American Football: King of the Bay Area

The NFL has thirty-two teams, and with an average of three quarterbacks per team, there are nearly one hundred quarterbacks in the entire Alliance. Yet, only four are worthy of being called an elite quarterback: Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts, Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers, and Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints.

Among these four quarterbacks, only Manning was a first overall draft pick. The other three, by contrast, were drafted in much less remarkable positions: Brady was the 199th pick in the sixth round, Rodgers was the 24th pick in the first round, and Brees was the 32nd pick in the second round.

Even Peyton Manning faced intense scrutiny during his draft year. From scouting reports to training camp performance to his college record, another quarterback, Ryan Leaf, was his equal in every respect. It was a classic toss-up. In fact, many scouts believed Leaf even had superior arm strength, filling the 1998 draft with endless suspense. In the end, Manning went first overall, and Leaf went second.

In the thirteen years since, Manning has established himself as one of the four elite quarterbacks and a strong candidate for the greatest of all time. Meanwhile, the once-highly-touted Leaf became one of the biggest busts in NFL history, his career a complete disaster.

This was what Adam had meant.

He wasn’t defending number eleven. Just as the other scouts had said, the skills and substance number eleven had displayed were ultimately too limited to make a proper judgment; there wasn’t enough to go on. But as a veteran scout, he also knew full well that data was incredibly important, and scouting reports were incredibly important. However, blindly trusting that data and those reports would be a grave mistake. The four elite quarterbacks were the best proof of that.

To be honest, Adam was also looking forward to seeing what number eleven would do at the training camp.

Just as Blake had said, Peyton Manning’s neck injury during the offseason meant he would very likely miss the Colts’ upcoming regular season. That meant one more team was now in desperate need of a quarterback, adding another variable to this year’s draft. In Adam’s view, the abilities number eleven displayed in his games were truly eye-opening. A lot of eyes would be on him at the training camp, watching his every move.

Perhaps this year truly was a once-in-a-decade draft class. And Adam now had one more player to add to his watchlist: a rookie of Chinese Descent.

Reporters, scouts, team managers, coaches, team personnel, television broadcast crews, Alliance staff, and even the Alliance commissioner... everyone was heading for Lucas Oil Stadium, officially kicking off the 2011 Rookie Training Camp.

Meanwhile, the three hundred thirty-two rookies boarded the chartered buses heading for the stadium. The buses were bustling and boisterous, filled with young, high-spirited players. Brimming with confidence, hope, and dreams, they were taking the first steps on their journey to becoming professional athletes.

”So, how’d you guys sleep? You didn’t have any trouble, did you?” Marcus draped himself over the seatback, looking down at Lu Ke and Logan in the row ahead. ”I’m telling you, Raheem was up and down all night going to the bathroom. It was like he was completely dehydrated!”

Raheem Moore and David Carter, along with the rest of their teammates from UCLA, had reunited at the Rookie Training Camp and naturally stuck together.

Raheem shot to his feet, defending himself with a retort. ”And what about you? Your snoring last night sounded like a warzone. The whole room was shaking so hard I thought it was going to collapse.”

”Your complaints are nothing,” Logan said, tilting his head back to look at them. ”This morning at six—and I mean six on the dot—Bambi was already up. And guess what he went and did?”

”Training?” Marcus said the answer without even having to guess. He then watched Logan practically jump out of his seat. ”Yes, training! Who goes out to train *during* the Rookie Training Camp? Isn’t the camp itself enough training? We’re going to be training nonstop for the next four days!”

”Bambi! You’ve already answered your own question,” Marcus said, rolling his eyes. ”Come on, it’s not like this is the first day you’ve known him. He’s been like this for the last six months. No reason he’d change his routine just because we’re in Indianapolis. Right, Bambi?”

He directed his last question at Lu Ke, and everyone else’s eyes followed. Lu Ke couldn’t help but chuckle. ”Have you guys ever considered that maybe I do extra practice because I’m not skilled enough, and I’m not confident enough?”

As planned, Lu Ke and Watt had arranged to meet at the gym after today’s camp session to complete their daily workout. But considering today was the first day of the camp, a special circumstance, he needed to be fully prepared for any possible challenges.

So, Lu Ke still woke up early at his usual time. He didn’t do his routine ten-thousand-meter variable-speed run, though. Instead, he just used the Quarterback Training Skill Package, adding one base point each to his Short Pass Accuracy, Mid-range Pass Accuracy, and Long Pass Accuracy, while also making minor adjustments to his throwing motion.

After his throwing practice, Lu Ke did thirty minutes of yoga to relieve his muscle soreness and regulate his breathing. He gradually relaxed, his nervousness evaporated, and he felt himself settle into peak condition.

In response to Lu Ke’s words, Marcus, Logan, Raheem, David, and the others all broke into smiles. David even let out two deliberately exaggerated laughs. ”Ha! Ha! That’s a great joke, coming from the winner of this year’s Rose Bowl.”

Right after, Marcus started a low chant, clenching his right fist and pumping it in the air. ”Bambi! Bambi!” he repeated, recreating the triumphant scene from the night of the Rose Bowl. Logan and Raheem quickly joined in the cheer.

In response, Lu Ke stood up and gave his buddies a theatrical curtain-call bow to show his appreciation. His completely unfazed demeanor made everyone roar with laughter.

At some point, the bus fell quiet. Everyone instinctively turned to look out the window at the stadium. This was an official NFL stadium, the ultimate stage where dreams came to life. In the future, they might have the chance to play here, maybe even as players for the Colts. This could become their home field.

Just looking at the stadium so close, its hallowed and magnificent Aura made everyone hold their breath. There were no exceptions.

More importantly, a massive sea of people surrounded the entire stadium, packing it so tightly it was impenetrable. The crowd seemed to stretch to the horizon, a tide of tens of thousands surging wildly. They were screaming, shouting, jumping, and roaring. You had to be in the middle of it all to truly feel the feverish, boiling energy.

Everywhere they looked, fan signs filled every corner. Even though it was just the Rookie Training Camp, many players were already getting superstar treatment. After all, they might be their team’s hope, their team’s future, their teammates for the next season!

”Cam Newton! Newton!”

”’Superman’ Newton! Cam, you’re the next Superman!”

”Come to Carolina! Newton!”

...

Of all the signs, those calling for Cam Newton were by far the most numerous. A quick glance revealed that at least four out of every ten signs were for Newton. The Carolina Panthers fans were undoubtedly the most prominent force—because they held this year’s first overall pick, and Cam was, without a doubt, the favorite to be selected.

Besides Cam, there was a dazzling, endless variety of other signs. For the rookies, this was a completely unprecedented experience. The deafening cheers, the signs that filled their entire field of vision, the surging, boiling sea of humanity—the whole world seemed to vibrate. The overwhelming shock of it all stunned them into silence.

Everyone searched eagerly, excitedly, their eyes darting around as if they couldn’t take it all in fast enough, trying to find their own name among the signs. Some found theirs and roared with excitement. Others didn’t find their own but felt no disappointment, shouting in amazement when they spotted a friend’s name instead.

Everything was new, as if a shining, brilliant, wide-open road to the future was unfolding right before their eyes.

”AAAAHHH!” The frenzied screams and cheers were gradually left behind as the bus slowly drove into the stadium’s vehicle tunnel. But the boiling, scorching energy still crackled in the air, surging all around them.

The players filed off the buses. A staff member stood at the door of each one, shouting instructions. ”Every player must be in their official jersey, the one you got at check-in yesterday! If you haven’t changed yet, your first stop is the locker room to get changed. If you left your jersey at the hotel, let a staff member know ASAP, and we’ll sort it out. Listen up, everyone has to be in their jersey! Everyone!”

Once the instructions were finished, staff members guided the players toward the entrance. Another staffer stood at the door, repeating the next set of instructions, ”Group up by your on-field position and follow the staff member’s directions. All players, please group up by your position...”

Lu Ke, Marcus, Logan, and the others filed into the locker room. The five players all had different on-field positions, which meant this was where they would split up. They all bumped fists, wishing each other ”Good luck,” and then went their separate ways.

Glancing around, Lu Ke didn’t have to look hard to find the quarterback group. It was easy—Cam Newton was there, a star at the center of everyone’s attention. With a huge, friendly smile, he waved and greeted the staff and fellow rookies around him, his perfectly white teeth flashing with charm.

Walking forward, Lu Ke skirted around the radiant Cam and made his way to the orderly line. With a smile, he joined the ranks of the quarterbacks.