American Football: King of the Bay Area

Jeff Locke clenched his fists and shot to his feet, sending the bucket of popcorn on his lap tumbling. The nearly untouched popcorn scattered all over the ground. He frantically tried to catch it but was a beat too slow. He could only stand there, staring at the mess, a mixture of annoyance, anger, and stifled frustration churning inside him.

He looked up at the Brown Bear Team’s offense, who were running around the field like headless chickens. They looked so dejected it was as if they’d surrendered without even putting up a fight. Jeff tried to hold it in, but he couldn’t restrain himself any longer. He roared, ”Get it together! Goddammit! The game’s not over yet! Pull yourselves together!”

In the stands directly opposite, the USC students had already linked hands and thrown arms over shoulders, singing at the top of their lungs. The sight of their victory party already underway made Jeff practically see red. He shook his fist at them. ”Get out! This is our stadium! Go back to whatever hole you crawled out of!” He roared with such fury that the veins on his neck bulged, looking as if they might burst at any moment.

”Let me through.” A voice from the side interrupted Jeff’s outburst. Jeff whipped his head around and stared daggers at the person, who said impatiently, ”This game’s a lost cause. Staying here is just more embarrassing.” He waved his hand as if shooing away a fly, telling Jeff to move.

This wasn’t an opposing fan, but a fellow supporter of the Brown Bear Team, which made Jeff even more furious. ”Says who! The game’s not over! Anything can happen!”

Danny Rees was also filled with rage. He couldn’t believe the football season was going to end like this—in a crushing defeat to the University of Southern California? The mere thought of it made Danny feel like he was about to explode, and here he was, witnessing it with his own eyes. If he stayed any longer, Danny wasn’t sure what he’d do, but he was certain someone would end up bleeding.

To avoid that outcome, Danny chose to leave.

Looking at the young man blocking the aisle—wearing a Brown Bear Team jersey, face flushed, the very picture of a rabid fan—Danny lifted his chin dismissively. ”Then why don’t you go tell that to the others!”

Jeff followed Danny’s gaze and turned around. He then saw the stands behind him, where crowds of spectators were leaving their seats like a receding tide. The once-packed stadium was now a vast expanse of empty seats. Less than a quarter of the spots were still occupied—by people either sitting or standing. The vast, empty sections were a shocking sight.

”How could they...” Jeff started to say, but the words caught in his throat, choked by rage. Just then, a powerful force slammed into his shoulder. ”Are you moving or not? If you’re not leaving, then get out of the way. You don’t own this place!”

Jeff instinctively made way. Danny squeezed past him and walked on, a whole group of friends trailing behind him, all of them muttering and cursing. ”What the hell is this shit? That quarterback was already terrible, and now he gets injured. This is a disaster, a complete disaster. Thank God this season’s finally over! Dammit!”

Just then, a faint cheer rose from the field. It was jarring against the backdrop of the singing from the opposite stands and the shuffling sounds of departing fans on their side. Jeff immediately whipped his head around to look. By reflex, Danny also paused and turned back. And then they saw it—

A tall, skinny player stumbled onto the field. He seemed a little clueless, lifting his head to gaze around in confusion at the chaos in the stands. With that dazed and bewildered look, he was the picture of a complete rookie. Come to think of it, Kevin Price was already a rookie, and the team’s other backup quarterbacks were nobodies with zero in-game experience and zero passing experience.

”Shit!” Danny couldn’t help but curse again. ”They’re actually sending a twig out there? Has he even graduated high school? This isn’t a video game; it’s a real game!” Danny yelled that last part toward the field before muttering in frustration, ”Another newbie, another rookie. There’s no hope at all. A nightmare. This is a fucking nightmare. If I keep watching this, I think I’m going to have a heart attack. Jesus the Christ.”

”If you don’t like it, then leave!” Jeff couldn’t help but snap back at the stranger. ”How about you show a little faith in our team? If even we don’t support them, what hope do they have?”

”You support them, then.” Danny didn’t even turn his head. He spat to the side and cursed, ”Fucking idiot. You’d better pray this loss isn’t worse than the one against Stanford University.”

”Why you—!” Jeff was about to roll up his sleeves and go after him, but his friend Nate Chandler, who was standing beside him, quickly held him back. ”Calm down, calm down! Don’t waste your time on them!” Nate gripped Jeff’s shoulders tightly. ”So what if they don’t support the team? We’re still here! The Brown Bear Team still has us!”

Nate pushed Jeff down into his seat, then looked toward the field with a worried expression before glancing back at the empty stands. ”Jeff, do you really think that guy can do anything?” Nate’s confidence was shaken too. His only thought now was, ’Just don’t let the score get any worse.’ Losing to the University of Southern California was humiliating enough. There was no need for that humiliation to become some kind of milestone, forever enshrined in the Rose Bowl to remind them year after year.

Jeff ignored the departing crowd and turned his gaze back to the field. The young man who had just taken the field wore the number ”11,” but there was no last name on his jersey. That could only mean one thing: he was a reserve player, someone not even important enough to get his name printed on his uniform. Even the freshman, Darius Bell, had his name on his jersey, but this player did not.

A disaster. A complete and utter disaster.

A breath caught in Jeff’s throat. He wanted to ask, ’Why not put Darius Bell in?’ But then he remembered that Darius wasn’t a quarterback to get excited about either. So, the words died before they were spoken. His shoulders slumped as he said despairingly, ”Do we even have a choice?”

Down 7-28. The first-string quarterback suspended before the season. The second-string injured during training camp. The third-string just went down on the field. The fourth-string is a freshman. And the fifth... the fifth-string quarterback is a complete unknown. Maybe that guy from earlier was right. This really was a nightmare.

Jeff didn’t leave, but he collapsed back into his chair anyway, letting out a long sigh with a vacant look in his eyes.

Lu Ke walked onto the field, his steps feeling light and unsteady, as if he were treading on cotton. The reality of it all still hadn’t sunk in. He didn’t even have time to process it before he was on the field, making him wonder if this was a dream or real life.

He stopped, lifted his head, and took in the chaotic scene. To his left, the University of Southern California students in the stands were singing at the top of their lungs, already celebrating their victory. To his right, the UCLA students were filing out of the stands, as if they had already waved the white flag in surrender.

This was the Rose Bowl, the stadium with the largest seating capacity in the United States. One hundred thousand people. Lu Ke had seen it packed to the brim, but that was nothing compared to the overwhelming feeling of this moment. Standing in the middle of the field, everything around him felt so empty and vast. Gusts of wind swirled in from every corner, nearly knocking him off his feet. The world was so huge, and he was so small. The intense contrast made his palms and back break out in a sweat. A strange nervousness began to churn in his chest, a fluttery, ungrounded feeling that left him breathless.

”Bambi!”

A voice exploded by his ear without warning, violently yanking his floating heart back down to earth. It was a sudden freefall, with no time to breathe. Lu Ke snapped his head around and saw Logan’s familiar face, beaming with a brilliant smile. The sight made Lu Ke’s own lips curl into a smile.

Even at a difficult time like this, Logan was still smiling.

Then, Lu Ke saw the other players gathering around, encircling him. They bent over, forming a protective huddle around him like stars around the moon.

They might not like Lu Ke, they might even hate him, but right now, Lu Ke was their quarterback. He was their leader. This was college football, not the pros with all their conflicting interests and backstabbing; things were much simpler here. Besides, from his time on the practice squad to being a backup, Lu Ke had always been hardworking and friendly. A good number of the starters got along pretty well with him.

Now, they were willing to show their support for Lu Ke through their actions. Of course, it was also to avoid becoming laughingstocks, forever pilloried for this game.

Lu Ke pulled his gaze back. He had no time to get emotional, no time for wonder, and no time to be a philosopher. He had to focus, to throw himself into the game. Tick, tock. Time was running out.

Lu Ke knew he wasn’t here to lose this game. And he sure as hell wasn’t here to become a disgrace.

Deep breath. Steady heartbeat. Calm blood pressure. Then Lu Ke took a knee, hidden in the center of the huddle. The other players instinctively took a step forward, completely enclosing him. ”Third and fifteen. I just got on the field, my arm’s not even warm. Everyone thinks this has to be a simple run play, just to get a better position for the punt. And yeah, my arm is ice-cold. But I don’t see this as a down we play just to set up a punt. I need your help, guys!”

Lu Ke looked up at his teammates. For the first time in his life, they were on the same level, ready to fight side by side. Then, Lu Ke laid out the boldest, most unbelievable play imaginable. Everyone was stunned.

Logan couldn’t help but laugh, shaking his head in disbelief. ”Bambi, I knew you were one crazy bastard! But damn, I love this kind of crazy! I’m with Bambi! Who else is in?”

”I’m in!” came one voice after another, as hands piled into the center of the huddle. Then, Lu Ke’s voice floated up from the bottom of the pile. ”Hey guys, could you move your hands off my head? This brain still needs to do some thinking, and your hands are kind of heavy.”