DOWN WITH PANTS!

The Down With Pants! crew took a vacation this weekend and headed to Eastern Washington for the Lind's 17th annual Combine Demolition Derby. After months of anticipation the event didn't disappoint one bit and will become an annual pilgrimage for DWP!.

Four to five thousand fans flocked to this little wheat town of maybe 400 in rural Eastern Washington for the derby. Lind has one bank, one restaurant, a bar and unpaved roads downtown but has a rodeo arena that seats 4,000 comfortably due to the increasing popularity of the derby.

The event consisted of four heats each about 10-15 minutes long where five or six combines duked it out until two remained somewhat running. Once the heats were finished and after a long break so that teams could get repairs done, there was a consolation round in which anybody who could drag their rig into the ring fought it out in hopes of moving on to the championship round. Two combines, the American Spirit (whose back wheels were knocked completely off) and Jaws (piloted by an 18 year-old newbie), moved on to the championship.

These combines, despite looking very slow and unmaneuverable were actually very agile and packed quite a punch. However just hitting them hard wasn't enough. The vulnerable part of a combine is their back wheels which are little tiny and very exposed. Take those out and most likely they will be unable to keep going.

The championship round started with 10 combines (the eight heat winners and the two consolation winners). It was very tough going as all of the rigs were very strong and lasted quite a long time. There were some huge hits in the ring but it seemed like everybody was able to keep going. Eventually only four remained. Jaws, American Spirit (who was stronger than anybody even without it's wheels), Go Cougs and the blue combine (I can't remember it's name).

Go Cougs and American Spirit took each other out and Jaws and the Blue Combine remained. Each backed up and took head on shots at each other for a few minutes but neither machine would give in. Eventually the judges stopped the match and split the championship between these two deserving warriors.

It truly was the most fun I've had at a sporting event in years and will become a tradition. It's a great community event for Lind and that entire region. Congratulations to the combatants and the city of Lind for putting on such a great show. If you want to see more about it go to Lind's website or watch for the new Discovery Channel show Monster Nation which was filming the event for an upcoming show.