Mar 19, 2013 | Bout News
Catching up with Desi: Texas from a former Garda
To give you an idea of who Minnesota’s playing this weekend, we wanted to give you a firsthand view of the very first women’s flat track roller derby league. Who better than the legendary Garda Belt, Desi Cration? We tracked down #222 – former Garda captain, now part of the Texas Rollergirls – to introduce the team from the great derby city of Austin, TX.
Who are you, what league do you play for, and why is your name on the retired roster of the Garda Belts?
Desi Cration: Ooh, I forgot I was listed on the Garda Belts site – I love those ladies.
I am Desi Cration, skater for the Texas Rollergirls. I skate for the Honky Tonk Heartbreakers for intraleague play and for the Texecuioners for interleague bouts. In 2008, I began skating for the Texas Rollergirls after getting my start here with the Minnesota Rollergirls in 2005. I skated with the lovely Garda Belts and the MNRG All-Stars, and I even captained both teams with the talented Rumblebee!
It’s been six years since you left for Texas. Do you still keep track of the MNRG? What do you expect returning to the Roy will mean to you?
Has it really been six years? Goodness, time flies. I certainly do keep up with MNRG but more from afar than directly (Coach Dantigravity and I are known to swap strategies during tournament season). I am excited to come back to the Roy, as I imagine it will be like coming home. Well, maybe not quite like that. More like coming home to suddenly find that your entire family, all 4000+ of them, definitely want you to lose, maybe want to hurt you, or possibly both. But I have many fond memories of my time with MNRG and the Roy. My husband proposed to me at a home bout in 2007. I was on baby hiatus the last (and only other) time the Minnesota RollerGirls and the Texas Rollergirls squared off at the 2011 Championship tournament. I nearly lost my mind during that bout!
How would you explain the difference between the ‘cutioners and MNRG?
Hmmm, that’s like asking what is the difference between “y’all” and “you guys”. Or deciding if BBQ and Lone Star Beer go together better than Hotdish and Surly beer. I expect you will see regional differences to be apparent but in the end we’re all playing the same game.
Who should the fans be watching in your blocker pack?
All of them. Seriously. We have legacy players that have been here since modern flat track derby was new (Bloody Mary), an amazing skater who began as a junior derby skater and rise to flat track fame (Luce Bandit), a banked track to flat track skater and DNN’s Stand Out Player of the Year (Smarty Pants), our own Texas bred skaters (DeBella DeBall, Flash Gorgeous, Hauss the Boss, Shortcut, Olivia Shootin’ John), and more talent that has transferred in from other leagues than you can shake a stick at (Barbara Ambush, Desi Cration, Fifi Nomenon, Molotov M. Pale, Notorious D.I.E., Polly Gone, Killbox, The Killa Sal Monella).
With the loss of Vicious [Van Gogo, now skating for Gotham], who’s the next jammer that looks to step up?
I miss Vicious terribly, she was the yin to my yang in 2009. There is no replacing Vicious (or our other transfer loss of the amazingly talented blocker Belle Starr to Rose City) but our jammer rotation is deep. We have many jammers that could take the star helmet cover at any minute and wreak havoc. Some are already well known derby names while others are more up and coming, but they all pack a mean punch.
What’s great about your team?
Just exactly that- we are a team. Everything we do is as one unit: we skate together, sweat together, laugh and cry together, win and lose together. We are never alone because we are one. Individual successes are attributed to the work that the team has garnered together.
Many thanks to Desi Cration for her time. Minnesota’s All-Stars play Desi and the Texecutioners this weekend. Doors open at 6pm CST, first whistle at 7:30pm. See you there!