Show, magazine and newspaper articles, and news clips.
I didn't realize that this contact sport which came on the scene during the 1930s still existed. According to the WSJ article As the World Turns, So Do the Wheels of Roller Derby by Matt Moffett, the sport has a global reach as far as Dubai and is played as follows:
Now female-dominated, roller derby is played by five-member teams. One skater on each team, known as the jammer and sporting a star on her helmet, tries to lap the other team's skaters. Starting with the jammer's second pass through the opposition, her team gets a point for each opponent she laps.The other skaters wield their hips, rear ends and shoulders to block the opposing jammer, while trying to propel their own jammer onward.Thanks to The Jammer and all the coverage, I wouldn't mind checking out a game.
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