Chap­ter 12: Fame tells the inspir­ing jour­ney of the Cal­i­for­nia School for the Deaf, River­side (CSDR) Cubs foot­ball team, whose extra­or­di­nary sea­son brought them recog­ni­tion beyond the deaf com­mu­ni­ty. Their win­ning streak, which extend­ed well into Octo­ber, was not just a series of vic­to­ries but a momen­tous achieve­ment for deaf ath­letes every­where. The Cubs’ suc­cess was a sym­bol of resilience, prov­ing that com­mu­ni­ca­tion bar­ri­ers did not lim­it their poten­tial. Their unwa­ver­ing deter­mi­na­tion res­onat­ed deeply with the deaf com­mu­ni­ty of South­ern Cal­i­for­nia, inspir­ing many who had long sought recog­ni­tion in main­stream sports. The team’s remark­able per­for­mance turned them into local heroes, attract­ing alum­ni and sup­port­ers eager to wit­ness his­to­ry unfold.

One of the most out­stand­ing moments of the sea­son was when Phillip Cas­tane­da, a key play­er for the Cubs, deliv­ered an extra­or­di­nary per­for­mance against Desert Chapel. His impres­sive dis­play of ath­leti­cism result­ed in four touch­downs and 232 rush­ing yards, a feat that reflect­ed not just his skill but also his per­se­ver­ance in over­com­ing per­son­al hard­ships. The field became his prov­ing ground, where years of ded­i­ca­tion and relent­less effort cul­mi­nat­ed in one unfor­get­table game. Castaneda’s jour­ney was not just about foot­ball; it was about prov­ing that adver­si­ty could be con­quered with per­sis­tence. His sto­ry res­onat­ed with many who under­stood the strug­gles of being under­es­ti­mat­ed due to com­mu­ni­ca­tion bar­ri­ers.

As the Cubs’ suc­cess grew, for­mer play­ers and alum­ni returned to the school, rekin­dling mem­o­ries of their own time on the field. For many, watch­ing the Cubs dom­i­nate their oppo­nents was a moment of val­i­da­tion, prov­ing that deaf ath­letes could thrive in com­pet­i­tive sports. Coach­es, past play­ers, and families—many of whom were deaf themselves—shared how being part of the team had trans­formed their self-con­fi­dence and sense of belong­ing. Among them was Jere­mias Valen­cia, a for­mer bas­ket­ball record-hold­er and father of Jory Valen­cia, one of the team’s stand­out wide receivers. The Valen­cia fam­i­ly had relo­cat­ed from south­ern Ari­zona to River­side in pur­suit of bet­ter oppor­tu­ni­ties, a deci­sion that ulti­mate­ly shaped Jory’s ath­let­ic jour­ney. His pres­ence on the field was a tes­ta­ment to his family’s resilience, demon­strat­ing that over­com­ing obsta­cles led to greater achieve­ments.

As the Cubs approached their high­ly antic­i­pat­ed game against Desert Chris­t­ian, excite­ment reached a fever pitch. With an impres­sive 10–0 record, the team had posi­tioned itself as a pow­er­house, gar­ner­ing admi­ra­tion from the deaf com­mu­ni­ty and beyond. A jour­nal­ist cov­er­ing their jour­ney was struck by the unique ener­gy sur­round­ing the team, par­tic­u­lar­ly the way com­mu­ni­ca­tion took place in com­plete silence. Unlike tra­di­tion­al high school foot­ball games, where cheers and play calls echo through the sta­di­um, CSDR’s envi­ron­ment was dif­fer­ent. Play­ers relied on hand sig­nals, visu­al cues, and seam­less team­work, prov­ing that lan­guage bar­ri­ers were no obsta­cle to strate­gic excel­lence. This dis­tinc­tive approach to the game cap­tured wide­spread atten­tion, leav­ing spec­ta­tors in awe of the team’s syn­chro­nized play.

As word of the Cubs’ suc­cess spread, nation­al media out­lets took notice, pro­pelling them into the spot­light. News agen­cies, includ­ing NBC and ABC, fea­tured seg­ments on their jour­ney, high­light­ing how their sto­ry was break­ing stereo­types about deaf ath­letes. The over­whelm­ing sup­port led to unex­pect­ed oppor­tu­ni­ties, includ­ing an invi­ta­tion to par­tic­i­pate in the pres­ti­gious Super Bowl coin toss. The recog­ni­tion extend­ed beyond the play­ers, with their ded­i­cat­ed coach, Kei­th Adams, being named coach of the year. These mile­stones were more than acco­lades; they rep­re­sent­ed the shift in soci­etal per­cep­tion of what deaf ath­letes could accom­plish when giv­en the right plat­form. Their achieve­ments became a bea­con of hope for oth­ers who aspired to break down bar­ri­ers in sports and beyond.

How­ev­er, with fame came new chal­lenges, espe­cial­ly for some play­ers unac­cus­tomed to the pub­lic eye. Trevin Adams, a nat­u­ral­ly reserved ath­lete, found the sud­den atten­tion over­whelm­ing. The media expo­sure required the play­ers to adjust to a new­found lev­el of vis­i­bil­i­ty, an aspect they had nev­er expe­ri­enced before. While the recog­ni­tion was a dream come true for many, it also meant step­ping out­side their com­fort zones. The jour­ney of the Cubs was no longer just about win­ning games—it was about advo­cat­ing for inclu­siv­i­ty and prov­ing that deaf ath­letes deserved a place in the sports world. Their tri­umphs on the field had ignit­ed a nation­al con­ver­sa­tion about acces­si­bil­i­ty, rep­re­sen­ta­tion, and break­ing pre­con­ceived notions.

The Cubs’ lega­cy extend­ed far beyond their his­toric sea­son, as their sto­ry began influ­enc­ing change with­in the larg­er sports com­mu­ni­ty. Their rise to fame empha­sized the need for bet­ter oppor­tu­ni­ties for deaf ath­letes, spark­ing dis­cus­sions about inclu­siv­i­ty in pro­fes­sion­al leagues. Schools, orga­ni­za­tions, and sports pro­grams across the coun­try began explor­ing ways to accom­mo­date ath­letes with dis­abil­i­ties, rec­og­niz­ing that tal­ent should nev­er be over­looked due to com­mu­ni­ca­tion dif­fer­ences. The state of Cal­i­for­nia took notice, pro­vid­ing fund­ing for CSDR to expand its facil­i­ties and enhance ath­let­ic pro­grams, ensur­ing that future gen­er­a­tions would have even greater oppor­tu­ni­ties to suc­ceed. The impact of the Cubs’ jour­ney was far-reach­ing, cement­ing their place as pio­neers in advo­cat­ing for equal­i­ty in ath­let­ics.

Their sto­ry serves as a tes­ta­ment to the pow­er of per­se­ver­ance, prov­ing that bar­ri­ers can be bro­ken when deter­mi­na­tion and pas­sion are at the core. What began as a remark­able foot­ball sea­son had evolved into a cul­tur­al move­ment, chal­leng­ing the way soci­ety viewed deaf ath­letes. The Cubs had not only rewrit­ten their own nar­ra­tive but also inspired count­less indi­vid­u­als to believe that lim­i­ta­tions exist only where they are allowed to. Their suc­cess was not just mea­sured in wins but in the lives they touched and the change they sparked. The lega­cy of the CSDR Cubs will con­tin­ue to res­onate for years to come, serv­ing as a pow­er­ful reminder that true great­ness is achieved when indi­vid­u­als refuse to be defined by their chal­lenges.