As people squeezed onto two sets of metal bleachers in the Preston Center to watch eight men in strange wheelchairs slam into each other at full force, it was apparent that no one in the crowd knew anything about murderball.

“I thought they’d all be bigger and stronger,” said a student in the crowd.

“I don’t know how many people are on a team,” said the girl next to him.

“I don’t THINK they’re going to shoot baskets,” said another student who was yelling about 10 feet to my left.

Obviously Matt Davis is right. October is National Disability Awareness Month, and people need their awareness raised.

Matt Davis is the coordinator of student disability services at Western. This year he brought the Nashville-based murderball aka wheelchair rugby team to campus for the second time in an effort to prove that “just because you’re in chairs doesn’t mean you can’t be active in sports.”

On Thursday, the Nashville murderball team traveled to Western and played a demonstrative scrimmage for the crowd of around 75 students and faculty. After that volunteers were allowed to do their best to beat the professionals.

Several members of the Western rugby team competed against the quad-rugby team but they were rarely allowed to score. Most of the team was in attendance and could frequently be heard yelling at their teammates to be more aggressive against their wheelchair-bound opponents.

Josh Ferriell is a senior from Western who played against the quad-rugby team.

“It was a workout, man. They’re flying by you,” Ferriell said. “It’s a hell of a workout. It’s really fun, though.”

Almost any sport that can be played by an able-bodied person has a counterpart in the world of paraplegic and quadriplegic athletics. Whether it’s basketball, football, fencing, swimming or even bowling, there are disabled Americans playing the sport at this very moment.

Since the critically acclaimed movie “Murderball” came out in July 2005, wheelchair rugby has arguably received more nationwide attention than any of the other “wheelchair” sports. More than 20 countries around the world participate in wheelchair rugby and almost every state in America has at least one team of wheelchair rugby players.

Teams play in national and international tournaments. Coach Michael Sells is looking forward to the Nashville team competing in the national tournament in April.

Mike Sells is a paraplegic who has coached wheelchair rugby for eight of the last 12 years.

Because Sells still has complete use of his upper body, he is ineligible to play. Only people with damage to all four appendages are allowed to play wheelchair rugby.

“I’ve been coaching all my life,” Sells said. “I just sort of fell into it but I love it.”

There were several impressive Nashville quad-rugby players in the four-on-four games played in the Preston Center, but one of the fastest was 26-year-old Ernest Chun.

Ernest Chun was 13 when he broke his neck while surfing in his home state of Hawaii. A few years later, a friend told him about wheelchair rugby.

Two years ago Chun was moving to Nashville and playing on a national rugby team. Chun has played on the Nashville team for two seasons with no end in sight.

“I love it,” said Chun. “It keeps me busy and focused, despite my injury.”

In quad-rugby, each team has four players of varying disability. Each person is given a number based on their capabilities from the most disabled (.5) to least disabled (3.5).

For example Chun qualifies as a 2.0 because he has moderate control of his upper body and in particular his hands. A murderball team can have no more than eight total points on the field at a given time.

The team members on a quad-rugby team use a special wheelchair designed to protect both the player and the chair. Each chair is plated with metal sheets and bars so no damage is done to the wheels or players.

The rules and training of murderball are very similar to that of other sports but what’s surprising is the inspiration the players get from being active and social.

Senior Adam Fleming, who is handicapped, went to watch the murderball games on Thursday and the team instantly took a liking to him. While apprehensive at first, Fleming decided to give the game a try during the student scrimmages.

After just four games, Fleming was laughing and racing around the court with the best players on the Nashville team. Gasping for air after the matches ended, Fleming grinned from ear to ear.

“I had a ball,” he said. “It brought me back to my old football years.”

Reach Aaron Burch at diversions@chherald.com.