Paralympics spectators learn when to be silent and when to cheer during visually impaired events.

Paralympics spectators learn when to be silent and when to cheer during visually impaired events.
The Olympics is considered the world's foremost sporting competition, with more than 200 teams representing nations and territories taking part in the tournament. Next to that, we have the Paralympics. The Paralympics is the largest international event for disabled athletes and societal change that takes place shortly after every Olympic Games in the same host city. This year, 2024, the Paralympics and the Olympics took place in Paris, France. 

Blind football and goalball are for visually impaired athletes. It is like Showdown, where people play a typical game with the eyemask on. Something different about these sports events is the atmosphere in the stadium and the volume of the crowds cheering. 

The ball in both sports has a rattle or bell that alerts players to its approximate location. Players yell to one another as they go around the field, while fans must keep their excitement under control until the ball is out of play.  Without frequent conversation and chanting the spectators' enthusiasm means a consistent focus on the field of play.

From my point of view, it is already familiar to me because I volunteered and attended the game Showdown. When i volunteered as a scorekeeper, the room had a silent atmosphere with no one in the crowd speaking and cheering for their side. These sports events for the visually impaired, especially, need an accurate attitude towards the intense energy playing on.  

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