I stood outside the derby track at the Riley Arena Center on Saturday, snapping photos and not knowing what the hell was going on.

Girls were bashing into each other, clawing and scratching at each other’s arms and legs and crashing to the hard cement floor over and over again.

All I really knew was that it was roller derby — and it was awesome. 

Coming in, I guess I had a somewhat general idea of what roller derby was. No, I had never actually watched the sport, but I had seen enough references in popular culture to formulate some kind of vision before heading to Cody last weekend. 

The derby ended up resembling nothing I had imagined and everything I could’ve asked for: Tough competitors, hard hits, colorful personalities and good old-fashioned competition.

And what was great to see was that I wasn’t the only attendee happy to be there. Although the bleachers were on the smaller side, the crowd was not.

An estimated 300 fans watched Park County’s own Wyoming Wreck on Wheels take down the Wild West Wreckers from Sheridan 191-182. I know what you’re thinking: that score resembles something out of an NBA All-Star Game. But that’s how it works in roller derby, I guess.

I have no clue, but I loved it.

After the bout (as it’s called in roller derby — I’m learning), one of the Wreck on Wheels players and co-founders, Siina Swanson (known as Illuminaughty to the derby world), of Powell, said part of what makes roller derby fun are the different walks of life the skaters come from. 

“We have a wide variety of girls. We have stay-at-home moms all the way to professionals,” Swanson said. “We have teachers, we have nurses ... we have a little bit of everything.”

Maybe I’m the only one, but that’s the type of teacher I want educating my (future) kid. And a nurse telling the occasional kid with a scraped knee to walk it off may not be the worst thing in the world. Who doesn’t appreciate a little toughness?

Now, if you’re unfamiliar with the sport, don’t worry, the women wear helmets, elbow pads, knee pads and wrist protectors. It wasn’t UFC Fight Night out there Saturday night. But for about two hours, I watched nearly 20 women absorb hits that would make even the most seasoned football fan salivate. And you know what? After the women took those hits, they got right back to their wheels and found someone on which to return the favor.

If it sounds barbaric, it’s really not. When the sport began to gain national attention in the 1940s and ’50s, the athleticism was present, but showmanship and entertainment were the main priorities. And by the ’80s, the sport had undergone a professional wrestling-like makeover before losing its mainstream steam. 

That isn’t the case today.

The wacky names and colorful outfits remain, but the true spirit of sport — competition, respect and sportsmanship — are ever present. There’s a winner and a loser, but at the end of Saturday’s bout, it appeared everybody had won.

The Wreck on Wheels exchanged hugs, handshakes and photos with the Wild West Wreckers, fans lined up for photos and more importantly, approving smiles were aplenty.

After watching my first derby bout, I didn’t walk away feeling as though I had just wasted 120 minutes of my time. In fact, I probably would’ve given 120 more.

And I knew two things: I still had no idea what was really going on, and sooner rather than later, I’d be back to watch it all over again.