Must Do: Become a Fan
By Karen Brooks
Watch the Brutal
Beauties
STEVEN “SKIPPYSTEVE” PRICE has long been drawn to “the far end of the bell curve” of society as a criminal defense lawyer and then a judge for the Washington County Circuit Court. But in his spare time, Price walks an even wilder side with the Rose City Rollers roller-derby league. The six-year-old league is the country’s largest, with more than 180 skaters filling rosters for teams like the Break Neck Betties and the Heartless Heathers. Price is the league’s most ardent photographer (the Pearl District’s Visage Eyewear is featuring his work from August 5 through October 6), and he sits on the Rollers’ board, chairing (no surprise) the Code of Conduct committee.
JUDGE STEVEN PRICE’S GUIDE TO DERBY FANDOM
1. Get a good seat: Whether at the Expo Center or Oaks Park, sit at the starting line—preferably next to someone wearing an “Ask me about derby” T-shirt.
2. Learn the strategy and tactics: What may look like a free-for-all is really full-contact chess on wheels. The skaters in the helmets emblazoned with stars are the “jammers” who score the points, but no less important are the “blockers.”
3. Enjoy: “Roller derby,” observes Price, “is one of the few venues where women can openly express both their athleticism and their femininity.”
rosecityrollers.com
Earn Your Stripes in the Timbers Army
SHAWN LEVY—noted film critic for the Oregonian, Rat Pack expert, and lauded biographer of Hollywood hero Paul Newman—is also an obsessed soccer fan, complete with his own well-trafficked global soccer blog (twitter.com/worldisround). He is a senior soldier in the Timbers Army, that merry band of rowdies (and, yes, soccer moms) who fill PGE Park for every home game played by the Portland Timbers. Loud, savage, and hilarious, the gang is 3,000 strong and growing, especially with the anticipation of Major League Soccer coming to the town in 2011. It’s one big, open-armed, grassroots, earnest, anarchistic family, complete with hymnals, streamers, and smoke bombs. New recruits are warmly welcomed.
SHAWN LEVY’S GUIDE TO ENLISTMENT
1. There’s no membership, fees, or initiation rites. Just buy a ticket, show up, and wander into the madness.
2. Find the Timbers Army table in the concourse and grab a sheet of chant lyrics.
3. Stand—always stand—sing, clap, laugh, and, above all, root for the home team.
4. Buy the Timbers’ “No Pity” scarf at the merchandise trailer at SW 20th Avenue and Morrison Street. It’s only $10, and sold at cost—never in stores—in typical Army spirit.
5. Sing “You Are My Sunshine” in the game’s 80th minute and “I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You” in the 85th.
timbersarmy.org; portlandtimbers.com
Published: August 2010
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