Wheelchair Rugby

Well last night I went to wheelchair rugby. I really did not know what to expect. People told me how crazy it was and how they just beat the crap out of each other in wheelchairs while trying to get a ball across the line.

The rules of the game are rather simple. They play on a basketball court and the goal line is probably a little smaller then a soccer net. You score when your wheelchair crosses the line. They will call fouls if you reach in trying to steal the ball or ram someone out of bounds when it is not necessary. The ball they use is a volleyball. There are 4 people on a side with substitutions just like any other sport.

For the first game, New Zealand vs. Australia, I had decent seats. This one guy for Australia who had no legs and very short arms scored 26 goals. He was so fast and I could not figure out how it was possible because his arms were not of normal length. The only bad thing about the first game was being surrounded by people with those annoying thunder sticks. I kept getting hit by them or people would bump into me because they were so excited about the game. These were all locals...nobody from Australia or New Zealand but the way they were cheering you would think they were from there. If they were people from either of the countries playing I would understand but there were local Beijingers going nuts and it was so annoying!

The second game we sat second row center court. It was cool because you could hear them screaming and yelling and talking trash on the court. I guess it doesn't matter what sport it is there is always trash talking.

As for the game itself. I wasn't really impressed with it. Everyone made it out to be this crazy sport where they are knocking each other all over ther place. It was physical but probably just a little more physical then wheelchair basketball.

I am at the coffee shop now and things have died down even more. There are only 4 days left of the paralympics and people have started to head out already. We went from slow to extra slow. I have 15 days left and I am looking forward to them because I only have 8 days of work, I am going to see the Teracotta Warriors, and Jordana will be visiting for a few days.

Hard to believe another countdown has begun. It seems like just the other day I was counting down until I leave for China and now I have a countdown until I go back to the states.

I posted pictures from wheelchair rugby so you guys can get an idea of what it looks like. I understand some people are having a hard time viewing my pictures. If that is the case email me and I will try to send you a direct link.