Authors | Flagpole Magazine | Athens, GA News, Music, Arts, Restaurants

Blog posts by David Eduardo

Photo Gallery: Five Things We Loved at Wildwood Revival 2019

Blog: Homedrone

Build all the amphitheatres, Athens. But the perfect outdoor venue already exists off Wolfskin Road, at Cloverleaf Farm, a painstakingly preserved pristine Southern property now in its third century of usefulness.

By David Eduardo | September 30, 2019
Classic City Rollergirls Cap Off Stellar Season With Big Win Against Gold Coast

Blog: Culture Briefs

Photo Credit: Matt Hardy

The Gold Coast Derby Grrls traveled nearly 700 miles from sunny South Florida for the opportunity to lace skates and do battle with our hometown Classic City Rollergirls in the hostile confines of Athens Arena, in Bogart. It was only the second-longest road trip of the season for the team from Fort Lauderdale, which made an even more epic trek to Milwaukee in June.

By David Eduardo | August 7, 2018
Recap: Classic City Rollergirls Battle Atlanta, Host Classic City Crush This Weekend

Blog: Culture Briefs

For years, they were referred to as sister leagues, and traditionally, the Classic City Rollergirls would lose their most talented skaters to seemingly greener pastures down 316. Atlanta has a roller derby team perennially ranked in the Top 20 and great facilities, plus a bevy of talent. Until recently, it was tough for the smaller-market squad to compete. It’s 2018, and derby, like everything else, is fluid.

By David Eduardo | July 2, 2018
Classic City Rollergirls' Run of Success Continues With Win Over Cape Fear

Blog: Culture Briefs

Photo Credit: John Blood

Your hometown women's flat track roller derby team, experiencing an unprecedented run of success—magnified by an early May road trip to Baton Rouge, LA for a pair of unexpected victories against favored foes—resumed the 2018 season last Saturday in Wilmington, NC, squaring off against the Cape Fear Roller Girls.

By David Eduardo | May 24, 2018
Classic City Rollergirls Triumph Over Appalachian Roller Derby on St. Pat's Day

Blog: Culture Briefs

Photo Credit: John M. Blood

It happened to be St. Patrick’s Day, but the Classic City Rollergirls always wear green and black. They didn’t mess with that formula during the 2018 season opener Saturday night at Athens Arena, and, dressed for success, they massacred the visiting Boone, NC-based Appalachian Roller Derby, 197-139.

By David Eduardo | March 19, 2018
Recap and Photo Gallery: Team Black Triumphs in Classic City Rollergirls' Intra-Squad Opener

Blog: Culture Briefs

All photos by Nicole Adamson

There isn’t a better venue for hosting women’s flat-track roller derby in northeast Georgia than Athens Arena, a simple cinder-block-and-aluminum building tucked away in the warehouse and whatnot district off Atlanta Highway, in Bogart.

By David Eduardo | February 5, 2018
Classic City Rollergirls Close Out the Season With an Inspiring Road Victory

Blog: Culture Briefs

Those in charge couldn’t agree on a single tint, style or wattage of lightbulb, so the overhead illumination in Exhibit Hall C at the Chattanooga Convention Center is scattershot and mildly psychedelic. The beer selection at the concession stand is less interesting.

By David Eduardo | August 23, 2017
Rollergirls Host Classic City Crush This Weekend

Blog: Culture Briefs

When we last checked in with our local roller derby squad, skaters were taking the track to the familiar chug of “Crazy Train,” and for the next 60 minutes an alarmingly sparse but attentive crowd at the Classic Center witnessed a blizzard of quads. The visiting, and heavily favored, team from Baton Rouge jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, thanks to some deft jamming from Sparkles Fantastic, but they were shut out during their next three scoring attempts, and found themselves down 10 points after five minutes of play—and trailing by 15 at halftime.

By David Eduardo | July 19, 2017
The Classic City Rollergirls Walloped ATL's Jukes of Hazzard Last Weekend

Blog: Culture Briefs

Photo Credit: Classic City Rollergirls/Facebook

During an interview last Friday morning on local sports talk radio station AM 960 The Ref, former two-time team captain Louis Strongarm admitted there was something special about playing against teams from Atlanta because of CCRG’s long history of losing skaters to the much more highly ranked squad just an hour's drive to the west. Her response was diplomatic, if understated.

By David Eduardo | April 18, 2017
Recap and Photo Gallery: Classic City Rollergirls Open 2017 Season

Blog: Culture Briefs

All photos by Joshua L. Jones

Athens has been home to a nationally ranked women’s flat track roller derby team for more than a decade. The Classic City Rollergirls reflect the wildly eclectic and hopelessly transient nature of our town, as women from all walks of life come and (in most cases, eventually) go—making the sustained popularity, competitiveness and professionalism of the squad all the more impressive.

By David Eduardo | February 5, 2017
CCRG Upset the Tallahassee RollerGirls Saturday

Blog: Culture Briefs

Photo Credit: David Eduardo

What transpired Saturday night at Akins Arena inside the Classic Center was, without hyperbole, the most thrilling display of grit and athleticism in the decade-long history of women’s flat track roller derby in Athens. The largest regular-season crowd in recent memory held its collective breath for two 30-minute halves as the visiting team from Tallahassee and our hometown Classic City Rollergirls battled with every ounce of their being in a slugfest for the ages.

By David Eduardo | July 19, 2016
Classic City Crush Recap

Blog: Culture Briefs

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file

Day One: Saturday, June 18

When Albuquerque, NM-based Duke City took the track against Marietta's Peach State at 10 a.m. Saturday to kick off the 2016 Classic City Crush, they were confident the most stressful and frightening events of the weekend were already behind them. Their flight to Georgia was rerouted to Chattanooga due to severe weather. They taxied the runway in Tennessee until conditions improved in Atlanta, where they eventually commandeered ground transportation for Athens. Arriving eight hours late, they did not benefit from a good night’s sleep, nor did they have time for sightseeing. (The Tree That Owns Itself will be there until we replace it again.)

By David Eduardo | June 20, 2016
Classic City Rollergirls Host Atlanta Men's Roller Derby Saturday

Blog: Culture Briefs

We didn't learn much from the No. 148 Classic City Rollergirls' recent 226-54 demolition of the visiting No. 137 Tragic City Rollers in the Akins Arena at the Classic Center on Apr. 16. The 007-themed high school prom being held in the facilities atrium provided more tension and drama.

By David Eduardo | May 11, 2016
Athens in Austin Celebrates 10 Years at The Side Bar

Blog: Homedrone

Photo Credit: Mike White

Mothers

Heading east on 7th Street, my heart sank a little at the prospect of getting into another line—one that from my perspective seemingly flowed all the way from The Side Bar to the Wendy's at the exit ramp on Interstate 35. After getting a little closer, it became apparent the long line was not in fact people clamoring for access to the 10th annual Athens in Austin SXSW showcase. Most would argue he's gone soft of late, but nevertheless these fans were standing in the high noon sun waiting to see Waka Flocka Flame at the bar next door.

By David Eduardo | March 20, 2016
SXSW Friday: Braving the Weather at Willie Nelson's Luck Ranch

Blog: Homedrone

Photo Credit: David Eduardo

The decision to leave the beautiful city of Austin at noon on Friday, just as SXSW was hitting its stride and the Texas sun was breaking through low-hanging clouds, was easy. Willie Nelson was throwing a party at his hill country ranch in nearby Spicewood, complete with food-truck rodeo, free beer and cocktails and a stellar lineup including Jenny Lewis, Blitzen Trapper, Robert Ellis and Billy Joe Shaver. Additional incentive to attend came in the form of a free downtown school bus shuttle to and from the hoedown. What an amazing host.

By David Eduardo | March 19, 2016
Classic City Rollergirls Open 2016 Season with Green vs. Black Bout Saturday

Blog: Culture Briefs

A growing town that recycles and reloads a healthy portion of its population with great frequency deserves the benefit of a public service reminder, every now and again. The more you know.

Pssst… There is a women’s flat track roller derby team in Athens, Georgia.

By David Eduardo | January 20, 2016
Classic City Rollergirls vs. Cape Fear Preview

Blog: Culture Briefs

At 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Fun Galaxy, the vintage (antique?) skating rink on Cherokee Road, offered no relief from the heat and humidity outside. The swampy space may have an AC, but from the feel of things inside, the Classic City Rollergirls were not allowed to touch the thermostat.

By David Eduardo | July 23, 2015
Classic City Rollergirls Midseason Roundup

Blog: Culture Briefs

Photo Credit: Photo via CCRG/Facebook

As we approach the midway point, your hometown Classic City Rollergirls are enjoying one their most successful seasons ever.

By David Eduardo | May 14, 2015
Black Beats Green in the Classic City Rollergirls' Season Kickoff Scrimmage

Blog: Culture Briefs

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones

Everyone loves parity in professional sports. Leagues of evenly matched teams result in hotly contested matches that go down to the wire, and fan bases that remain interested every season (and all season) because their team is forever in the hunt, capable of winning on any given night.

By David Eduardo | February 2, 2015
Classic City Rollergirls Open 2015 Season With Green vs. Black Bout Saturday

Blog: Culture Briefs

It’s a ritual unlike any other in sports. Conventional wisdom would suggest that staging an all-out civil war immediately before a season starts is not the best way to build camaraderie, establish chemistry or avoid injury in team competition.

But roller derby isn’t your average sport, and the Classic City Rollergirlsdon’t mind talking a little trash or getting into each other's faces,especially before the season starts, as every skater competes for one of the 20 coveted spots on the team charter and, ultimately, the active roster of 14.

More below.

By David Eduardo | January 30, 2015