"We really wanted to make the audience forget that the players were in wheelchairs," Rubin said. "Dana and I are not big sports guys, so we focused more on capturing raw, unscripted emotions."

Zupan, whose well-muscled torso and warrior-like attitude belie his warm personality, has been the focal point of a barrage of recent publicity and interviews, including HBO Real Sports, ESPN and stories in Details, Maxim, Premiere, and a recent fashion shoot for The New York Times. Zupan is also appearing on billboards in New York and Los Angeles for Reebok as part of the company's "I am what I am" campaign.

Gary Springer, owner of Manhattan-based Springer Associates PR, has been directing "Murderball's" publicity campaign as if he had a personal stake in its success -- and, in fact, he does. In 1999, when Springer's son Nick was 14 years old, he came down with a case of meningococcal meningitis while at sleep-away camp in the Berkshires.

The disease caused Nick to lose the use of his legs below the knee; he also lost movement in his elbows and wrists. "I was given my last rites, and my dad didn't think I would make it through the night," Nick Springer said. "But the most difficult part of my Disability was not being able to leave the hospital for nine months."

According to the Jackson-Heights-based United Spinal Association, more than 700,000 Americans have disabilities of the spinal cord. Springer's father credits the association with helping to get his son into Quad rugby back when he was still in rehab in White Plains. He also says the association has been helping Nick ever since. "I just made a spot on Team USA's development team, and I now could be on the road to the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing," Nick Springer says. He currently plays quad rugby with the Hoveround Lightning in Sarasota, Fla.

A publicity vehicle

Scott Hogsett, 32, said he was the first quad rugby player approached to be in the movie. "We want to get the word out about our sport," says Hogsett, who lives in Phoenix. Hogsett, who became disabled in 1992 after an accident at a party, says he has no time for bitterness. "People in chairs are no different than anyone else, and we want people to realize that," says Hogsett, who was recently married.

He says he is still ruled by a strong work ethic. "Hard work can translate into anything at all," he says. Like other Team USA members, he hopes hard work will translate into a gold medal at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing.

While Rozier doesn't have his sights set on the Paralympics in China, he hopes to accomplish things in New York with a soon-to-be-released DVD about what it's like to be in a wheelchair and raise children.

"I want people to realize that life doesn't stop because you're in a chair. My other message to people is to be happy with your life, and don't take things for granted," Rozier adds. "For someone in a wheelchair, tying your shoe can be a major job."

For more information on the United Spinal Association, visit the group's Web site, www.unit edspinal.org.

Alan Krawitz is a freelance writer.