A Sport That's Rolling It's Way Into the Hearts of American

With the ingredients of toughness, hard work and a touch of attitude the Prime Cuts, a Roller Derby team, shows Americans a sport different than any other in the world.

The Slaughter House Prime Cuts, a derby team out of Greeley, brings a sport that is truly female dominated to the for front of not only the community but the world.

Taking a hard hit in popularity and credibility in the 1970's due to some teams staging and choreographing the sport, roller derby has made a come back. For teams all over the nation and the world, like the Prime Cuts, it is not an easy task to rebuild the sports legitimacy. The hard-hitting ladies were more than happy to show everyone what this sport is all about.

"It's this great little underground world that not a lot of people really know about,” Said Nate Mares, the head coach of the Prime Cuts.

With over 750 leagues worldwide and around 400 leagues right here in the United States, it is hard to understand why roller derby is not noticed more often.

As tough and rough as any other sport, the ladies of the Prime Cuts show that a derby girl need a certain kind of zest to take on this contact sport.

"I think a lot of it is just not being afraid to fall. And once you let yourself fall you realize, it does hurt but you still get back up and your alive,” said Cheyenne Pepper, a blocker for the Prime Cuts, as she describes what it takes to be a derby girl.

Do not be fooled by the tough outer shell that these skaters wear like a suite of armor. Off the track, these women lead completely different lives.

"We have moms, librarians, pre-school teachers, and doctors. We have the whole gauntlet for the occupations of women who skate here," Mares said.

Sometimes the sweet, shy looking skaters are really the ones you need to watch out for as MeQuadza B. Blazin, another blocker for the Prime Cuts, warns when talking about her experiences on the derby track.

"You can come in as the sweetest girl, and it's these ones who are going to knock you out," Blazin said.

No matter how sweetest or toughest a derby girl maybe on the derby track, they all skate for the same reason. They skate for the love of derby. Each girl skates her heart out, hoping to restore the name of roller derby and making a name for females everywhere in the derby world.
"It is truly a women’s sport, it's their own they aren't sharing it with a men’s league, the actually trump the men," Mares Said.

With every practice and bout the Prime Cuts skate in, the team sheds light on a sport that is slowly but steadily making its way back into the sports world, especially for women. So move over men's football, or the world of roller derby is going to roll you out of the way, one bout at a time.