Watched the Opening Ceremonies LIVE

When I heard the Paralympics would be shown live on Universal Sports, I was hesitant to believe I’d really be able to watch/hear the streaming video. I woke up early this morning and besides taking some time to load, the show was amazing! I watched most of the countries parade in, recognized a few friends, and was so proud to see Team USA make their entrance. The artistic shows were not only as good as the Olympic Opening Ceremonies but (in my obviously humble opinion) WAY better! There were Deaf dancers and my favorite element-a newly injured 12-year-old ballerina amputee was surrounded by other dancers who used their arms to perfectly mimic ballet leg movements. It was beautiful! The highlight was totally the torch lighting…I tried to find a video but it’s not online yet. After the traditional lap around the track, where the torch was passed from Paralympian to Paralympian (all Chinese gold medallists), a wheelchair athlete climbed a white rope IN HIS CHAIR with the flame to the TOP of the “Birds’ Nest”. It was beyond awesome. He was secured with safety cords but it was obvious that it took real physical strength to climb up and that made it even more powerful. It was among the coolest things I’ve ever seen. I’ll share it here whenever I find it. There aren’t even any quality pictures online yet from the event. With the restrictions on sending pictures from Beijing on the Internet, I’m thankful I caught it live.

Here’s the schedule of events that I’ll be watching thanks to Universal Sports:

Swimming LIVE
Sun, Sep 07  5 AM ET
Swimming LIVE
Mon, Sep 08  5 AM ET
Track & Field LIVE
Tue, Sep 09  5 AM ET
Swimming LIVE
Wed, Sep 10  5 AM ET
Swimming LIVE
Thu, Sep 11  5 AM ET
Wheelchair Basketball LIVE (USA v. AUS)
Thu, Sep 11  8:30 AM ET
Track & Field LIVE
Fri, Sep 12  5 AM ET
Wheelchair Basketball LIVE
Fri, Sep 12  9:30 AM ET
Track & Field LIVE
Sat, Sep 13  5 AM ET