11/17/2017
Meet Your Fight Crew - Your Pilot on Today’s is long time & hardcore fan Little Kenny!
Q: Who are you?
A: A husband, a satellite engineer for an aerospace company in southern California, and an editor that spends way too much time cataloging comic books at the Grand Comics Database.
Q: Do you have a skate name / nickname at derby? If so, what is the meaning behind it?
A: Little Kenny. It has nothing to do with derby. As a kid, 18-19 years old, I was given that nickname to differentiate me from a friends less than stellar older brother. So when I saw all the cool names that people in derby had I never bothered to introduce myself as just Ken or Kenny - it was always as Little Kenny. I'm still called that by those same friends that gave me the nickname so long ago.
Friend 1: "So Kenny and I went to grab a bite to eat."
Friend 2: "You went to lunch with Bonehead?"
Friend 1: "No, no, Little Kenny."
And if you've seen me you know that I'm not of significant stature so the Little part makes sense. At least it did before I blossomed around the belly these past few years.
Q: When did you start coming to LADD? How long have you been supporting derby and what brought you the first time?
A: I have a couple of friends that suggested at one point that we go and see these awesome, beautiful, women dressed in fishnets and skirts play roller derby one Saturday afternoon in 2006. Not really having any idea what to expect I showed up to an outdoor roller rink in North Hollywood on a day when hell had opened its door and was belching all the flame and fury it could onto that rink. While fun it wasn't what I'd been expecting based on what I remembered from seeing on TV. That coupled with the blistering heat made it a day I was more looking forward to just getting back to somewhere cool. I had a sense though that there was something special about this if I just gave it a chance. That said we agreed amongst ourselves that we had to see this at least one more time and when they were skating on the banked track. The next bout we showed up to was at the top of the Little Tokyo Mall and they had the banked track set up and you could stand right next to it as they skated.
It. Was. Bloody. Awesome!
I've never been the same since.
Q: What is it about banked track roller derby that you think is special?
A: If I had to pick just one thing, there are many, it would have to be the amazing speed of it. Yes there are some slower bits, but when you get the jammers jamming and the packs bashing, all at speed, man it is one amazing feat. Especially now with the skill level of the skaters being what it is. Holy shnikies!
Q: What are some of your favorite derby stories / memories?
A: We all decided we needed to pick teams to root for at that very first game in Little Tokyo. My buddies had already seen a couple games and had chosen the Trust Fund Terrors as their team. Unfortunately TFT weren't around for the long haul and they switched allegiances to the Cookies. For me though the Fight Crew in their Red and Black with Armov in her Russian military hat and scowl and Gloom with her quirkiness and glasses and Jihad and Crystal and Broady and .... yeah I knew who I'd be rooting for. It was never really in doubt. The Michael Jackson Thriller skateout clinched it.
At another one of those Little Tokyo bouts they were raffling skate board decks from Black Label. My buddy won one. It was a Black/Red deck and a Fight Crew/Cookies night and he went and got Tara, Broady, Suzie, and Eva to sign it. And then he GAVE it to me! It's on display in my living room.
At that first game at the Little Tokyo Mall they were giving away flasks with the LADD logo on them. We'd gotten the VIP tickets and so had those flasks. We went to buy some booze, Johnny Walker was a sponsor, and they had no glasses. We ended up just having them fill the flasks. Heh, heh. Yeah, oops.
A more current favorite was having designated spots painted in the stands for just me and my wife at the old Doll Factory and at the new Dollosseum. Definitely makes you feel like one of the family.
One thing that I always looked for and that made me happy was to see Dr. Rick of the Doll Repair Team smiling out on the infield. To this day I've never said more than a few words to him, but I always enjoyed seeing him out there.
And of course having Fight Crew finally win the championship again! Woohoo!! Go Fight Crew!
Q: What makes Fight Crew special?
A: That never give up mentality. Despite many years of struggling between winning championships the team has always shown a cohesiveness, toughness, and camraderie that comes through all the way out to the stands. The way they have been able to rally around and fill a hole or holes when a player(s) have been missing has been inspiring and made it easy to cheer on my team even when they weren't scoring enough points to get the win. ❤
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: At this point while Fight Crew is my team I'm pretty much rooting for the whole darn league. There are so many awesome women skating who are supported by a whole crew of awesome women and men from the Refs to the Track Monkeys to the Doll Repair Team and everyone else that plays a role in making this all happen that I can't help, but appreciate all that goes into making it all work. Thank you to all of them.
Thank you Fight Crew for all the awesome years of Roller Derby.
