"We're all just a little in love with each other aren't we?"

What is 2.0?

We were all part of the 2nd group of vice quads. That's how we met, (except Mer and me, as she insisted at tryouts we had met before) but during after farm practice visits to Senators the five of us always seemed to shut the place down, and at some point we determined we liked each other enough to hang out outside of a bar and at all times of the day not just at midnight.

Then we met Nick. He seemed to be the dinner party/random road trip/kid birthday party/top secret and stealth (or not so stealth when an unknowing husband catches the mission and causes said bombers to yell run and dart back to the car in a crude serpentine fashion, the dog is barking, bombee is alseep at a time suitable only for smaller children, and misses the cooler packed with ice and ice cream on their front porch until morning, neighbors start to worry and stare,  or the novice bombers drive their vehicle directly up to the bombee's garage while they are opening the door and they don't recognize you or your vehicle, begin having palpatations and consider calling the police)  bombing in dark of night kind of person and we all just clicked. Originally he was 2.0.2 but that just didn't roll off the tongue the same way and was going to cost extra to put on a T-shirt.

When I was in grade school I had a pretty rough time of it. I was painfully shy, timid and one of a very few Catholic school kids, uniformed in green plaid and forced to ride the school bus with all public school kids. I vividly remember climbing on the bus then going from seat to seat, being bounced around as the bus drove and asking if I could sit down, being rejected over and over by those jerks. At one point in winter I snuck a garbage bag out of the house to sit on so I could avoid the embarassment of it and sit on the floor without getting my uniform covered in slush. After that the driver assigned seats which of course made me super popular with the public school kids.

I dreaded going to birthday parties. I was always so nervous about what to do or talk about. I usually ended up sitting somewhere by myself. I distinctly remember my eighth grade teacher finding me alone on the porch at my class' graduation pool party saying something like "Sometimes the loneliest place is in a crowd." I didn't really get what she meant then, but as I grew older it really made sense.

My entire life I've been on a quest for closeness, for real honest heartfelt and lasting companionship. For people who accept and get me. In my 42 years I've met some truly amazing, lasting friends but mostly I've felt like an nerdy outsider, uncomfortable, self-conscious and struggling to fit in.

2.0 is for me, that tribe I've been longing for. Perhaps it's the mutual love of derby that solidifies all of us drastically unique individuals. Maybe it's the shared experience, the shared sweat and tears that bond us, the working together towards a unified goal. The fact that our individual improvement betters the group as a whole and that we care for and support each other totally, nonjudgementally. The fact that we are willing to drive to each other's homes just because and bomb them unexpectedly with balloons, delicious food or care packages. Or work in cahoots with your husband and leave tupperware full of the best banana and nilla wafer pudding you will ever eat in your car while you are at work. Whatever timing that happened for us all to arrive at the same tryout and begin our derby experience together is truly a little bit of magic. 

My derby experiences intertwine with my life experiences. And these extraordinary individuals have become and will continue to be part of me.  

Killy asked me to write an end of the season recap, perhaps explaining the idea of 2.0.  In a facebook chat I figured I'd ask all the others for their input. And I guess we really are just a little bit in love with each other.....

The brilliant Mz. Killy Loveless:

I can't remember where the original quote came from (the Mayor of TCDG maybe?), but I believe it was: "We're all just a little bit in love with each other, aren't we?"

Being a 2.0 means I know who I'm growing old with. These are the people my kids are going to have to explain are not really their aunt/uncle, they just call them aunt/uncle. It also means I will drop stuff on your front porch or car window when you are having a bad day. Or go get pancakes with you to make things better when nothing else can. I will always have 2.0 backs (unless it's bout day and you are in red - sorry wifey and buster). 

My mom still talks to people she went to high school and college with - her 'forever friends.' I'm only 30, and I don't really feel like I had a ton of people in my life that I've known forever and will know for a lifetime. And how do you get that in adulthood? I just figured I wasn't going to have those type of lifelong relationships like she has had. And then I met you guys and it's like, yep, I'll know this group til the end. Every single one of them. And I will love them through everything.

The powerful and all knowing Mayor, O GWrath:

In what world would we have ever become friends with each other? Until try-outs I had never met any of you, though odds are in such a small town I probably walked past you in a grocery store or flicked you off in traffic at some point. If we hadn't been brought together by derby we would have had no good reason to become acquainted, so clearly part of what it means to be a 2.0 is derby, our love for it, our occasional hate for it, gear swaps, cheering for each other regardless of team, convincing each other we aren't terrible, encouraging each other to keep going when our bodies tell us no, a knowing glance when one of us steps off for a second to catch our breath or stretch a sore muscle that says "hey dude, that sucks, take a minute then get your ass back out here."

That said, 2.0 goes beyond derby. It's about phone calls and text messages in the middle of the day, or the middle of the night. It's hospital visits. Care packages. Dinner parties...oooh yes, the dinner parties. Road trips. Birthday parties. Kids. Pets. All of that good stuff. It's about love. And yes, we are all kind of a little bit in love with each other and all of our differences.

The lovely and gypsy juice brewing ninny N Tara Gator:

When I think of being a 2.0, the first thing that comes to mind is a stable group of amazing friends. Although we all come from different walks of life, we share the same passions which have made us such a tightly knit group. I feel tightly bonded with this group as I know I can rely on them and never doubt their loyalty or trust. 

I believe that it's not too often in adulthood where this type of kinship
is found. What a rare vein it is, at this point in life, to meet with these wonderful people and laugh like we were kids, while sharing both triumphs and defeats. I feel this group knows,  and respects my heart.
The thought of our friendship is  like a warm hug.  Since being connected with the 2.0's I find them crossing my mind rather frequently.  I am softly reminded of how grateful I am that our paths have crossed and we have maintained such an amazing camaraderie.   Life would certainly be different otherwise, lacking in color, light, and love.

And our newest recruit, Buster:

Being the newest member to the 2.0s it is hard to put into words all that encompass the meaning of the 2.0.  For me, I first go to computer and software, since I'm a total geek, and think about what version 2.0 means.  Now, version 1.0 of any software is always exciting, it is a new and great idea that is pushed through programming with a lot of effort and late nights.  Once version 1.0 is released, people are usually intrigued by the idea, start to use the program, and then come up with millions of ways that it could be better which is where version 2.0 comes in.  So, in relation to our league, the 1.0s are the ones that pushed from the start, who had the great idea, who paved the way for there to even be a 2.0.  Without the 1.0s creating the space and the structure, there never could have been the 2.0s.

But, that is the technical and non-emotional side of what being a 2.0 means.  For me, I think back to my friendships in high school and college and those were certainly version 1.0 relationships, people who were friends for a time in my life but not necessarily someone who I keep in touch with anymore.  Now, I've moved onto the 2.0 version of friendship which means so much more: surprises left just to pick someone's day up, knowing that no matter the time I can always reach out to another 2.0 and they will be there for me, wonderful and encouraging words/texts/conversations that build up who we are when we are at our lowest, highest, or anywhere in between, realizing that this is not a friendship just for the here and now but until that last spark leaves me, lots of cuddles and shows of true affection that just feel like home, and, of course, sharing our laughs, tears, and delicious foodstuffs.  

The feeling that I get when I think about being a 2.0 reminds me of being a child on Christmas Eve, trying to force myself asleep because I was so excited for the next day, finally passing out around 3am, then awakening full of energy by 6am and getting everything I had asked for and more.

The amazing Dame Sangre, giver of whips and partner in skillfully choreographed tandem mohawks:

A 2.0 is that unexpected lift you never expect but is always there. When others fail you or you fail yourself they rise to the occasion. It's not like we sit around and pick each others brains and delve into our pasts, there's no need. We inherently know without knowing. We came into this as perfect strangers and no matter what happens in between we will leave as friends. We will know each other forever. We won't always be in close proximity, it'll happen sooner than we want or want to accept ...but in the end we'll still have this love, this camaraderie. We are from all different walks of life, all ages and points in life but it works. We just get each other and we accept each other just as the wonderful and genuine people we are. We listen, we care, we offer advice where we can but we don't ever dare try to change one another. We are a family in the truest sense. At least what I believe a family should be.