Suzy Hotrod

The celebration of being in the ESPN Body Issue has been reverberating throughout the roller derby community. Right now we're the sport that gets paid in getting bigger muscles, but not in cash. Maybe that's why there are no rivalries when it comes to sharing the news when anyone in our sport gets exposure- because its not about me, its about us. ESPN took a chance on roller derby, thanks to a bit of encouragement from writer Jane McManus, who happens to write for ESPN....

On Thursday night I will be attending the launch party for ESPN Magazine’s The Body Issue. Because, breathe, breathe, I AM GOING TO BE IN IT! This is the first time I will see the photo too. This much-anticipated annual issue celebrates the athletic form and I will be alongside of Professional Athletes and Olympians. I am absolutely tremendously honored to have been chosen to represent not just Gotham Girls Roller Derby from New York, NY, but the entire sport of roller derby worldwide.

America, fuck yeah! Yes, you’re going to hear that a lot in the next few month as Team USA gears up for the World Cup. So what does it mean to represent your country? This is a historical event for our sport. (Note to World: I REALLY hope there’s an actual cup. I want to drink out of that thing, BADLY.) I found myself walking through the airport the other day looking at people and thinking, “I represent you and you and you and you!

In summer 2005, a few hundred strangers boarded planes and went to Las Vegas to celebrate RollerCon. That statement is pretty full of holes. I don’t know exactly how many people went. I don’t remember how many leagues attended. I don’t know what the exact date was. I’m an opinion spewer, not a fact-checking legitimate writer for god’s sake! Roller derby takes up way too much of my life to do research.