# How was Roller Derby rigged? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 25, 2013, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-roller-derby-rigged/669624 "2013-09-25T05:11:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OurLordPeace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e8c25b/32.png) [@OurLordPeace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OurLordPeace)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-roller-derby-rigged/669624/1 "2013-09-25T05:11:12Z")
There was a period of several decades in which, to a greater or lesser extent, roller derby was rigged “Sports Entertainment,” a la professional wrestling. It didn’t start that way, and it’s not like that these days, but that was the case as late as RollerJam’s time on TV around 2000. With wrestling, it’s easy to see how they have a rough plan for the match, and then throw in lots of improvisation. With roller derby, how did they rig it? Everyone was in motion, so how much could be choreographed? I’m at a loss as to how it was done. Does anyone know? ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-roller-derby-rigged/669624/2 "2013-09-25T06:13:43Z")
I used to watch it a bit during the 60s or 70s. I was sure it was rigged, but even though I was a nut for sports rules, I cold never figure out how they scored this, so they could have been doing anything as far as I could tell. But given that they knew how scoring was done, I don’t think it would be too hard to just let the opposing player score. As I recall, what made it so obviously fake, was after being hit, a player would often go a complete lap on one skate flailing his/her arms pretending to be off balance and almost falling. Surely skaters that balanced could manage to let others pass and score. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-roller-derby-rigged/669624/3 "2013-09-25T11:55:50Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > I used to watch it a bit during the 60s or 70s. I was sure it was rigged, but even though I was a nut for sports rules, I cold never figure out how they scored this, so they could have been doing anything as far as I could tell. > > But given that they knew how scoring was done, I don’t think it would be too hard to just let the opposing player score. As I recall, what made it so obviously fake, was after being hit, a player would often go a complete lap on one skate flailing his/her arms pretending to be off balance and almost falling. Surely skaters that balanced could manage to let others pass and score. I remember when I was little some channel or another was playing reruns of old roller derbies, probably those same ones you’re thinking of. Even when I was 9 or 10 I remember thinking that it seemed odd that once in a while someone would barely get nudged and they go flying up to the top and literally flip over the railing. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-roller-derby-rigged/669624/4 "2013-09-25T12:03:01Z")
If you look at [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV9J_2--iGQ), you can see why people called it fake. It looks like professional wrestling on wheels. It’s not fake now, but I know they still deal with it being called fake. If you watch a roller derby now, they don’t spend the whole match beating each other up, they’re just trying to get past each other. People might get hit and shoved, but they’re not actively trying to ‘hurt’ each other. Now, what was the game with the ball? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-roller-derby-rigged/669624/5 "2013-09-25T14:05:56Z")
There were some pretty ridiculous pileups, too, where skaters “couldn’t” get themselves up and skating again. They kept flailing and falling back into the pile. ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-roller-derby-rigged/669624/6 "2013-09-25T16:10:08Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Now, what was the game with the ball? Rollerball was a movie based on an old science fiction short story called Rollerball Murder. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-roller-derby-rigged/669624/7 "2013-09-25T20:21:29Z")
Here’s Wiki on the sport: [Roller derby - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roller_derby) > [@Turble](#): > > Rollerball was a movie based on an old science fiction short story called Rollerball Murder. There’ve been two movies, actually - the original, and a much-panned remake in 2002. > **[Rollerball (1975 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollerball_(1975_film))** > > Rollerball is a 1975 dystopian science fiction sports film directed and produced by Norman Jewison. It stars James Caan, John Houseman, Maud Adams, John Beck, Moses Gunn and Ralph Richardson. The screenplay, written by William Harrison, adapted his own short story "Roller Ball Murder", which had first appeared in the September 1973 issue of Esquire. > Although Rollerball had a largely American cast, a Canadian director, and was released by the American company United Artists, it was produced in ... > **[Rollerball (2002 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollerball_(2002_film))** > > Rollerball is a 2002 science fiction sports film directed by John McTiernan. A remake of the 1975 film of the same name, based on William Harrison's short story Roller Ball Murder, the film stars Chris Klein, Jean Reno, LL Cool J, Rebecca Romijn and Naveen Andrews. > While both versions of Rollerball use the same basic premise, the 2002 version has a much greater focus on action sequences, more muted social and political overtones than the original, and takes place in the mid-2000s rather than ... ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-roller-derby-rigged/669624/8 "2013-09-25T20:58:18Z")
Are you saying there wasn’t actually a roller derby like sport that involved a ball rolling around as part of the game, that it only happened in the movies? Cuz I have some pretty vivid memories of watching those games, in reruns, back when I remember watching the same roller derby reruns. At least I assume they were reruns, this would have been in the late '80’s and they looked just like those 70’s style roller derbies. Anyways, the game with the ball had (IIRC) the same sloped tracks (which I don’t think they use now) with the rail at the top for people to get shoved into and ‘flip’ over, same ‘pro wrestling’ type moves etc, but I know I never watched either of the movies.