I went to the Bay Area Derby Girls (BAD Girls) championship game this weekend between the Oakland Outlaws and the Richmond Wrecking Belles. This was my first time at a roller derby match. My friends Frank and Kimberly suggested the idea and were gracious enough to even give me a ride to the venue and order a ticket for me. They had seen previous matches around the bay and are fans of the sport.

Now I can see why they are fans. The rules of the sport are easy to understand, for the most part. The players have personality and work the crowd well. It was easy to pick out some favorites from the teams. Damanda Riot is possibly the scariest woman I've ever seen and Kitt Turbo was impressive with her speed and maneuverability (both on the Oakland team).

It's hard to see in the videos but they managed to attract a respectable audience, much larger than I expected. They had PBR, whiskey shots, and corn dogs available at the concession stand. I managed to keep myself to one PBR. They even had a pre-match warmup and halftime show with Cheer SF, a non-profit adult cheering squad. The male:female ratio was around 10:1 but they entertained and did a great job.

Overall, it was a good experience and I'm glad that Frank and Kimberly let me tag along. I would definitely go again. If you'd like to see some video from the match click the "continue reading" link below.