In Which We Watch Some Murderball And Connor Has A Blast

Connor looks likely to pull an all-nighter tonight, so I'll be up watching dramas for a while.  I'm not sure what the issue is-- maybe he's just reviewing how exciting the quad rugby game was today!

We caught the tail end of the game between Portland and Las Vegas, and then watched the Seattle Slam play the Boise Bombers.  While Eden, her friend and I all really enjoyed it, Connor had a blast-- he was so into the game that every time there was a break between quarters he got mad and pouted until they started playing again.  He clapped, yelled and grinned his way through the entire game.  It was awesome.

Quad rugby isn't going to be a viable sport for Connor when he gets older for a few reasons; he's not able to propel a wheelchair under his own power, he has no peripheral vision, and also he has just one kidney, so he's barred from all contact sports.  And trust me when I say that quad rugby is a full contact sport; by the end of the first half one guy on the court had blood soaking the wrap around his hand all the way to the wrist, and we saw some truly spectacular flips and collisions.  It's a really fast-paced and exciting game to watch, and it definitely can get brutal.

It was also a great opportunity for Eden and Connor to see some really competent, tough, capable athletes who use wheelchairs.  For that matter, it's really difficult to find accurate, positive portrayals of disabled people doing anything on television or in other media, and so I will jump at any chance I get to give the kids access to amazing role models like the men and women we saw today.  I'm hoping someday I'll be able to turn on the television and tune into a quad rugby game; now that would be a reason for me to actually have TV reception again!

The Seattle Slam won, and they'll be playing in the crossover finals tomorrow to determine which team will advance to Nationals in Kentucky later this year.  Unfortunately they're playing in the morning, so I won't be able to take the kids since we'll be in church.  We'll be cheering them on in spirit, though!

~Jess