2012 MRDA Championships Preview: #6 Portland Men’s Roller Derby
Having joined in December 2011, Portland Men’s Roller Derby is the newest member to qualify for this year’s MRDA Championships. Portland hit the ground skating participating in three tournaments this year: The Big O, Spring Roll, and Throwdown in the Sound. Don’t let their 3-4 2012 record fool you. Despite being the only team to earn a trip to Champs with a losing record, Portland is a force to be reckoned with. They never shy away from a tough battle: all four of Portland’s losses came to top five-ranked MRDA teams.
Portland’s all-star travel team, the Bridgetown Menace, showed up on most teams’ radars with their performance at Spring Roll. “Spring Roll was my favorite derby moment of 2012.,” Portland skater Shreddy Mercury said. The entire weekend was a blast! We came into the tournament unranked and played very well against four MRDA-ranked teams. That performance in Ft. Wayne is what earned us our spot at Champs.”
Specifically, Portland absolutely handled the then-#10 and #11 teams. Most notable was a 170-61 win over a very strong Race City team, who subsequently shot up to #7 due to their Spring Roll victories. Portland’s other triumph that weekend was a 296-72 shellacking of the Connecticut Death Quads.
So, how is Portland preparing for this year’s championships? “I’m preparing my mind and body for Championships with a steady diet of gangster rap, caffeine, and BBQ asparagus,” the always light-hearted and smiling Shreddy Mercury joked. But, Portland has put in some serious track time. 2012 was their inaugural home team season. The league is so successful they were able to field three local teams to compete against each other. In addition to intraleague play, Portland has continued to nurture their relationship with their sister league, the Rose City Rollers, one of the top women’s teams in the world.
Portland will need to do all they can to prepare for their MRDA Championships first-round bout against the third-seed New York Shock Exchange. The Shock Exchange handed Portland one of their biggest losses of the season at Spring Roll, a 270-82 pummeling. And, though the Shock Exchange appear to have lost a step based on a recent defeat by the St. Louis GateKeepers, the younger Portland team will likely have to wait for future seasons to beat these tricky veterans. Watch out for Bleed’Em & Reap and Twin Cities Terrors-transfer Bustin Morenose to have a big impact for Portland.
Shreddy Mercury is excited about the bout for more personal reasons: “I can’t wait to see Chad Von Sausage Claus (former Portland jammer who now skates for the Shock Exchange). It’s been way too long since we were on the track together. I hear he’s kicking ass on the East Coast. We miss Sausage!”
Shreddy Mercury also wanted to pass a message along to the fans. “If you are a fan of us, we are fans of YOU! Come say ‘hi’ at the after party. We’ll get silly.”
Tickets are still available for the MRDA Championships “Gateway to the Best.” Visit Brown Paper Tickets for more information. And, keep your browser refreshed at MRDA for more team profiles and interview.