Book Review: Roller Derby: The Sensation That Caused A Book: Confessions of a Roller Derby Mascot

This book is a heartfelt love letter to the sport and culture that is roller derby. In search of the meaning of derbylove, Bane-Ana chronicles his travels around the United States and beyond in pursuit of crowd pleasing antics, rollergirl interviews, and derby solidarity. Like some bizarre banana-suited combination of Woody Allen and Hunter Thompson, his narrative veers from stomach churning pre-bout and airplane jitters to ecstatic pantsless afterpartying, with cartwheels and juggling in between.

Starting on the east coast around 2005, the raw firsthand accounts of early bouts and derby events will bring back fond memories for those who can remember them. For those who can't, rest assured that they have been duly recorded and transcribed from a variety of bar napkins, envelope backs, and in an
emergency, the Banana Man's arm. There are even illustrations.

Relegating serious topics like rules, men’s derby, and skater names to the appendices, Bane’s story takes readers on a hilarious roll through the early days of derby as he racks up new friends, old injuries, hangovers, and insight into just what it is that makes our sport so special. Laughs at silly puns score
‘joke jam’ points and haters are taken with a grain of potassium. Alliteration abounds and ridiculous metaphors fly as freely as Rice Rocket on the Beyonsleigh(1).

Sidenote: If you got that joke without watching the video, you probably witnessed or participated in some of the shennanigans described.

But seriously, until now documentation of the derby experience has come mainly from the point of view of the skaters, and the experiences of Bane-Ana provide a unique perspective on the evolution of modern derby. He has pieced together written proof that fans, announcers, and especially mascots are having loads of fun and love roller derby just as much as the skaters do. The sensation that caused this book is presented as a sporting and cultural phenomenon that unites a special class of weird and
wonderful people. The unavoidable conclusion is that under Bane-Ana's peel is a heart that beats with derbylove and he is not alone.

Good ‘ole Bane-Ana.

(1) Rice Rocket taking the Slay Ride

Editor's Note: Bane-Ana wanted the initial sales of his book to benefit derby owned retailers, before some large corporation like Amazon. If you'd like to order his book online, you can find it at fine derby retailers like Sin City Skates and Wicked Skatewear.