SEEMINGLY JUMPING BACK A FEW YEARS

There's a great piece in this week's Weekly Planet Tampa about a group of women who came together and formed the Tampa Bay Derby Darlins, a roller derby league still in it's infancy.

Never heard of roller derby? It's actually been around for more than a half century, and it seems that these ladies are seeking to have fun while bringing back some of the fun folks enjoyed during the 50s and 60s. The only difference between this show and the San Francisco Bay Bombers and Los Angeles Thunderbirds of days gone by is that there were men players who alternated skating periods with the women. And the originals skated on a banked track...not necessairly an easy task.

I was living in suburban Houston during the early and mid 70s, and one of the independent TV stations would run the San Francisco-based roller derby programme with the Bombers; when the second indy came on air it began airing the LA show featuring the T-Birds. Of course, it wasn't a show without the occasional catfights that occured. You can check out memories from fans of those days at this site.

Al Tompkins of Poynter Online made mention recently about the return of roller derby and the fact that a number of leagues seem to be popping up across the country.

I might have to check it out for myself! Brings back some good memories of days gone by...