Roller Blades vs Roller Skates

[Dartful Dodger]

I went to a roller rink last weekend.
The last time I went to a roller rink I was in college.  The rink was empty, a year later that roller rink closed down.   I figured roller rinks died with arcades.  I was surprised there were still roller rinks left, and when we got there it was packed, packed with kids.

At the door they asked me if I wanted to rent rollerblades or skates.  I figured no one used skates anymore so I rented blades.

When we got in the rink, everybody had skates.  Not rented ones, they had their own skates, some with wheels that lit up and others with ground effects.  The lights were low, so it looked like a night club.

Everybody was doing tricks, synchronized skating, and break dancing on skates.  It was really bizarre, It was like a cross from a beach movie from the 70s and some 90s style rave.

I thought blades replaced skates, but everybody who had any talent was on skates.

When did skates make a come back?

Why were skates preferred over blades?

[ChadTower]

Blades are often harder to use on laquered wood surfaces.  I used to play a lot of indoor roller hockey and the guys with skates were a little more agile because of the base the skates provided them on that slick floor.  Outdoors, no contest, rollerblades are going to be more effective, but you were indoors where skates are the tradition.

[boykster]

I dunno bout recreational skating (don't think there are any left around these parts), but chad's right on with respect to hockey.  I used to play pretty competitive roller hockey, and we'd split between indoor rinks and outdoor ones (either concrete or asphalt).  For indoor matches, I'd totally swap out my wheels for super soft ones because the surface was WAY too smooth.

Then I blew my hamstring and thus ended my hockey career 

[ChadTower]

You can let roller skates guide your direction more than blades, too, which is how the lighter guys on skates used to pull off freaky little twist moves you couldn't do on rollerblades or on ice.  Made it all the more frustrating, as a Canadain born physical player, that I couldn't knock their heads off when they shot by within reach.

[boykster]

our "club" league didnt' allow parallel skates, or roller skates.  you could modify your inline skates -> ie change wheels, wheel size, angle of wheels, etc, but they had to be in a single line or no less that 4 wheels.

I think I still have my hockey skates around here somewhere.....

[shardian]

Me and the wife were just reminiscing about the roller rinks we went to as kids/teens. I figure that the one we went to is closed, but I'll have to check on it now.

[ChadTower]

our "club" league didnt' allow parallel skates, or roller skates.  you could modify your inline skates -> ie change wheels, wheel size, angle of wheels, etc, but they had to be in a single line or no less that 4 wheels.

I think I still have my hockey skates around here somewhere.....

I played in a league like that... played in one where only certain wheel types were allowed and even didn't allow metal hardware on the blade frame.

[Chris G]

When did skates make a come back?

Maybe it was that movie "Roll Bounce" a couple years ago?  [or maybe the movie was made in response to skating having already made a comeback...]

[DrewKaree]

I dunno bout recreational skating (don't think there are any left around these parts), but chad's right on with respect to hockey.  I used to play pretty competitive roller hockey, and we'd split between indoor rinks and outdoor ones (either concrete or asphalt).  For indoor matches, I'd totally swap out my wheels for super soft ones because the surface was WAY too smooth.

Then I blew my hamstring and thus ended my hockey career 

pssst "blew his hamstring" = "sprained his uterus"

[boykster]

pssst "blew his hamstring" = "sprained his uterus"

If you consider a complete hamstring avulsion a minor "rub some dirt in it" kind of injury, then sure I'm a wimp.  but the next time your hamstring bundle completely detaches from your pelvic bone, give me a call so I can come over and laugh at you.

[pointdablame]

pssst "blew his hamstring" = "sprained his uterus"

If you consider a complete hamstring avulsion a minor "rub some dirt in it" kind of injury, then sure I'm a wimp.  but the next time your hamstring bundle completely detaches from your pelvic bone, give me a call so I can come over and laugh at you.

walk it off Nancy   



Really though, hamstring injuries make me cringe.  When I think of the pain I was in, and how it ended my baseball playing days, I shudder just a bit.

[shardian]

I got a hammy cramp and walked it off. Does that make me tough?

[ChadTower]

Thank god that, with all of the football/baseball/tennis/hockey I've played over the years, I've never once tweaked a hammy or a groin.

Instead I ended up with an icepick knee and sciatica.   

[boykster]

It was pretty sickening when it happened....the pop was so loud that the goalie at the other end of the rink yelled out "what the heck was that!!!"  I could just barely walk, and only with excruciating pain.  I ended up having to have surgery to properly reattach my hamstring, as it started to re-attach too far down my femur.

I still don't have full range of motion in my right leg, but I can walk and play most active sports just fine.  It is still very sensitive and I've had a couple of scares in the past 5 years.  No more rock climbing for me.

[ChadTower]

That's a pain right below the ass.

[DrewKaree]

pssst "blew his hamstring" = "sprained his uterus"

If you consider a complete hamstring avulsion a minor "rub some dirt in it" kind of injury, then sure I'm a wimp.  but the next time your hamstring bundle completely detaches from your pelvic bone, give me a call so I can come over and laugh at you.

Nobody likes a whiner Sally

[shardian]

I remember when HHH blew out a quad (I believe) on WWE. You could hear the pop thru the camera. His detached from the knee though.

[boykster]

pssst "blew his hamstring" = "sprained his uterus"

If you consider a complete hamstring avulsion a minor "rub some dirt in it" kind of injury, then sure I'm a wimp.  but the next time your hamstring bundle completely detaches from your pelvic bone, give me a call so I can come over and laugh at you.

Nobody likes a whiner Sally

Careful or I'll hobble over there and try to kick your ass!!!  If only I could lift my leg high enough!!

 

[ChadTower]

You've got another.  Learn to plant with the bad one.

[Dartful Dodger]

I got a hammy cramp and walked it off. Does that make me tough?

It depends on whether or not it's a cramp you get once a month.



Before anyone goes looking for a roller rink I'd visit the rink at the time you want to go on that date first.

I found the rink because my sister had B-Day party for my niece there.

During the day it was well lit, and there was about 30 people there(all for different group B-Parties).
The majority of people were upper middle class preteen white girls.

I thought this would be a fun place to take a date.  It had an open skate from 7-11pm for people over 10.
One of my niece's friends had a bad hair cut, so she was wearing a bandana.  The rink officials made here take it off, because they had a no bandana policy.  I thought it was an odd policy for a roller rink, but didn't take any notice of it.

I brought a date there the following weekend. It was a completely different crowd and feel. I now understand the no bandana policy.

We had fun(after all it's a roller rink and she was with me) but I removed the roller rink from my list of places to take a date.

I don't know if that's the trend for roller rinks, but I defiantly would look before you date.

[ChadTower]

Well, you can't exactly date the fatties and go roller skating.  You gotta choose, man.

BTW, any informal place that won't allow specific articles of clothing, is going to be doing it for that same reason.  Hats, sneakers, bandanas, team jerseys, anything like that.

[DrewKaree]

pssst "blew his hamstring" = "sprained his uterus"

If you consider a complete hamstring avulsion a minor "rub some dirt in it" kind of injury, then sure
 I'm a wimp.  but the next time your hamstring bundle completely detaches from your pelvic bone, give me a call so I can come over and laugh at you.

Nobody likes a whiner Sally

Careful or I'll hobble over there and try to kick your ass!!!  If only I could lift my leg high enough!!

 

I'm certain you're a disappointment to Bones, although he didn't know you at that time.  Obviously his advice here applies.

No, not "ddeefer eefer, in der arschtole".  The other one

[Bones]Take the pain, take the pain![/Bones]

[ChadTower]

I thought they were referring to the same thing?

[Dartful Dodger]

BTW, any informal place that won't allow specific articles of clothing, is going to be doing it for that same reason.  Hats, sneakers, bandanas, team jerseys, anything like that.

NO hats, headbands, bandanas, beanie party hats or any other head covering are permitted. This does not include safety helmets.

A warning light went off when I heard about it, but I spent that afternoon skating with my nephew while his older sister and her friends were skating. The light dimmed and finally went out by the end of the party.

The night crowd and the day crowd were literally night and day.

I use to be good when I played street hockey.  Seeing those 240 pound gangsta's weaving through the crowd like figure skaters gots me motivated.

It was very bizarre, you have to see it to really appreciate it.

Lombard Roller Rink

I'd recommend seeing it with a group of guys though.

[ChadTower]

Now that I think about it, if the restriction is all hats, they're probably just sick of people losing their hat in the middle of the rink and causing a pile up.