Chapter 655: Not a Failure
In "Joe's Bar," Anthony DiNozzo stood there in a daze, silently watching the TV screen. The New York Giants were celebrating their victory wildly. Just a moment ago, they were ready to fight a good battle in overtime, and then it came to an abrupt end. Their season was over so unexpectedly.
He thought they could make it to the Super Bowl. He thought the Hail Mary could create a miracle. He thought the magic of the season could continue. He thought this dream could last a little longer...
He turned around, and the entire bar was quiet, a silent, oppressive quietness that made people uncomfortable. Everyone was sitting on their chairs listlessly, with a slightly numb expression on their faces. It was hard to find any more emotions. The sudden death came as such a shock to everyone's nerves that they couldn't recover in a short time.
The bar was like a pool of stagnant water.
This made Anthony think back to the beginning of the season, when even they didn't believe that the undrafted rookie could lead the team this far. But they had witnessed this journey firsthand, a beautiful and crazy journey. Now that hope had been reignited, they shouldn't be disappointed, and they shouldn't give up.
Anthony cleared his throat, trying to say something, but he wasn't a good speaker. Looking at the silent bar, his mind was a mess, and he couldn't straighten out his thoughts.
Just then, a rumbling sound came from outside the bar, making people wonder if it was raining again. But then, the rumbling thunder came closer, and the sound gradually became clearer. From being intermittent to being unified, the shouts swept in from far away—
"We are the 49ers! We are warriors!"
All the fans in the bar were suddenly awakened and ran out of the door. Even Anthony was no exception. He couldn't contain his curiosity, so he went around the bar, pushed the door open, and stood on the street, where he saw the magnificent scene in front of him.
On this street, a surging crowd was slowly coming out of the buildings and onto the sidewalk. Large patches of red spread out endlessly, dyeing the entire block and the city a vibrant and dazzling red.
People raised their hands one after another and shouted, "We are the 49ers! We are warriors!" That thunderous roar was surging through the streets of San Francisco like a torrent and flowing slowly toward the same direction.
If you looked down from above at this moment, you could see the city's veins and pulse coming to life.
Anthony's mouth was slightly open. He grabbed a passerby and asked what was going on. He got an unexpected answer. "We're going to march all the way to Candlestick Park to let the team know that we support them! We lost this game, but we are not losers!"
Then, a few young people rushed past with excited faces, still shouting, "Hail Mary! Hail Mary!"
The passerby also nodded excitedly. "We won the Hail Mary, but we lost the game! It's a shame, but we will not lose faith! This is our night! The 49ers' night!" With that, he took another step and continued to move in the direction the crowd was flowing.
Was it unbelievable? Unfathomable? Crazy?
Maybe, maybe not.
But after experiencing such a magical season and such a magical game, everything seemed to make sense. Even if they were a full thirteen kilometers away from Candlestick Park, so what? As long as the city's pulse could continue to beat, anything was possible.
A feeling of emotion was stuck in Anthony's chest. He couldn't spit it out, and he couldn't swallow it. In the end, it turned into a flickering light in his eyes. It was beating with life.
They didn't win the NFC Championship, but they won the future and hope.
Anthony turned around, closed the bar door, and joined the crowd. He started walking in the direction of Candlestick Park, and the shouts began to spread little by little, like ripples, creating monstrous waves throughout the Bay Area.
"We are the 49ers! We are warriors!"
In Candlestick Park, the shouts and the human wave gradually came together. Large patches of red filled every corner of the sight, like a vast ocean, and everyone was just a tiny drop of water in that ocean.
Cliff Hart held up the flag in his hand. He ran, laughed, and let himself go with abandon. The "King of the Bay Area" flag was flapping in the wind, like Moses's staff, commanding the vast ocean. The overwhelming momentum burst forth without reservation.
Cliff wasn't alone.
Behind Cliff were Chris Wilson, Jeff Locke, Nate Chandler, Danny Reese, Jonathan Baldwin, and Lee Mo Nian. There were six more people, six more flags. Together, they formed a team of seven flags and ran wildly around the inside of the stadium like a thunderclap.
This was not a season for the San Francisco 49ers. They lost the NFC Championship and couldn't make it to the Super Bowl. But this was a season for the 49ers' fans. They had won hope and the future. They had found the soul of the 49ers again in this team, this city, and this land!
So, they ran with abandon.
Standing on the field, all the players looked up in a daze, looking at the overwhelming red in front of them. All the sadness and pain, all the regret and sorrow, all the bitterness and bitterness, all stopped for a moment. They just accepted the baptism of this red ocean in a daze.
Lu Ke's eyes were fixed on the seven flags. The image of Bambi was vivid on the paper, as if it were running, joyful and light. As it ran, the seeds of hope were scattered to every corner of the Bay Area. That feeling of fulfillment, that feeling of a full heart, gently hit his chest, and it was a little painful, but the smile on the corner of his mouth couldn't help but go up.
My God, he really loved this moment.
For this field, for this sport, and for this group of fans, his goal was clearer and more accurate than ever before. His source of passion was clearer and more real than ever before. That burning energy once again filled his limbs with strength, and he truly got back on his feet.
He looked away and saw Aldon's bewildered face.
Their eyes met for a moment, and Aldon threw his hands out in a daze, showing helplessness and confusion.
In the last defensive play, Aldon's missed tackle directly led to Bradshaw's rushing touchdown. But... it was pointless to dwell on these mistakes now. If Akers had kicked the field goal, if Williams hadn't dropped the ball, if Ginn, Crabtree, and others hadn't gotten injured and left the field, if, if, if... In the end, they lost the game regrettably. They gave it their all, but they still lost the game.
This was just how professional sports were.
They needed to reflect and summarize, but they couldn't get lost in regret. Otherwise, one failure would become a permanent losing streak, and they would never be able to win again.
Lu Ke didn't say anything. He just raised his chin, signaling Aldon to look up and quietly enjoy this beautiful moment.
The San Francisco 49ers' journey in the 2011 season came to an end just like that. The final score was "24-30." Because of the sudden-death touchdown in overtime, the New York Giants didn't need the extra point. They won the game directly and proudly advanced to the Super Bowl.
After this battle, the New York Giants became the third team in NFL history, after the 1979 Los Angeles Rams and the 2008 Arizona Cardinals, to make it to the Super Bowl with a record of less than ten wins. What's interesting is that in 1979 and 2008, both of those teams lost to the same team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
This time, the New York Giants were about to face the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. Could they create their own history?
The San Francisco 49ers, whose season was over, still created a hot topic after the game.
After the game, the search for the keyword "Lu Ke/Hail Mary" instantly surged, reaching twenty-five thousand searches per minute. It even surpassed the record of the San Francisco 49ers defeating the New Orleans Saints in the divisional game, setting a new record for social networking platforms. What was even more commendable was that the entire city of San Francisco began to celebrate.
The surging crowd spread from the city to Candlestick Park, shouting the slogan "We are the 49ers! We are warriors!" welcoming their heroes home. Even though they weren't returning in triumph, they were still treated like heroes. This was undoubtedly one of the most unbelievable moments in the entire NFL.
It wasn't until this moment, after witnessing the live broadcast and the photos, that people truly understood:
Lu Ke, this Chinese-American quarterback, with his strength and charisma, had conquered San Francisco and the Bay Area, and he had won the unanimous support of everyone! After delivering an incredible rookie season and breaking a series of rookie quarterback records, Lu Ke truly proved that race was never a limitation in professional football.
The topic of race could now truly be put to an end.
Of course, everyone knew that the second year would be ten or even a hundred times more difficult, but this was a situation that every player had to face. This was a topic about pure skill and about undrafted rookies. It wasn't just Lu Ke; every rookie in the league had to face it in their second year. But as for race, it was no longer an issue, or at least it shouldn't be. For those who still held prejudice, they would just have to agree to disagree.
The elephant in the room was now seen by everyone, and its power was realized. After half a century of long preparation, Chinese-American players and even Asian-American players had finally stood on this stage with dignity!
🗒️NOTE:
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
Explore up to 30 chapters in advance!