The biggest weekend in roller derby is upon as we are a few scant days away from The 2010 WFTDA Championships, Uproar on the Lakeshore. 12 of the best teams will be traveling from all over the United States to Chicago, Illinois but only 1 will be leaving with the WFTDA Championship trophy, the Hydra, in their luggage. We here at Roller Derby Inside Track will be writing and discussing Uproar on the Lakeshore all this week. Today I am going to kick things off with my bracket breakdown.

Tank’s Bracket Breakdown

Game 1: Texas Rollergirls vs. B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls
** Analysis:** Texas comes into the WFTDA Championships as a number 2 instead of a number 1 seed this year. B.A.D. survived a true trail by fire, taking down both Denver and Rose City to get here. Texas is still a good team but they are not the team they were last year. I have said it before and I will say it again, B.A.D. continues to evolve, getting better then they were the game before. They do such a great job of skating apart and then forming walls together out of nowhere. I feel that defense will be what brings B.A.D. victory.
** Winner: B.A.D. **

Game 2: Minnesota RollerGirls vs. Charm City Roller Girls
** Analysis:** This game is a very tough pick. After years of scratching and clawing, Charm City finally finds themselves playing in a WFTDA Championship. Minnesota came out of far left field and in one weekend leap frogged from the 7th seed to the 2nd in the North Central. My brain is telling me to pick Charm City, but my heart is telling me that there is always an upset in the 1st round of tournaments, so Minnesota is the way to go. Charm City has had a much harder season this year and I think that gives them the edge in this match up.
** Winner: Charm City **

Game 3: Philly Roller Girls vs. Mad Rollin’ Dolls
** Analysis: ** These two last crossed paths at East Coast Derby Extravaganza 2008, a game that Philly won. Both teams have been playing high-end talent this year the difference though is that Madison was losing many of those games and Philly was winning theirs. Before losing to Gotham at the East Regional, Philly was riding a 12 game winning streak. My money is on the City of Sisterly Shove.
** Winner: Philly **

Game 4: Oly Rollers vs. Nashville Rollergirls
** Analysis:** Oly comes in to this match up 23-1 overall record vs. a Nashville team that was hot at the beginning of the season but was very hit or miss towards the end. Oly is going to win this game, but the question becomes by how much? If Nashville keeps this thing within 40 points that would be very respectable.
** Winner: Oly**

Game 5: B.ad A.rea D.erby Girls vs. Gotham Girls Roller Derby
** Analysis:** One thing that WFTDA is still trying to figure out is parity. B.A.D. is a great team but Gotham is an elite team, one of the best in the world. The last time these two met at Hometown Throwdown Gotham won by 129 points and hung 187 points on B.A.D. in the process. I think this time will be a closer game but I still see Gotham getting the W.
** Winner: Gotham **

Game 6: Rocky Mountain Rollergirls vs. Charm City Roller Girls
** Analysis**: Just like the B.A.D. vs. Gotham match up, the same can be said here. Charm City is a great team, but Rocky Mountain is playing on that elite level right now. Charm City would have to play a perfect game to get the victory here.
** Winner: Rocky Mountain **

Game 7: Philly Roller Girls vs. Kansas City Roller Warriors
** Analysis: ** Kansas City has some terrific players and has reemerged as a force to be reckoned with in the WFTDA. Philly has been consistently among the top teams in the WFTDA for years now. Philly stumbled last year against an upstart Rocky Mountain team, I think they have learned their lesson and will move on to the final four.
** Winner: Philly **

Game 8: Oly Rollers vs. Windy City Rollers
** Analysis:** I like Windy City as a team both on and off the track but they have been dealt a bad hand, as they have to face off with Oly for their first game. These two teams recently met a few weeks ago and Oly handed WCR their most lopsided defeat ever. I am picking Oly to get another win against the host of the Uproar on the Lakeshore.
** Winner: Oly **

Game 9: Gotham Girls Roller Derby vs. Rocky Mountain Rollergirls
** Analysis:** This has the chance to become the greatest roller derby game ever played in the modern era. Both of these teams are stacked with talent. Both teams are deep at the jammer position. Both have some of best players in the world today bar none. RMRG will try to get in Gotham’s head early, but one of GGRD’s greatest strength is that they don’t get shook and they don’t commit stupid penalties. This is going to be a great game.
** Winner: Gotham **

Game 10: Philly Roller Girls vs. Oly Rollers
** Analysis:** Another marquee match up for this tournament would be a Philly vs. Oly match up. Philly could get the win, but I feel that after losing at Westerns, I have to figure that the Oly practices have been intense and they will be laser focused on getting into the final game.
** Winner: Oly **

Game 11: Philly Roller Girls vs. Rocky Mountain Rollergirls
** Analysis:** Philly has been very strong this season, but I don’t think that they can match up with Rocky Mountain head to head jam after jam. What makes Rocky Mountain so dangerous is they give up very few points to power jams when their jammers are in the box. On the flip side, they take full advantage of their power jams opportunity.
** Winner: Rocky Mountain **

Game 12: Gotham Girls Roller Derby vs. Oly Rollers
** Analysis:** The last time Gotham lost was when they took Oly last year during the 2009 WFTDA Championships. Rocky Mountain gave the high level teams a blue print to beat Oly with at Westerns, playing them tight and mentally frustrating them. Most teams aren’t good enough to execute that game plan against Gotham, but Oly is.
** Winner: Gotham**

This tournament is definitely not black and white and multiple teams have a legit chance to take home the Hydra. It should have a lot of good games especially in the later rounds. An interesting note is I have the North Central and South Central teams going 0-6 in this tournament. Do the NC and SC have good teams? Yes, but these are not ideal match ups for them the way the brackets shook out. I am looking forward to seeing the tournament live and will be working with AK 40oz. and Big Poppa Razzi to communicate between the announcers and the stats crews. I hope to meet some of the readers of RDIT so if you see me walking around, come over and say hi. Please leave your predictions and thoughts in the comment section of who you think is going to win the whole thing.

*photograph at the top of this article by Masonite Burn taken at Hometown Throwdown: Gotham vs. B.A.D.