Beaver Fever: An Open Letter to Team Canada

Dear Team Canada,

At last weekend's World Cup, you won. Not second place, but the whole damn thing. You showed derby teams from across the globe what heart, swagger and dedication mean. You sang and danced (wonderfully, I might add). You played great derby. And yes, you came in second, but you scored more points against Team USA than all of their other competitors combined.

But here's what else you did. You inspired derby girls - ones flying in to support their national teams who couldn't help but cheer for you in the final, ones who took the bus to Toronto and slept on a friend's floor to see you play, ones who came home ready to work that much harder because of the example you gave them. You scored a 40-point jam against the fabulous Team England. You wore hockey helmets. You broke your clavicle. You made us yell your names, just by being as amazing as you are.

When I think of the World Cup, here's what I remember: LuluDemon's grace and speed on the track, Windigo's awesome blocking, SmackDaddy's ability to play any goddamn position, Killson's ability to get the crowd going - every player from Team Canada pulled the weight of a nation behind them and they did it with incredible strength and spirit.

Being at the World Cup was a chance to watch the greatest roller derby players in the world, and that's you, all of you.

© Jules Doyle - Type2BPhoto

Thank-you. Thank-you. Thank-you.

Your fan,
Cthulhu Lemon