“Ope…!” Udder Chaos 2023
An Instagram post by someone or something called Midwest vs. Everybody, titled “Speak midwestern 101,” made the rounds across the devices of skaters, official crews, vendors, fans and organizers of host league Madison Roller Derby’s Udder Chaos tournament at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin, over the penultimate weekend in September.
Beside helpful translations, like “No Yeah=Yes,” “Yeah No=No” and “Welp=a time to go statement before slapping your hands on your knees signaling you’re getting up,” there was the translation for “Ope!” “Ope=excuse me I’m sorry for moving by you.” This quasi-viral lexicon foreshadowed the final game of the tournament on Sunday afternoon — a mixer between Team Wisconsin, comprised of skaters across America’s Dairyland from Brew City Bruisers in Milwaukee to Fox Cities Roller Derby in Appleton, vs. Team Ope!, a collection of skaters from everywhere else. At certain exciting points in the game, their battle cry would bubble up from the bench, like the boiling of a witches’ cauldron: “Ope! Ope! Ope!” It was a delightful and fitting display of enthusiasm for this return of Madison Roller Derby’s tournament that had debuted in May of 2018 with no followup. That is, until our most recent last full weekend in September of 2023.
It is no longer breaking news that the global pandemic did a number on the international sport of roller derby…
