The Dark Side, photo by Brad Habit

Only three days left for your bid to guest captain your very own white or black Windy City Rollers team! Hopefuls for the coveted positions will battle it out, ebay style, all this weekend. But by close of business Monday, only two will be left standing to face each other in two weeks, derby style, at the Ivy King Cup Championships on June 5.

Last year, Joe Klug's ("Contusions O'Grandeur") White Zombies defeated Chuck King's ("Chuck Yeah!!!") The Dark Side, 72-30. "First, we picked teams downtown at some Thai restaurant with Tori Adore. I also attended two practices which was most fun," says O’Grandeur. Assisted by Kami Sutra on game day, he got to try his hand at bench coaching — the mostly unsung but uberchallenging position of calling lineups for each jam, managing player rotation, and paying attention to who's in the penalty box— and generally got to experience the difference between watching and playing derby. "It was fun, but I did not get to see much of the team in action. I was too busy bench coaching." True that!

"Initially, I did not know what to expect," he says. "The whole deal was fun, and it was nice to get to know some of the women. Everyone was very helpful from start to finish. Sometimes, it felt like I was trying to herd cats. It was great to see derby from the inside out."

White Zombies

Chuck Yeah says, "It wasn't quite what I expected, because I expected us to win! But it was certainly a lot of fun. The main thing that made me nervous was, I didn't want to disappoint the team, but they all knew what they were doing when it came to playing derby, so I concerned myself with mainly trying to fire up the crowd and maintain enthusiasm."

O’Grandeur literally crossed paths with the Windy City Rollers at the American Cancer Society’s Walk and Roll in 2005. "I got off to a late start and I saw a whole bunch of women on quads, dressed in black, and some in fishnets skating back to the park. I wondered who they were? When I got back to the park, I inquired. Some skinny girl with green wheels and purple sun glasses told me they are WCR and to come out and see them; I have been going ever since."

Chuck Yeah has been a derby fan for about two years. He came to his first few bouts to cheer for his bandmate, The Fury's Mel Content, and has since become a fan of the entire sport. Last year he travelled to the regional championships at The Brawl Of America, which opened his eyes to derby on the national level. "So now I sort of follow what's going on elsewhere, too. I can't wait to see how the All-Stars do this year against Gotham and Philly at ECE!"

And he has a special stake in this year's championship match: "I wore my Fury shirt to all those bouts last year when they went 1-5, so this year, with them playing for the championship, has been very gratifying!"

And O’Grandeur says, “It was good to raise money for Tequila Mockingbird. I would definitely do it again." All proceeds from the guest captain auctions will be donated to Tequila Mockingbird, who seriously injured her spinal cord during a bout in August 2007.

For more information on how you can support Tequila in her incredible recovery, please visit www.helptequila.com.

Talk Derby with your Friends!

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