Football is a fast and rough sport. Its wheelchair version is no different.
At a Wednesday night practice in the Bonner Springs Elementary School gym, muscular men strapped tight to compact wheelchairs are whirling, darting, and smashing into each other — think hockey, with tighter turns.
“It's high impact, high intensity,” says Kansas City Chiefs wheelchair football star quarterback Matt Bollig. “It's a very fast game.”
Bollig has a broad smile and thick arms, and can sling the ball 40 yards from his chair, with pinpoint accuracy, under pressure. Bollig played college football before a weightlifting injury 12 years ago cost him the use of his legs.
“There's a lot of collisions and going on the ground, but at the same time, it's very poetic,” Bollig says.
Thirteen of the USA Wheelchair Football League’s 14 teams are named after the NFL teams in their cities: the Dallas Cowboys, the Los Angeles Rams and so forth. Players wear the helmets and jerseys of their home teams.
“It's a pride thing. It's hometown, it's a logo, it's a symbol, and it's kind of life for me,” Bollig says. “I grew up watching the Chiefs, and I've always wanted to be a part of this team. And now, having the opportunity, hopefully I can make the best of it.”
Bollig and the wheelchair Chiefs are building a legacy.
They’ve won a berth in every one of the league’s four championship games so far, winning one and losing three against the best teams the rest of the country can put up against them.
And they like their chances in this year’s title matchup, Saturday morning against the Chicago Bears at home in Bartle Hall.
But winning what they consider their “Super Bowl” would be just a bonus in a sport that’s giving players a welcome outlet for their aggression, and a chance to sharpen their reflexes and bolster their physical power.
Frank Morris
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KCUR/NPR
Rookie defensive lineman Donte Hill has never been able to use his legs, but he’s always loved football. Hill used to assist his high school team. Now, he’s off the sideline and mixing it up on the field.
“If you blitz, you might hit the gap just right, and you have a clear lane to the running back or the quarterback, and you just get to ram right into them,” Hill says with a laugh.
Those collisions can sometimes topple players. And everyone has different strategies for getting back upright, depending on the nature of their disability. Some players roll onto their stomachs and do an explosive pushup to get the chair underneath them again. Bruises, scrapes and even broken bones are all part of the game.
You’d never confuse it with traditional football, but players say the sports are closely linked.
“Of course, the motions aren't quite the same, but the concepts are still the same,” says Hill.
Wheelchair football players square off seven on seven. The field, generally a concrete or asphalt parking lot, stretches 60 yards long.
The league was founded six years ago by the organization Move United, with help from the Bob Woodruff Foundation and the National Football League.
“And I think it's really important to recognize that it's different — we had to adapt the game,” says Glenn Merry, Move United executive director. “But if you're watching this game, you're going to understand these people are athletes.”
Adapting the game takes a substantial amount of money. Those fast, sturdy wheelchairs can run anywhere from $3,000 to $6,000. The league covers the costs of team travel and puts on tournaments from money that flows through the NFL’s Salute to Service program.
Half the wheelchair league’s players are veterans, like Chiefs offensive lineman John Teegarden, still in the game at 61.
“I’m gonna keep playing until I can’t play anymore,” says Teegarden. “I try to keep up with them, (but) they keep getting younger, they keep getting stronger, they keep getting faster.”
“It’s not me that’s changing, it’s them,” he adds with a chuckle.
The young league is changing too. It drew 30% more players, coaches, and referees this year than last, and it’s looking for expansion teams.
Meanwhile, this weekend, the Chiefs are looking for their second national championship.
“We haven’t lost a game this year and we’re not looking to lose this next one,” says wide receiver Riley Blee. “Looking to finish undefeated.”
“We call it the Super Bowl, but it’s not the Super Bowl,” says defensive back Jason Loftiss. “It's the national championship, so — but pretty much all of us call it our Super Bowl.”
While climbing to the top of a competitive national league would feel great, Loftiss says the most important part is just playing the game.
“I mean, just because some of us, our legs don't work, or we're missing part of them, doesn't mean we can't compete and go out there and win games,” he says.
The 2024 USA Wheelchair Football League’s championship game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the GLASA Chicago Bears is 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23, at the Kansas City Convention Center, 301 W. 13th St., Kansas City, Missouri, 64105. RSVPs have closed.
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