Murderball (2005)

[bunniefuu]

This programme contains
very strong language.

MOTOR STARTS

I've been out in clubs, I've been
out all over the place and people
will come up to me, shake my hand

and say "It's good to see you out."

And I look at them like,
"Good to see me out?"

"Am I supposed to be in a closet?"

What I can do that probably
people don't think I can do is,
I can cook and I can drive.

I may not be a great cook,
might not be a great driver,
but I can do both.

People say the dumbest things. I'll
be loading groceries into my car,
"Do you need help in your car?"

It's like,
I wouldn't come to the store
if I couldn't get back in my car.

I've gone up to people, talking sh*t
and they go, "Oh..."

I go "What, you're not going
to hit a kid in a chair?
f*cking hit me, I'll hit you back."

Quadriplegic rugby was developed
in Canada and the original name
was murderball.

What we do is take these
wheelchairs and make 'em into
a gladiator, a battling machine,

a Mad Max chair that can knock the
living daylights out of each other.

Most people that play wheelchair
rugby have broken their necks.

So we have rods, plates, screws
inside.

The biggest misconception is that
quadriplegics can't move their arms.

I'm like "No, I have
impairment in all four limbs."

The higher you break your neck,
the less mobility you have.

So we're given point values
ranging from half a point

to three and a half points,
based on what you can move.

You can't exceed eight points
on the court at one time.

I'm a two, because I have some
hand function and full arm function.

My hands don't close, they only
open, so, like spatulas for
pancakes, for flipping' people off.

When I was , I was in
a car accident, car hit a tree

and made the car flip
and the roof came down on my head.

And I became
an incomplete C quadriplegic.

I was out on the back porch
and he picked a fight with me

and he picked me up and threw me
off the deck and he punched me
and it snapped my spinal cord.

I've got a few muscles left,
but for the most part, my trunk's
paralysed to about right here.

I've got a bicep,
my triceps are paralysed,
I've got little finger function.

Hold on, let me move 'em.
Did you see? I moved 'em.

One thing we do to help grip
the ball is we add some kind of glue

so it's sticky and you can pick
the ball up and throw it.

I'm a three and my grip is affected.

I can't close that.

Plus I'm missing a muscle
in my left shoulder.

My accident happened
in Florida when I was .

My buddy spun out, threw me into
a canal. I spent ½ hours
in the canal

holding on to a branch
until somebody found me.

He has always been
what I call a tough kid.

I know very few people
that would ever f*ck with Mark.

Just to see him out on the court
with the tattoos up his arm
and the goatee, he's intimidating.

He's one of these players
people try to stay away from.

Jason...

Where you want to go, down or up?

I have backup. Where?

Where? Where? Where?

Where do you want to go? Shut up.

You want us to call security?

My hypothesis on Mark was, he was
very much an as*h*le before he was
in the wheelchair, so any attempt

to try and point to the wheelchair
or the accident as the cause of his
grumpiness would be an utter hoax.

We just arrived today from Stockholm
and we just saw a lot of people

in wheelchairs and of course
wondered what they're doing.

THEY PERFORM THE HAKA

One, two, three!

USA!

Rugby! Yeah!

The United States has dominated
the sport of wheelchair rugby
for the last ten years.

I'll be the first one to say, look,
I just want to beat the bloody
Americans, more than any team.

We find the United States pretty
arrogant,

they've been winning
this game for a long time.
That's what we came to f*cking do.

There's been, I believe,
international competitions.

The US has won all of 'em.

Round 'em up!

Um... yeah, I can, but Kevin came
over here during one of our games

and we weren't, so you want
to kick us out the same way.

f*ck you, b*tch.

"Joe Soares may be the best
quad rugby player in the world."

"Childhood polio
took Joe's ability to walk,
but not his drive to excel."

My Uncle Joe, you go to his house
and he has this wall of fame,

it's not just a small shelf,
it's huge.

Joe's one of the most competitive
men I've ever been around. It shows
in his sports accomplishment.

Being around him
is like being around Elway -
just a great competitor.

In ' , Joe was the man.

That gold medal,
he was a huge part of that.

Unfortunately, his speed went
down, he became older,

so he got cut.

Joe got a little upset, a little
angry he didn't make the team,
tried to take us to court.

He pissed and moaned and cried over
it and he lost all of his protest.

Just because things didn't
work out for him, he jumped
ship and left to go up north.

And now he's coach of Team Canada.

Canada!

Yeah!

He took the plays with him,
took some of our calls with him

so he'd know when to attack
and how to attack.

USA, learn a new way!

If Joe was on fire,
I wouldn't piss on him.

Yeah, yeah!

Yeah!

Yeah, baby, yeah!

Yeah? Any time, big boy.

He thought I should respect
him for just who he was.

f*ck you, I ain't gonna respect you
for who you are.

You've got to gain respect.

I'll remove you from my
face if you yell in it again.

If you think you're man enough, OK?

Go f*ck eggs, boy.

This is ours for the taking, boys!

This is ours! So tonight,
no drinking, go to bed early
and get ready for USA in the finals.

You got that? All right, boys,
great job, great job, great job!

Tomorrow,
I don't want to see anyone
talking to anyone except your team.

They're gonna be talking all kinds
of trash, Joe's gonna say whatever
the hell Joe says, I don't care.

The only reason Joe went to
Canada is to beat the United States

and we're gonna kick the
sh*t out of them. It's our time!

We wanted them, we got 'em!

This is it!

On the count of three,
loud and proud!

Loud and proud, , , ... Yeah!

USA! USA!

USA! The objective, basically,
is to inbound the ball, we play
on a regulation basketball court,

you go from one end to the other.

Stop the ball, stop the ball,

stop the ball!
Two wheels have to cross over
the line with possession of the ball

then you get one point.

The other guys stop you
by slamming their chair in to you.

Help him! Dave, Dave, help him!

You have to dribble the ball or pass
to a team-mate every ten seconds.

Other than that, it's basically
k*ll the man with the ball.

Everybody get back. Everybody
get back! Get the hell back!

Get over here! Get over here!

Everybody over here.
Everybody stay here.

Cheap crap!

m*therf*ckers.

Blow the whistle, please.

You've got Declan right there,
he's behind you.

Pick it up! Pressure! Pressure!

Hit 'em! Hit 'em!

USA down!

Pick this man, that's your job.
When you're back here,
last man standing, stay with him.

Go, Dave, go, Dave, push, push!

USA, USA!

Yeah!

f*ck! We're gonna do this, guys!

It's gonna happen right now.

, , ... USA!

Ten seconds.

It was really an exciting thing.
Congratulations. Thank you.

My pleasure. Great job.

# Oh, Canada

# We stand on guard for thee

# Oh, Canada,

# We stand on guard for thee. #

DISCO MUSIC BLARES

Kiss them medals.

Hey, buddy, skol!

We love you! You're the best coach!

f*ck.

Andy. Andy, do I need to
buy you a beer or something?

Do I need to buy you a beer?

If we had lost,
I would have been happy for your a*s.

If you had paid your dues in the US,
you would have been f*cking
head coach...

Paid my dues?
I paid my dues for years, buddy.

You know what, you've got many years
to play afterwards. Guess what, bud?

That was my last shot, baby. How does
it feel to betray your country, man?

, ...

There's a perception
that everyone can play this game,
but you start with players

that play in the
United States, we whittle down that
group and get our best players.

And the level of play that's gonna
be in Athens is far higher than
world championships was in .

You gotta pull in the guys
that are gonna have your back
in order to win a gold.

Five minutes. All players!

Let's do a game called sweat.

It's five cards up each time.

Your call, buddy.

Out. Out.

All right, I'm in. Bobby!

Flip 'em. What you got? Full house.

Explain why you think
he's interesting.

We respect Joe, hopefully
he respects us, that's it. I don't.

He tried to help us with some
fundamentals, tried to help us with
some clutch situations. Who cares?

Does that make him a shining star?

Does that mean you go
and coach Canada?

Professionally,
there's nothing wrong with it.

That's the second
stupidest thing I've heard.

At this camp, I heard Sam say
he doesn't like big t*ts
and he'd dump a girl with big t*ts.

Don't lie. It's over. Don't lie.

They get in the way.
I like athletic girls, that's
what I said all along that night.

You'll never live that one down.

I'm OK with my sexuality,
I can say I don't like big t*ts. You
like shoes though. I do like shoes.

Everybody that gets hurt
thinks they're gonna walk again.

Your mind becomes a bigger
disability than physical stuff.

I had the idea
that I would walk again

so I was just gonna hide and deny
the whole thing until it went away.

I didn't go outside, I even got
to the point where I got scared

to get the newspaper in the morning
cos I thought people would look
at me in the driveway.

And that kind of fed itself.

What's really hard is
the first two years.

Quadriplegics, after
they have broken their neck

and they've got very little
function, they can't do anything
for themselves.

They've got someone helping them,
someone wiping their a*s

and they work for three to four
years trying to get independent.

It's a mind f*ck in the beginning
and then either you make it
or you don't.

All his life, as soon as he was
able to get on a tricycle,
he's been on wheels.

Bicycles, dirt bikes, quads -

he loved wheels.

Now, one of the favourite things
in the world to Keith hurt him.

You got it.

All right!

Now come back down.

When you go down to that gym,

you realise
how much you're broken down,

you're really almost at
an infant's level.

You get frustrated
because you can't even lift
your arm up to itch your nose.

Just shaking hands with somebody,
I can't even make a firm grip
with my hand to present myself.

And that type of reality check,

you just, you can't explain
to anybody.

Yeah, the Velcro's put on too tight.

Hello, my name's Joe Soares
and I have to tell you, brother,

this is the wall that's about me.

These are the trophies I've won.

So we go through all this
and we have Texas, Texas, Texas.

Those are my MVPs.
Those are my MVPs.

I'm doing you, Joe.

Come on over here, Joe,
we're having fun.

This here is the gold medal
from Sweden that we won, Joe.

We're glad
that you can keep it in this room.

He's got the Canadian flag
put proudly there. Raider!

Raider!

Hey, did someone invite this guy?

Did someone invite
this guy over here?

To go from winning gold medals
for the US,

just because he's snubbed
at one try-out camp,

he's gonna turn around
and snub his entire country?
Because he is Benedict Arnold!

OK, Benedict Arnold was in a w*r

and when he betrayed his country,
many people died because of that.

OK? This isn't a w*r. It's w*r
to me, baby. Look out, Athens!

Robert, open this up and let me
know if you want it cooked longer.

OK, open it up now.
Get a fork and use that knife.

Just cut a piece at the corner.

What would you say?
I don't know, cut a little piece off.

It's your taste, not mine.

I've no idea what you like.

I know you like it warm, but...

I know, but I like it one way,
you like it another.

Cut this for me.

You cut it. Guess what, I'm busy.

Put it in here.

And one, and two, and three.

# We're Canada rugby
We're far from our home

# When people don't like us
They leave us alone

# We drink to get drunk
We're far from our home

# We're Canada rugby
So piss off and die #

I'll just say one thing, OK?

Curfew, ten o'clock.

In a year and a half, we have become

the strongest family I've ever had,
as far as a second family, OK?

You guys have really made me feel
right at home and I absolutely
consider you guys my boys.

You guys are my boys and you'll
be my boys for a long time.

# TWINKLE, TWINKLE, LITTLE STAR

This is the poster my dad got when
he went to the Paralympics in .

He's right here getting chased
by a guy with his ball.

This is a shirt that
my dad ended up giving to me.

He didn't actually want it any more
though, but I don't know why.

It has the quad rugby team
from on it.

There's Joe. Right there.

There's Dad. Dad. There's the dad.

My dad is one of the best
rugby players in the world,

but it's annoying to dust my dad's
trophy wall because you have
to get up on a ladder

and go all the way up to the top
and dust up there and dust in and
out and around every single trophy.

Robert's known for two things,
getting nothing but As and Bs

and that his dad's in a wheelchair
and plays wheelchair rugby.

My son's report card, he received an
award of merit for his outstanding
performance as school safety patrol.

You get trophies for good work,

I got this for the Amethyst team
high honour roll
for conduct, grades and behaviour.

Hey, hey - you take first.

Joe never sat and bitched to me

that "My kid doesn't do this,
or doesn't do that",

but you could hear it
in some of the things he'd say.

"He doesn't play sports
and I wish he would"

and he'd try to get him to try
something and it wouldn't stick.

th grade year was really hard
cos before I got moved
into advanced class,

kids thought I was just
a smarty-pants and a know-it-all
and all the other stuff.

Kids get very jealous
and want to pick on me and Robert,
or just Robert.

One day I ripped a page out
of his book to teach him a lesson.

And I'll do it again
if he acts up again.

I always told him,
if some bully's pickin' on you,
if you have no other recourse

and they're coming after you,
go right for the nose.

I remember I was seven or eight and
there was this one kid, he would call
me cr*pple and gimp and everything

he made me really mad and I made sure
I waited for the right opportunity
and I was close enough to him

and I was sitting on the ground,
cos of course I couldn't walk,
and I tripped him and he went down.

And when he did I jumped on him and
just beat the living hell out of him

because my upper body
was a lot stronger than his.

Sink like a rock.

Mark is definitely
what I would classify as a jock.

That's freezing!

And I would never have given any
thought to hang out with jocks,
to be honest.

When I met her, she was doing
an internship at the morgue.

How many girls do you meet
that work at the morgue?

And that are cool
and enjoy it and are cute?

I actually really miss
working at the morgue,
I miss the work, I miss the people.

# Here is the church
And here is the steeple

# We sure are cute
For two ugly people...

First time I saw Mark Zupan
was at a friend of ours' funeral.

He rolled in, introduced himself
and I don't think we've had
a moment apart, from that night.

I really think it's curiosity
that attracts a lot of girls
to quadriplegics

and I think also, to some extent,
it's the mothering instinct.

# ..doesn't mean we're not smart
I don't see what anyone can see
In anyone else

# But you are always trying
To keep it real
I'm in love with how you feel... #

I had a girlfriend
prior to the injury

and as I get discharged from here
and I get back to my private life,

how would that affect,
will I be able to be sexually active?

The short answer is yes.

We have a video to show
how to do it,

as time goes on we're gonna
go through a whole programme
of what techniques you may need.

Often, adjustment after spinal cord
injury involves a re-evaluation,

or reordering of priorities
in one's life.

One must work through the issue of,
why did this happen to me,

and make a conscious decision
to move forward in life.

Women are not threatened
by the guy that's in a chair.

They come up, strike up
a great casual conversation

and you're like "Is she seein'
the chair or is she seein' me?"

Everyone says,
"What's your approach,
how do you work these women?"

f*ck it, man, The more pitiful I am,
the more the women like me.

The girls who like you,
there is one question

that pops in their head pretty quick.

But they don't wanna say it, so they
say, "Oh, how did you get hurt?"

Yeah, I can move 'em. It takes
or minutes of working that chick

and then she finally drops the b*mb -
can you do it?

No, it's all still very, very good.

I think everyone here,
ding, ding, ding. Why, is there some
can get it up but not...?

It's not a given with every quad.
When I first got injured,
I was in intensive care

everyone was curious to how
much function I was gonna have
when I came out of my coma.

I was about ready to wake up and the
nurses decided to give me a bed bath

and one nurse got so excited
that I got a woody,

she ran outside and got my mom
and showed her my erection.

Really?

Physical changes occur immediately
after spinal cord injury.

Before you engage in any
sexual activity with a partner,

it would be helpful to know
how your new body works.

This can most effectively
be accomplished by masturbating.

In rehab, the first thing I learned
how to do was jerk off!

That was the very first thing -
I'd rather be able to grab my meat
than grab a toothbrush.

You break your neck and
these things may be impaired,

but, you know, that still works

and when you're in a chair,
you usually like to eat p*ssy.

It's humorous at times
to watch the process of trying that.

You might fall over or have to do
some modifications to it.

So does the girl have to be on top?

A lot of girls like being on top.

I've got a kind of modified doggy
style that I've perfected.

Since I have less hand grip,
I use a towel.

I wrap a towel or belt around her
waist, then I hold it right there,

and then do my thing, you know.

'My first full-on sex,
after being in a wheelchair,'

was a very great moment in my life,
just knowing that I could still,
not just the physical act,

but you could still go out one
night, meet a girl and get lucky.

Things you don't think
are possible any more.

I try to be constructive, OK?

You've got to be able to accept it.
You can't be sensitive.

If you do your job,
will I yell at you?

How do you think you guys
got to this level?

That's because when you mess up,
you lead someone in.

Let me ask you something.
When you were growing up,

and your dad told you not to
do something, and you did it,

what did he have to do? He had
to ground you. Whichever way.

Well, guess what. I'm the same way.
I've got to do that, OK?

'My theory on discipline, if you
start early and let them know'

you will back up what you say,
then usually, by age five,
discipline is already established.

Please don't do that.
Don't do that again.

Did you hear me? Stop acting up.

I'm not acting up.

Robert, go with Mom.

No, I want... Go with Mom now.

I want to stay here.

INAUDIBLE

If I have to say it again!

'If you give 'em tough love, they
learn the difference from wrong and
right. My dad was a police officer.'

If you bad-mouthed him or did
anything at all, there were
consequences. He was very hard-nosed

and he had really huge hands
and hit really hard.

I let him know
that it isn't even close,

what I do to him,
what my father did to me.

Thank you.

Robbie won't... Robbie's not gonna
want that, is he? No, he won't.

'Rugby at one point
took over a lot.'

Rugby, rugby, rugby...

They used to be like...

addicted, it's like an addiction.

It's like some drug for him.

When he comes closer to the time
when the game is going to go on,

he gets more edgy, more irritable.

I was up this morning at . , I went
to bed at... I guess we're doing it
tomorrow. We're doing it tomorrow.

I thought we could do three threes
and a deuce out there...

'The doctor wants him to take it
easy and not get over-stressed.

'And Joe is continuing to coach'

and he wants to continue to play.

No! No! No, he doesn't have the ball!

Get outta there! Oh!

On the count of three!

One, two, three...

Do you want or ? . ?

I was playing college soccer,
we went out after a game we won,
I had a few too much to drink,

so I went and passed out
in my buddy's pickup truck.

He crashed and I went flying.

He was drunk and that was that.

Knowing Zupan and Igoe as well as
I do, this day, ten years later,

sometimes I feel worse for Igoe
than I do for Zupan.

Why isn't Igoe at our -year
reunion? There was apprehension on
both their parts. This is difficult.

I believe he feels, if he came here,
some part of Igoe's mind would say,

"Everyone in this reunion will be
saying, 'There's Mark and the guy
that put him in the wheelchair.'"

They were two best friends,
and after the accident,

Chris Igoe thought
I was gonna beat the sh*t out of him.

And I hugged him.

What else could I do?

I said, "This was an accident, I know
you didn't do this intentionally,

"so don't worry about it.

"But you are responsible.

"And don't forget that either."

I didn't have a lot of anger,
I had a lot of concern.

I had concern that my son was gonna
die and that Chris wasn't going
to survive the mental challenge.

It's gotta be horrendous
to live with that every day.

Your best friend.
It has to be horrendous.

The night of the accident started
pretty innocently enough.

We were doing shots with the girls
and just slamming beers senseless.

Next thing I know,
I'm getting woken up by the bouncer.

Um...you know,
I'd driven drunk prior to that.

You know, everybody pretty much had.
It wasn't a big deal at that point.

I'm just thinking,
"I'm gonna get home."

He had to have got launched
all the way over this

and landed in the canal.

And I had absolutely no idea
that he was in the truck.

I...

And I had a long, hard time,
you know, accepting that fact

because it was...it's just so...

..foreign.

For me to come back and see this,

it's...

I don't know.

You know, I'm not getting a real
emotional reaction, it's just...

a place that something bad happened.

There was an accident, you know,
it was simply an accident.

People talk about
hitting rock bottom.

I mean, I...

Not to sound overly dramatic or
anything, but I was definitely...

acting suicidal,
whether I knew that or not.

They're possibly the two worst
personalities for this accident
to happen to together.

You've got Zupan,
who's not an emotional person,

that's gonna say,
"Let's get all this out.

"You feel guilty, I understand
your guilt, I can help you."

You've got Igoe who very much is,
"I don't need anyone's help"

They seem to have the perfect storm
of personality quirks

that may prevent the two of them
from ever saying exactly
what the other needs to hear

to make both of them whole
to move forward with it.

I was pretty hard on him.

I'd have him come get me.

He had a pager
and I just blew up his pager.

I would just continually call.

I would project my anger
on people that I care about.

I mean, when you come out of rehab,
you have traces of your old self,

just everywhere - where you used to
sit after you'd come home from...

I don't know, a soccer game,
a party, whatever.

Just seeing soccer shoes or...

stuff you'd use in able-bodied life
in your closet, you have pictures...

of you playing sports,
of your friends.

You figure out that home isn't
necessarily comforting, but it's...

it gets to you inside.

Just keep it up, that's all we ask.

You must be going somewhere.
Yeah, home.

Good luck. Thank you.

Hey, you're leaving us.

D'you guys want to write down
your contacts?

We'll definitely be having parties
and stuff

and all you guys are to come down.

I'll be there, man.

Oh.

Is this a therapy joke?

I didn't pick the card. Melissa did.
You can blame it on her.

Let me help you. I got it.

That's a new chair.
Yeah, looks brand new.

That new one, I gave to him
that first week he was in.

It's a bit more compact.
The one we were looking at
had a case and everything...

It's cold and everything.
This place really sucks.

What? I said it's like...everything
in here is nice and all...

This is where you're going...
I'm in a wheelchair.

This sucks.

It's like when you came from Robert
Wood, it was a new transition,
new schedule, give it a few weeks.

Ssh!

Let me just have a moment.
Yeah, but...

Preach to me all you want.
It won't make any difference.

Yeah, I'm thankful that I'm here.

You know, I could have been
so much worse off.

But the fact is, what was once normal
will never be the same.

And that's just settling in
right now.

Are you sure you wanna see this?

Imagine if you didn't have this on.

Selection's a hard part.

We've got a great responsibility
going towards Athens.

We're going there to win gold and
I've selected a team that gives us
the best opportunity to do that.

From Tempe, Arizona,

Andy Cohn.
APPLAUSE

From San Diego, California,
Sam Gloor, Cliff Chunn, Lynn Nelson,

Brent Poppen, Bob Lujano.

APPLAUSE

From Phoenix, Arizona, Scott Hogsett.

From Austin, Texas, Mark Zupan.

APPLAUSE

This is the
USA Paralympic rugby team.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

One, two, three...

USA RUGBY!

Hey, Mark. Hi. We're trying
to learn all their names.

Hi, how are you?

Shake his hand.

What's your name? Melissa.

Melissa? Nice to meet you.

Do you like rugby, Melissa?
Do you like it?

Being a little bashful.

I'm gonna ask you some questions.

How do you eat pizza
with your elbows?

Well, I just pick it up like this.

I use this chair to help me,
it's my everyday chair.

I get up like this.

I'm gonna need a seatbelt, slide in.

How...how did you...?
How did you lose your arms?

I got sick when I was nine years old
and contracted a blood disease.

But I'm all right.
That's all that matters.

I'm alive and use everything I have
to get through life.

That's what we all have to do -
use everything we have.

I contracted meningococcocemia
when I was nine years old.

It's an early stage of meningitis, a
very rare form. It happens overnight,

like picking up a cold.
They couldn't do anything for me.

They pretty much said
I wasn't gonna make it.

They brought a priest in and gave
last rites, so it looked pretty grim.

Then I just woke up and had no legs.

I remember being wheeled
into the emergency room.

I looked down and saw my legs and
feet and headed to the operating room
and knew this wasn't good.

My father was very much instrumental
in helping me deal with everything.

I remember times, whenever kids would
laugh or point, he'd kinda laugh
along with them and joke about it.

Once I saw him
lightening the situation,

you know, it didn't make me
feel upset or hurt.

'I'm a -year-old single male
in Birmingham.

I think I'm living, but every single
male's supposed to be living.

I live independently, take care of
myself, cook for myself, have a job.

These are my artificial limbs
and I use it primarily
just to button up and zip up.

I also have to use them to drive.

When I first started out, I drove
without them and had an accident.

The first thing they said was,
"Did you have a seatbelt on?" "No."
"Did you have your arms on?" "No."

It's very much humiliating,
but yet life still goes on.

There's a dream that I have
where I was flying

and I've had it a couple of times,
very much the same dream,

where I'm at my grandmother's house,
the house where I lost my limbs.

I was having a dream where I was
just flying up into the back yard,

flying over the roof of the house,
flying among the trees.

I do see myself as having limbs
as I was flying.

It was a very liberating feeling,

not wanting it to end and wanting
to keep it going, you know.

If he didn't have that exercise,
he would be probably gone.

My doctor says, "You've the heart
of a bull." I believe him.

Anybody join me in a toast? Sure.

This is the first time we've seen
Uncle Joe since his heart attack

and thank God his heart's pumping
strong and he looks great
and he's in great health.

To his future and good health
and God bless him.

ALL: To Uncle Joe.

'I'll be honest here,
I'm living the American Dream.'

My family moved here to the US at age
, and if I had stayed in Portugal,

I probably would not have anywhere
near the opportunities in life
as I've had living here in the US.

If you've got a disability
in Portugal,

they become ashamed of having
someone, it's a sign of weakness.

'So it's not that
I'm not a proud American,'

I still believe in my country, I live
here, but I have a job to do and it's
been a great ride with Team Canada.

Uncle Joe!

Uncle Joe!

Do a . OK, a coming up.

Whooh!

That's funny!

After his heart attack,

it's like he grew, he matures.

For some reason, he woke up,

God touched Joe somehow.

He did. I do believe that.
I believe it too.

And everything changes
because the way Joe talks

is like the new Joe.

He's smart. Straight A's
three years in a row.

He plays the viola,
he's pretty good at it.

I always knew
Joe would grow up to be somebody.

He had that fortitude about him.
He had a great personality.

He had a lot of drive, unbelievable
for a man confined to a wheelchair.

I underlined my home phone number.
Cell number's on the back.
You look good.

Actually, I'm the only person
in the world to have all three world
championships in wheelchair rugby.

I don't think God is into
competition, but I think God rewards
those who help people out.

The man up there's giving me
the strength to be a better coach
now than ever

because I'm hoping
he blesses my team.

Don't let the Americans
get in your way, just beat 'em,
beat their asses off!

They deserve a good beating.

It'll take it, baby.

This tournament is important for us
because it gives us an opportunity
to reclaim what we feel is ours,

which is being the number-one seed
going into the Paralympics.

Are we ready to play here, boys?

ALL: Yeah! Are we ready?

USA! Go get 'em!

Watch Zupan. Watch Zupan.

Attack, attack, attack!

Ohhh!

Canada! Canada! Canada!

Canada!

Ref, stop!

Off, off, off, off!
Swarm him! Swarm him!

Swarm him! Swarm him!
WHISTLE BLOWS

We'll crush! We'll crush, OK?

Let's go and get this.
One, two, three... USA!

Swarm him! Swarm him! Swarm him!

USA!

We got f*cking ½ months to go.

Right now,
this is what we needed to do.

Ladies and gentlemen,
the gold-medal-winning team -

the United States!

Is there any way you could take an
earlier flight to get to my concert?

'I'll go as quick as I can.
I miss you,

'and...I love you.'

We have six students
who did all the writing play-offs
and all the written play-offs.

When I call your name,
please come down.

Samuel Fraser...

Caitlin Grant... Jenny Park...
Laura Payne, and Robert Soares.

Good job. Good job.

How you doing, bud?

I'm proud of you.
You did a good job.

I'm gonna play this for you guys,
then I'll tell you a little about me

and a little about the sport.
That's cool.

'Meet the US wheelchair rugby team.

'Wheelchair rugby, also known
as quad rugby, is for athletes
who are quadriplegics.

'If people see you in a wheelchair,
they treat you
like you're made of glass.

'Playing wheelchair rugby...'

Are you on one of them teams?
I play for the United States
Paralympic rugby team.

Do you wear helmets? No, ma'am.

Why not? You don't wanna do it
wearing elbow pads, shin pads... That
might be just the macho-man thing...

Is there a technique to falling?
Just don't lead with your head!
That's pretty much it!

I've actually done more in a chair
than I did able-bodied.

Don't let this thing limit you
from doing anything you want.

Let's just say that, down the road,
we play...

I have the mentality that I don't
want to be in this wheelchair
for the rest of my life.

Yeah. But, say we do start walking,

do we get kicked off the team
right away?

If you get out the chair and walk
away, that might be one of the things
you have to give up

to go and walk away!

What is that made from?
Aluminium.

You got it put on?
Yeah.

It's custom-made to each person.

This chair's different
to my everyday chair.

You sure you wanna do this?!

How does it feel?

How does it feel? I feel
as if I'm on a battering ram!

How do you feel in it? Unreal.
It's a whole different aspect
of being in a wheelchair.

Feel how rugged it is!

Can run into anything.

You can't do it! You're in
a hospital - you can't do it!

Can I do it outside?

You're on hospital grounds.
God forbid, something goes wrong,
you hurt yourself...

You're still a little fragile.

Can I even tag him? No!

He'll be fine.
He's not gonna fall out.

I don't wanna ruin your chair.
You won't ruin it.

Do people, like,
just throw their body at it?

You're strapped in differently
when you're in it.

OK...

The Paralympic Games follow just
a few weeks after the Olympic Games.

This year, they're September th
to the th, in Athens,

using all the same venues,
stadiums, everything.

..competing, and right now,
we are too.

It's an amazing sport to watch,
and until you see it live,
it's hard to appreciate.

This is gonna be
the hardest training of my life.

This is just crazy.

I didn't expect anything like this.

Tell me about wheelchair rugby.
It used to be called Murderball.

But you can't market Murderball
to corporate sponsors!

We've been hearing about a rivalry
between US and Canadian
quad rugby teams.

You guys are
really going after each other.

We have a reputation
of always staying on top
and always winning gold,

so we don't wanna be the first team
to let our country down
and not win.

Great! Thanks very much! Thank you.

I came a day early,
and spoke at a rehab hospital,

and there's this young guy that just
got hurt... He was told about rugby,

I brought a rugby chair.
We couldn't get him out of it
when it was time to leave.

He was like,
"I wanna go and hit stuff!"

So just to see that - his
eyes light up, and being so happy -

it was so fulfilling.

NBC- has more, with the American
Paralympic rugby team.

The Paralympic team preps
for its biggest day in four years.

The Paralympic Games, in Athens,
Greece are a month away.

Pass! Tighten up on that!

Watching the Olympic
opening ceremony the other day -

that got my blood going, realising
that we're less than days away.

Bobby, have you seen Ocean's Eleven?
Yeah.

Remember the little Asian guy
that gets in that box?

And they break in the bank,
or the casino?

We're gonna try that with you.
You know how funny that would be?!

Oh, my God, I'm pissing myself.

Are they coming now?
No, call the girls.

Put it upside-down
and put it on top of you.

Will it work?

Are you comfortable?

Hmm...not.

Where you going? To pee. f*ck
peeing! Bobby's gonna suffocate!

Scott needs a hand. Quick! My box
fell over, with my bag in it.

He just needs a hand.
I can't pick up the bag.

Just pick it up quick.

Shouldn't I put it like this...?

No, I'd pick it up...

then the bag will be...
Pick it straight up. All right.

That was real f*cking funny(!)

I was at a wedding, and my chick's
mom's sister came up,
and she goes...

IN HIGH VOICE:
"Hi, Scotty, I'm so-and-so.

"I hear you're going
to the Special Olympics."

And I went from being the "man"
at the wedding to a f*cking ret*rd.

It was the worst feeling.

Special Olympics happens once a year

and it's for people
who are mentally challenged.

What they do in the Special Olympics
is very honourable.

It's amazing what they can do,
but this is totally different.

We're not going
for a pat-me-on-the-back,
"Thank you for participating".

We're not going for a hug.
We're going for a gold medal.

When we're prepping, we've got to put
emphasis on stopping Kirkland,

stopping Zupan.
Jump on him, turn him.

The adventure begins. We can't just
be satisfied with stopping him.

We've gotta forget the past.
We have to forget what happened
in Sweden

and in Vancouver. It's time to go
to Athens and take care of business.

Canada! Number one!

CANADA!

You're the best son ever. You're the
best son anybody could ever have.

You make me so proud.

INAUDIBLE

I never thought we'd be here.

# Light and day
Is more than you'll say

# Cos all my feelings

# Are more than I can let by

# Or not, more than you've got

# Just follow the day

# Follow the day
and reach for the sun...

# Reach for the sun. #

I got injured years ago,
at a lake cabin. I got pushed
off the balcony and broke my neck.

My friend was driving
on the freeway when we hit a tree.

I got thrown out the back
of a pick-up truck.

I spent hours in a canal,
hanging on to a branch.

I contracted a neurological disorder
when I was one.

But it's allowed me to play
quad rugby!

We're gonna divvy you guys up.

We'll show you some rugby,
then those who want to try

can have a live-speed version
of rugby. Anyone that's Air Force,
Marines or Navy,

you'll be with the blue team.
The Army are with the red team.

My job is...hopefully snag
the wheel on the way by.

If I can slow him down for one
or two seconds, I've done my job.

It's full-wheelchair contact. It's a
lot of fun. If you like football,

you'll love wheelchair rugby.

I guess we're gonna play some...
so you guys can actually see
the game.

I can't throw that far.
It doesn't matter.

None of us could in the beginning.
You're gonna do an awesome job.

WHISTLE BLOWS

USA!

Ready, set, go!

Congratulations. May God continue
to bless our country.

Zupan!

Come on, Joe, bring it in!

It's coming!

No, wait!