American Football: King of the Bay Area

”What exactly does victory mean to you?”

Bruce keenly spotted the inconsistency in Lu Ke’s words. With just a single exchange, he cut straight to the heart of the matter. The team manager’s sharp edge was on full display, a testament to his decisive and no-nonsense nature.

Lu Ke sat up straight, his gaze deepening. ”To me, victory is everything. Everything is for victory!”

Simple, direct, decisive, and powerful. The ambition bursting from his words was startling. It wasn’t just Bruce; the three coaches sitting beside him also showed surprise, clearly not expecting the seemingly low-key and reserved Lu Ke to possess such drive.

But Bruce didn’t let it go so easily. He raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, ”Everyone says that.”

”But not everyone does it.” Lu Ke replied instantly, without the slightest hesitation, his voice brimming with confidence. He offered no further explanation. The brilliant light in his eyes was the best answer: ’I can do it!’

Bruce, sitting directly opposite him, didn’t react. Instead, he stared intently at Lu Ke, as if savoring his words, or perhaps searching for a crack in his gaze. But Lu Ke didn’t back down. He met Bruce’s eyes head-on, neither servile nor overbearing.

Instead, it was Mike Shanahan, sitting to the side, who gave a meaningful nod and interjected, breaking the slightly tense atmosphere. ”Have you read our playbook?”

A playbook, as the name suggests, is essentially every team’s tactical arrangements and plans.

However, the playbook mentioned at the Rookie Training Camp was naturally different from the one used in official Alliance games. A team’s official playbook is one of its highest-level secrets; how could it possibly be shared casually, especially in an information-sharing environment like the Rookie Training Camp?

The playbook here, to be more precise, was each team’s plan and outlook for the new season, especially concerning the arrangement of various positions.

At the Rookie Training Camp, most teams would distribute this version of the playbook to the rookie players they were interested in. This let the players understand the team’s plans and arrangements, and it also helped the team understand the rookies’ potential roles. It was a process of communication and understanding.

”Yes.” Lu Ke nodded with a smile. ”To be honest, after reading it, I was a bit surprised you wanted to interview me. According to your playbook, Rex Grossman is still your first choice for quarterback, and my passing style is quite different from his. He’s still primarily a short-pass quarterback.”

As he spoke, something suddenly occurred to Lu Ke. ”Oh, right. This should be yours.” Lu Ke opened his backpack and started rummaging through it.

Mike and Bruce exchanged a puzzled glance. Just as Bruce was about to speak, Lu Ke sat up straight again, holding an envelope. He looked at Mike, then at Bruce, and finally handed the envelope to Bruce before smiling and sitting back down.

Bruce froze for a moment, then opened the envelope and glanced inside. There was a one-hundred US Dollar bill and a card.

He pulled out the card. Written on it was, ”Give this back to me after I win you the Super Bowl.”

Bruce looked up and saw the confident smile on Lu Ke’s face—no pride, no smugness. Likewise, there was no nervousness, no panic, just pure composure. Recalling his earlier gaze, things suddenly became much more interesting.

This was a little trick of the Washington Redskins.

They would stick a hundred US dollars to the last page of the playbook and then, during the interview, deliberately ask the rookie if they had read the entire playbook, testing their sincerity and honesty.

In the past few seasons, the Redskins had tried the same trick twice; this was the third time. Of course, when faced with such a question, all the players would answer, ”I’ve read it,” or ”I finished it.” But only half of them would mention the hundred dollars, while the other half wouldn’t. So, when the team manager brought up the hundred-dollar trick, those players would feel embarrassed.

Then, the Redskins would observe the players’ reactions. Honesty? A lie? Or maybe looking for excuses and shifting blame? Naturally, the excellent qualities displayed by those who had genuinely read the entire playbook were obviously the best.

But today, they encountered a special case: Lu Ke.

Not only had Lu Ke read the playbook, but he had also returned the hundred dollars in this manner.

Honesty, focus, dedication. Confidence, assertiveness, persistence. Politeness, approachability, grace. A single small gesture revealed so many positive traits. More importantly, Lu Ke’s hunger for victory and his powerful self-belief were truly rare.

Bruce’s gaze immediately became profound. He handed the envelope to Mike and then impassively continued his interview. ”You just mentioned your style is different from Rex’s. But from my perspective, you are both pass-first quarterbacks. I haven’t misjudged that, have I?”

The conversation continued. The ten-minute interview proceeded amicably toward its conclusion.

After leaving the room, Lu Ke had no time to ponder the pros and cons of the interview. After such a long day of mental and physical torment, he needed to relax and rest.

”Whew, the only thing on my mind right now is lying in a hot tub, holding a glass of champagne, with two bikini-clad girls sitting next to me...” Marcus closed his eyes and let his imagination run wild.

Lu Ke shot back without holding back, ”That’s not one thought, that’s three different thoughts, and every single one of them is a daydream.”

Everyone chuckled. Marcus opened his eyes and tried to argue, but before he could speak, his shoulders slumped. He waved his hand limply; after a full day of running around and talking, all his energy was completely spent.

”Did you guys hear? Only three players were interviewed by all thirty-two teams today,” David Carter said excitedly from the side. But everyone was so exhausted that their reactions to gossip seemed half a beat slow, so David took the initiative to continue, ”Von Miller, Marcell Dareus, and Patrick Peterson.”

”What? All of them from the Defense Team?” Lu Ke immediately caught the key information. The three players were a linebacker, a Defensive Tackle, and a cornerback—all of them defensive players. ”What about the offense?”

David waved his hands dismissively. ”That’s not the point, come on! Didn’t you guys notice? No Cam Newton!” After saying that, David couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. It seemed Lu Ke wasn’t the only one at the Rookie Training Camp who disliked Cam.

In reality, it was impossible for a quarterback to be interviewed by all thirty-two teams. Teams like the Green Bay Packers, or those not skilled at training rookie quarterbacks, wouldn’t look for a backup quarterback among the rookies, preferring to search the trade and free agent markets instead.

Everyone knew this, but seeing the arrogant Cam get snubbed, the Aura’s focus stolen by others, was an amusing development.

”Isn’t the more important thing that the first overall pick might go to someone else?” Logan immediately found another silver lining and chuckled. ”If it were me, I’d pick Von Miller. That guy’s speed, power, and sacking technique are just too outstanding! He’s a straight-up sacking machine!”

”Well, let’s wait and see,” Raheem chimed in with a grin. ”How were your interviews today? Did everything go smoothly? My talks today with the Denver Broncos and the Philadelphia Eagles felt pretty good.”

”I talked with the 49ers, but they didn’t seem very interested.” Logan’s shoulders slumped, his face full of sorrow. ”I love the 49ers so much. If I had to, I’d rip my heart out to show them. But it seems they don’t need a Tight End. God, why is it like this!”

”Don’t complain in front of me. At least you got an interview.” Lu Ke kicked Logan in the ribs, knocking him right off the bed, which made the others burst out laughing again. ”What about besides the 49ers? Are there no other teams interested in you?”

Logan didn’t get up. He just lay on the floor with a look of utter despair, but he still answered, ”The Arizona Cardinals, the Cleveland Browns, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They seemed pretty interested. Ugh, I don’t want to go to Cleveland. Ohio is practically a barren desert.”

”As if you have a choice,” Lu Ke’s perfectly timed comeback made everyone chuckle.

Marcus, lying nearby, joined the conversation. ”Cleveland seemed a little interested in me too. Who knows, maybe we’ll end up as teammates again.”

”Gross. Who’d want to be teammates with you again?” Logan made a gagging sound of disgust. That was the last straw for Marcus. He flipped over and shot up. ”Who are you calling a hairy monster! Huh? Who the hell are you talking about! I’ll show you!” Marcus sat right on Logan’s stomach, and the two started wrestling.

The other three just sat or lay there watching, with no intention of intervening. But in the next second, Logan and Marcus stopped and joined forces to pull the other three into the fray. With pillows flying and bodies being tackled, the whole room descended into a chaotic and lively mess.

And just like that, the Rookie Training Camp came to a close. Following college graduation, another group of people would have to say a final goodbye to their careers as professional players, while many more would step onto the field to begin a new life. The difference was, teammates who once fought side-by-side in college would very likely meet next time as opponents on the battlefield. But even that was fortunate. The saddest thing would be to meet at the same game, but with one on the field and the other on the bench, present but unable to compete.

But that’s competitive sports for you. Passionate, yet also cold-blooded. All good things must come to an end. But before they officially parted ways, before the party was truly over, before leaving the ivory tower for the harsh reality, before leaving the Rookie Training Camp in Indianapolis, they were still enjoying the last moments of their college lives, the last moments before becoming professional players, the last moments before leaving school and growing up.

Who knew? Perhaps among the five people in this room, someone would be saying goodbye for good. So, for now, they reveled and celebrated with abandon.