Concrete Gridiron

Thu, Jan 30 10:30 P.M. NHPBS (11.1)

Half hour documentary about the first wheelchair football league in Buffalo, NY. The league is a part of a the national league, sponsored by the NFL Foundation and the Bob Woodruff Foundation. The team is made up of athletes who live with disabilities. Each player has a different story. Many, like David Cross have served our country. Cross was injured while in the military. He was hit by an IED, and lost his leg as a result. "I can only play physical sports," he said. "I tried golf, it was too boring. Getting out there and playing competitively is everything to me." For U.S Veteran Carrie Frank, playing sports has provided her purpose. "When you're able to play stand-up sport for such a long time, and then you can't, you have to forgive sport and then you have to drive on," she said. "Without the Greater Adaptive Buffalo Sports Program, we wouldn't be able to do this as adults." The team was assembled last season by Norm Page, the President of the Greater Buffalo Adaptive Sports Program. The team will play against 11 other teams across the country this season, in two separate tournaments in Chicago and Salt Lake City. While these players hope to come home with a trophy, the ability to play this sport is a priceless gift players like Carrie Frank say has saved their lives.

Episode Duration: 29 minutes and 0 seconds

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