"King of the Bay! King of the Bay! King of the Bay!"
The shouts, from seventy thousand fans, gradually found the same rhythm, twisting into a powerful, unyielding rope of sound that circled the entire Candlestick Park like a protective shield. The overwhelming roar truly established the home field's dominance, lighting up the "candles" of Candlestick Park and forging the name "King of the Bay!"
Sitting in the broadcast booth, Kirk Charleston watched the faces in the stadium, each one shouting "The King of the Bay Area" at the top of their lungs, their faces red. The sound waves layered on top of one another, a unified rhythm like a thousand soldiers charging forward. Kirk's heart was inexplicably surging. An indescribable sense of emotion and excitement stirred in his chest, as if his soul was bathed in the vastness of a cosmic supernova. He felt his own insignificance and the pulse of the universe.
"Viewers at home, we are now bringing you a live broadcast from Candlestick Park. There's no need for many words, no need for more commentary. Just be quiet and listen, and you can feel the heartbeat of this city. This is football, this is competitive sports, something that makes your blood boil and makes you lose yourself."
As he spoke, Kirk's eyes welled up slightly. For the San Francisco 49ers, for Candlestick Park, and for the sport of football he loves, it's moments like these that remind him how beautiful it all is, making him want to completely burn his life away like a moth to a flame, shining with a brilliant light. In this moment, Kirk truly fell in love with this team.
Jonathan Baldwin was shouting at the top of his lungs, waving his San Francisco 49ers scarf high in the air, joining the sea of fans in a red ocean that made the churning waves on the Bay Area coastline look lackluster. He looked down at his brother Ryan, wanting to say something, but the words were stuck in his throat. So he gave up, shouting even louder and more crazily, "King of the Bay!" as if it were a belief, a faith, guiding them toward hope.
Ryan Baldwin sat quietly in his wheelchair, secured in his special needs seat, silently watching the boundless red ocean in front of him. He silently watched the painting made of five hundred signs on the opposite side of the stands. He silently re-read the words "King of the Bay" over and over again. His heart had never beaten so hard against his chest, so forcefully and so fiercely that he could barely breathe.
But Ryan wasn't worried. Because this was the first time since being diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) that he had felt hope and vitality—so clear, so hot, so intense. ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Patients gradually lose control of their muscles, and their motor nerves eventually completely atrophy, which is no different from being completely paralyzed. It can even affect basic bodily functions like eating, breathing, and speaking.
Even more cruel is that the disease doesn't affect the sensory nerves. The patient's intelligence, memory, and five senses are completely unharmed. In other words, the patient can only watch themselves lose control bit by bit, moving toward death, but they are helpless. The entire process is slow and long, and the gradual increase in pain makes every day a torment. Generally, a patient can only live for two to five years after the onset of the disease. To this day, there is still no effective treatment, and even slowing down the disease is incredibly difficult. Once a diagnosis is made, it's a silent wait for the grim reaper's scythe. There is no mercy.
Denial, anger, bargaining, despair, acceptance. After going through the five stages of grief, Ryan was exhausted. His beloved San Francisco 49ers had also fallen into a bottomless abyss, as if all hope was completely gone. So, Ryan gave up. He gave up on physical therapy, gave up on fighting, and gave up on hope. He just sat quietly, accepting his fate and welcoming his future.
But at this moment, Ryan couldn't bear to give up. He saw it again. In his lifetime, he saw this red ocean again. It was even more dazzling, more passionate, and more turbulent than the one in his memories. Involuntarily, his fingertips began to tremble slightly. Ryan quietly curled his fingers, clenching his fist, clenching it tighter and tighter. The strength that had almost disappeared came back little by little, becoming clearer and clearer. Then, without warning, tears broke free from the confines of his eyes and slid down his face. The tears were so hot they almost scalded his cheeks, but the smile on his face couldn't help but grow.
"King of the Bay," he liked that name.
The massive, overwhelming shouts endlessly echoed throughout Candlestick Park. Even in the broadcast booth, you could clearly feel the boundless passion. This was the debut of Chinese-American fans in a football stadium. The Candlestick Park administration formally introducing a group of special fans through a public address system is an incredibly special sight in any stadium. And it wasn't a special charity or public service group; it was just a group of fans spontaneously organized by the local Chinese community, which makes it even more rare.
But today was an exception. On one hand, this was the first time Chinese-American fans had entered Candlestick Park in a semi-official, organized manner to cheer on the team. On the other hand, this was also the first time football had officially entered the Chinese market, not only by selling jerseys and scarves but also by attracting fans to buy tickets and attend the game, making them a new market for official fans. For the San Francisco 49ers, the Chinese community, the NFL, and even the city of San Francisco, this was a moment worthy of being recorded in history.
It was a moment that broke down cultural and racial barriers and the shackles of market interests. Since Lu Ke became the starting quarterback for the 49ers, the team and the league have been eagerly anticipating this day. After ten weeks of brewing and preparation, it has finally become a reality. Finally!
As a result, Candlestick Park's officials gave them special treatment, and the NFL even gave them strong support, openly writing a special report on their official website after the game. A new page in history was officially turned. This was a game for the history books, but only time will tell what the future of those history books will be.
The game was about to begin, and both teams' players were making their entrance. In an instant, all the noise in the stadium turned into a wild roar. Just the sound of a simple "ah" was like a thunderclap, booming and echoing through the sky. The San Francisco 49ers' players filed into the stadium, and at the front, leading all the players onto the stage, was none other than the team's number 14, Lu Ke. Immediately, all the fans lost their minds and started shouting in unison, "Bambi! Bambi! Bambi!" The powerful, overwhelming roar showed the New York Giants' players and coaches a look of surprise. They had heard about the reawakening of Candlestick Park and Lu Ke's immense popularity in San Francisco, but hearing about it was not the same as experiencing it. Standing on the field, they could feel the subtle tremors under their feet. Even Eli Manning, who had seen countless big games, couldn't help but look up and survey the vast red ocean. Then... he smiled without a care and started enthusiastically pointing and talking with his teammates, like a child seeing fireworks for the first time on the Fourth of July.
The roars turned into cheers, and the cheers turned into a commotion. As the start of the game approached, the fan support in Candlestick Park finally calmed down, and the fans began to signal to each other, "Shh, it's almost time for the kickoff; shh, be quiet, be quiet." Before the offense can get into the game, they must huddle around the quarterback to set up plays. The defense, on the other hand, adjusts more to the opponent's plays. Even when they make changes to their defensive plays, it's mostly done with hand signals, so there's almost no need to huddle. This means that the home fans' task is simple: be as quiet as possible when their team is on offense to ensure the quarterback can accurately communicate the play, and make as much noise as possible when the opponent's team is on offense to disrupt the opposing quarterback's play.
In today's game, the San Francisco 49ers' offense started first. In the stands, when Jiang Youning saw Lu Ke walk onto the field as a captain to flip the coin with the referee, she couldn't help but excitedly grab Lu Zhengze's arm. She was so moved she couldn't speak, just pointing toward the field and cheering softly. Her eyes, smile, and actions fully expressed her excitement.
Under the spotlight, Lu Ke, who made a grand entrance, couldn't get into a rhythm on the first drive. A running play was stuffed, gaining no yards. A pass was incomplete, a little off on a short pass to Michael Crabtree. A short pass to Vernon Davis gained a hard-fought seven yards. But, it wasn't enough to get a first down, and they were three yards short. The fans in the stadium let out a low sigh. Although they knew that an offense wouldn't always go smoothly and that a three-and-out was normal, their high expectations led to some disappointment. One sigh was nothing, but the sigh of seventy thousand fans was quite a sight.
"It seems the home fans have huge expectations for this game," Teddy Williams said with a laugh.
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