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Roller derby rolls back into the future
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| Oakland Coliseum filled with fans in 1971 | |
Web posted at: 10:09 p.m. EST (0309 GMT)
From Correspondent Greg LaMotte
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Disco did it. So did miniskirts. So why shouldn't roller derby rise again?
It was once very, very popular. On July 4, 1971, some 35,000 people jammed into the Oakland Coliseum to watch the contact skaters slam into each other.
Roller derby's heydays were in the '50s, '60s and '70s when it was America's "secret" national pastime. Many people watched, but few were willing to admit it.
Leo Seltzer is credited with inventing the game and promoting it. But in the '70s, the sport's popularity fizzled out.
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| A candidate for 'Roller Jam' | |
But Seltzer had a son, who is now planning roller derby's comeback under a new name -- roller jam.
"It's a great sport. It's great entertainment, and it's different. Men and women competing on the same basis," said Jerry Seltzer of the World Skating League.
Tryouts were held recently in Los Angeles for a new, weekly cable television show called "Roller Jam."
"We have some world-class skaters, we have some Olympic skaters, we have some great roller hockey skaters," said show producer Brian Gadinsky. "If you can't skate, you can't cut it."
There also seemed to be a certain attitude among the potential contestants.
"I'm 6 foot 2 inches, 205 pounds, and I love body contact in sports," said Christopher Nelson.
"As a speed skater, I like to rough people up a little bit. But in our sport, we really can't do it," said Trevor Watson. "So doing roller jam, I could just check someone and have the speed aspect at the same time."
The main difference between the old roller derby and the new roller jam is the skates. In-line skates have replaced the old-fashioned, four on the floor variety.
Few of the aspiring "Roller Jam" heroes remember the good old days of roller derby.
"No, no, no," said Margaret Dykstra. "It's like a foggy gray zone of my childhood, and I think I was too young."
Those promoting the new show admit it's all about entertainment. And roller jam, whether America is ready or not, is coming back to television January 15th on TNT, a sister company of CNN.
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