The Boys of Riverside: A Deaf Football Team and a Quest for Glory

During the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, author Thomas Fuller received an email from the California Department of Education celebrating the undefeated season of the Riverside Cubs, an all-deaf high school football team. Since its founding, the California School for the Deaf, Riverside (CSDR) had never had a championship team in any sport. Now, the Cubs were in the eight-man football state championship. Fuller drove to Riverside to watch a game and was impressed by the team’s ability to communicate and their passion for the game. After an article he wrote about the team went viral, he decides to quit his job as San Francisco bureau chief for The New York Times and follow the team for the rest of the season.

Phillip Castaneda lived with his father and his father’s girlfriend in a small car which was usually parked across the street from CSDR. The family used the bathroom at a nearby Target and showers at a nearby gym. Phillip’s father, Jude, had been a talented wrestler who participated in the Deaf Olympics, but his career was sidetracked when he became dependent on drugs and alcohol and was arrested for domestic violence. For Phillip, homelessness exacerbated his existing struggles in school: because his native language was American Sign Language (ASL), he struggled with reading and writing in English, but football was his great passion.