Roller derby returns to KOFY-TV

What is it about full-contact roller skating that thrives on hard times? Roller derby, the body-crunching indoor skate marathon, was born during the Great Depression. Its popularity peaked during World War II and Vietnam. Now, as the edifice of Western capitalism collapses around our ears, San Franciscans can at least glue their eyes to the television — where professional Bay Area roller derby is returning after a 21-year hiatus.

"Roller derby's coming back," KOFY-TV president Craig Coane announces.

Aaron Farmer

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More About

• Craig Coane
• Jim Fitzpatrick
• Mork & Mindy
• Rollerderby

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The independent station, which reincarnated itself in October after a decade as a WB network affiliate, is planning to include San Francisco Bay Bombers games — alongside viewer-hosted Mork & Mindy reruns and KOFY's signature dog commercials — in its new programming schedule. Station heads made the decision after a special airing of a Bombers game over the Thanksgiving holiday proved extraordinarily popular, Coane said: "We got a lot of e-mails, and 95 percent of them were positive."

The Bombers' 13-week pilot run on KOFY will start on Feb. 7, the weekend after the Super Bowl. There's a catch: Only serious couch potatoes may ever see it. Prerecorded games are scheduled to air Saturdays from noon to 1 p.m. — when, let's face it, not a lot of people are fixed to the tube.

Still, Bombers general manager Jim Fitzpatrick is bullish on derby's return to the small screen. While roller derby has enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent years, the sport — which involves padded skaters circling a banked track — has struggled for the kind of wide recognition it enjoyed before going out of fashion in the 1970s. "This is a huge thing," he said. "Especially after we're on television, I think the exposure will really help us, and it will really take off."

Despite the lousy time slot, Fitzpatrick believes Bombers TV has fate on its side in one respect. "The 49ers aren't what they used to be," he said. "I think people want a winner."