加州聋人学校河滨学校的橄榄球队小熊队成立于68年前，从未打过冠军赛。
“我的意思是，老实说，球队很糟糕，”球队 6 英尺 2 英寸的首发外接手乔迪·瓦伦西亚告诉 CNN。 “CSDR 经常被视为一种笑柄，对，我们总是会有这些糟糕的赛季。但本赛季情况并非如此。”
一场令人惊叹的 12-0 战役以 68-0 大败开始。 CSDR 以 46-0 的比分紧随其后，然后他们以 64-22 的比分获胜。他们的平均胜率接近 50 分。
“我已经数不清了，”当被问及他得分了多少次达阵时，瓦伦西亚笑着说。
这个历史性的赛季在周六晚上小熊队有史以来的第一场冠军赛中达到高潮。
那么，今年有什么不同呢？
“我们训练有素，我们一起工作，”另一位外接手埃诺斯·佐诺瓦 (Enos Zornova) 说，他同时也是一名角卫。 “我们之间有这种兄弟情谊。我们是一家人。”
CSDR 是他们所在部门唯一的聋人高中，也是加州仅有的两所聋人高中之一。每个小熊队球员都是聋子，他们的教练基思亚当斯也是如此，他对球队今年的戏剧性转变表示赞赏。
“我们曾与其他优秀的球队交过手，”亚当斯说。 “但我们只是继续击败他们。”
尽管许多对手低估了他们，但小熊队从未这样做过。
“我认为他们确实经常解雇我们。他们认为我们是一所聋哑学校，没什么大不了的，”佐诺萨说。 “而且我认为这对他们来说是一个教训，聋人在其他项目中可以做得比他们做得更好。”
CSDR 只有 130 名学生，他们在一个为小型学校设计的八人联盟中比赛——加州校际联合会南方二区。冠军赛应该在小熊队的主场举行。但是门票在 45 分钟内售罄，所以比赛被转移到附近一所更大的学校，有大看台，以适应小熊队不断增长的球迷基础。
周六晚上，在啦啦队奏响国歌后，小熊队与经常捧起冠军奖杯的 Faith Baptist 队进行了对决。他们是一个常年的强者。
尽管教练亚当斯在场边发出了疯狂的信号，但信仰浸信会在第一节以 28-0 领先。小熊队的防守正在屈曲。然后，在第四次倒地时大胆的钩梯比赛导致小熊队触地得分并引发了复兴。就在半场结束前，小熊队回到了六分之内。
足球是一场喧闹的比赛：球迷、乐队、头盔的碰撞和痛苦的呻吟。但对于小熊队来说，只有沉默。那么他们如何从人群中汲取能量呢？
“用我们的眼睛，”佐诺萨说。 “在中场休息期间，你环顾四周，他们在欢呼，他们的手在空中挥舞。你会看到他们的能量。感觉真好。”
Zornoza 说，该团队利用美国手语来发挥自己的优势。
“在比赛中，我们能够抛出比赛，准确的比赛，”佐诺萨说。 “听力团队不了解我们的比赛是什么，在球场上分享了什么。”
小熊队甚至不需要在比赛前挤在一起。
“这是我们的第一语言，这是我们的母语，”亚当斯说。 “我们在球场上使用我们的母语。”
小熊队表示，与听力正常的球员相比，他们还可以更好地阅读对手的肢体语言。
“我们的视力比你的听力对手更警觉。我们将其作为优势，”外接手瓦伦西亚说。
今年，他们利用这一优势从笑柄变成了媒体宠儿。
“现在我们有电视制片人，电影制片人向我们伸出援手。这是无止境的！”亚当斯说。 “感觉我们已经达到了名人的地位！”
周六，小熊队最大的进攻威胁瓦伦西亚在半场结束时受伤。突然，他退出了比赛。很快，首发四分卫也蹒跚而行。他已经一瘸一拐的兄弟不得不接任组织者。
魁梧的信仰浸信会男孩证明了太多，下半场爆发了。
终场哨响后，小熊队球员无法控制地跪地哭泣。他们不是为了一个关于勇敢的聋孩子做得很好的甜蜜故事。他们在这场比赛中获胜。
“他们给我们上了一课，”防守协调员 Kaveh Angoorani 在他们获得亚军奖杯后向他心烦意乱的球队签名。 “这意味着明年的预期会更高。”
How a once struggling deaf football team rode a historic season to a championship game
(CNN)Founded 68 years ago, the Cubs, the football team of the California School for the Deaf Riverside, had never reached a championship game.
"I mean, the team stunk, quite honestly," Jordy Valencia, the team's 6-foot-2 starting wide receiver told CNN. "CSDR were often viewed as kind of a laughingstock, right, we're always gonna have these lousy seasons. But that has not been the case this season."
A stunning 12-0 campaign started with a 68-0 rout. CSDR followed that with a 46-0 romp, and then they cruised to a 64-22 victory. Their average winning margin was nearly 50 points.
"I've lost count," said Valencia with a grin when asked how many touchdowns he had scored.
The historic season culminated with the Cubs' first ever championship game Saturday night.
So, what was different this year?
"We practice strong, we work together," said Enos Zornova, another wide receiver who also plays defense as a cornerback. "We've got this sense of brotherhood amongst us. We're a family."
CSDR is the only deaf high school in their division, and one of only two high schools for the deaf in California. Every Cubs player is deaf, and so is their coach, Keith Adams, who many credit with the team's dramatic turnaround this year.
"We've played against other good teams," said Adams. "But we just keep beating them."
Though many opponents underestimated them, the Cubs never did.
"I think they do dismiss us oftentimes. They think we're a deaf school, no big deal," Zornoza said. "And I think it's a lesson learned for them that deaf people out there, in other programs, can do better than they are doing."
CSDR, with just 130 students, plays in an eight-player league designed for smaller schools -- the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Division II. The championship game should have been held at home for the Cubs. But tickets sold out within 45 minutes, so the game was moved to a bigger school nearby with big bleachers to accommodate the Cubs' growing fan base.
On Saturday night, after the cheerleading squad signed the National Anthem, the Cubs faced off against Faith Baptist, a team that often lifts the championship trophy. They are a perennial powerhouse.
Faith Baptist leapt to a 28-0 lead in the first quarter, despite coach Adams' frantic signs from the sidelines. The Cubs' defense was buckling. And then, a daring hook-and-ladder play on a fourth down led to a Cubs touchdown and sparked a revival. Just before halftime, the Cubs were back to within six points.
Football is a loud game: the fans, the bands, the clash of helmets and groans of pain. But for the Cubs there is only silence. So how do they feed off the energy of the crowd?
"With our eyes," Zornoza said. "During your breaks during halftime you look around, they're cheering, their hands are waving in the air. You see their energy. That feels so good."
Zornoza said the team uses American Sign Language to its advantage.
"During the game we're able to throw out plays, exact plays," Zornoza said. "Hearing teams don't understand what our plays are, what's being shared on the field."
The Cubs don't even need to huddle before plays.
"This is our first language, this is our native language," Adams said. "We're using our native language on the field."
The Cubs say they can also read their opponents' body language better than a hearing player.
"Our visual acuity is more alert than your hearing opponents. We use that as an advantage," said wide receiver Valencia.
This year they used that advantage to go from laughingstock to media darlings.
"Now we've got TV producers, movie producers reaching out to us. It's endless!" Adams said. "It definitely feels like we've reached celebrity status!"
On Saturday, Valencia, the Cubs greatest offensive threat, suffered an injury around halftime. Suddenly, he was out of the game. Soon the starting quarterback hobbled off as well. His already limping brother had to take over as playmaker.
The burly Faith Baptist boys proved too much, and the second half was a blow-out.
After the final whistle, the Cubs players were on their knees crying uncontrollably. They were not in this for a sweet story about gallant deaf kids done good. They were in this to win.
"They've taught us a lesson," defensive coordinator Kaveh Angoorani signed to his distraught team after they received their runner-up trophy. "And that means the expectation is going to be greater for next year."
