Getting to know Maxi, a young man who enjoys playing soccer, and works as a sports commentator for the local radio, no one could define him as “disabled” or as a “blind man”. In fact Maximiliano Ruiz Diaz has achieved things that many of us who do not have impediments or challenges could not even dream of. Maxi was part of the “Bats” (Los Murcielagos) the Argentinean blind football team. He works at “La mas deportiva” a popular sports show in Formosa, Argentina. During the recent games of Copa Argentina he had a chance to interview some of his favorite players. He was featured as a guest on several nationally aired shows, and also on newspapers from Argentina and Paraguay.

I met Maxi through a common friend in Facebook. We both share a passion for soccer or "futbol" as we call it, and as I learned we are both “rude defenders”. I must have been 13 or 14 when I saw the first game involving soccer players. Some of the characteristics of blind football are: a) The football contains ball bearings so it can be heard b) a bell behind the goal direct players to shoot c) players talk to each other and their rivals to avoid collisions (which still are common) and d) the goalie is the only sighted player.

Judging by the challenges they have to overcome I consider these players much better players than the average amateur enthusiast including myself.

Christian Pérez writes on an article of ABC Paraguay (08/May/2015): “I heard this guy describing the development of the game as he was reading my mind. It was distracting. I turned around and saw this guy writing in braille, taking notes on everything the narrator said and keeping tracks of all the chances each team had”. While Maxi says that “just because one is blind or has a disability people expect you have to be confined in a room. It is up to you to first accept the challenges and confront them. No one will come and solve all your problems magically". The title of the article is not very fortunate "He comments with his heart" as his commentaries where more products of his feelings than a true analysis of the game.

If anyone had remotely thought of Maxi as the stereotype of a blind person who stays at home reading braille, they would certainly be disappointed. His routine includes playing soccer in the morning, having lunch and going to his job at the radio station. He is very active in Facebook, he has a program that “reads” other people’s comments and he is always quick to reply. In his Facebook wall, Maxi posted a question for all of us who view ourselves as persons, but are quick to define others by just an attribute. "Why do we see someone as a disabled and not as a person? When we see a man walking with a white cane, a lady in a wheelchair, a boy communicating through sign language, or a girl with Down syndrome, do you think first of "a blind man, a disabled lady, a deaf boy, a Down girl, or just of a man, a lady, a boy, a girl that has dreams, desires, opinions, routines, a job, a family?" I think we are all guilty at one point of having defined a person by just one of his or her characteristics. The idea of intersectionality is that "no one is a member of just one social group...we are all a product of a combination of experiences and identities.." (Lind, 6). Maxi is a great example of that.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-10914782

http://www.abc.com.py/especiales/fin-de-semana/ejemplo-de-superacion-querer-es-poder-1364225.html