American Football: King of the Bay Area

Alarms went off deep inside Colin Kaepernick.

Every team has its cliques, just as every locker room has its stories. The United States is a place that emphasizes individuality; everyone has their sharp edges. Athletes’ edges are even sharper, making clashes in the locker room inevitable. Over time, players with similar interests and personalities find their own groups, gradually forming cliques.

In some locker rooms, cliques are numerous, confrontational, and divisive. Unless you have an iron-fisted coach like Bill Belichick or a locker room leader like Peyton Manning, the team is just a heap of loose sand.

In other locker rooms, cliques certainly exist, but they keep to themselves. They might even interact occasionally. For the sake of victory, they’re willing to set aside their differences and strive for the win.

But cliques always exist. It’s true in soccer, and it’s true in football.

Right now, Colin could smell the scent of cliques in the air. The veteran players, led by Perez, were clustered around Alex. This year’s rookies, along with the new players who had just joined the team this season, were vaguely gathered around Lu Ke. Even if it wasn’t an official clique, the invisible social walls erected by the other players had forced them into a loose faction of their own.

’This is not good. This is definitely not good.’

As this year’s second-round pick for the San Francisco 49ers, Colin had always been considered the team’s future. If not the future as the starting quarterback this year, then at least for next year, the year after, or the year after that.

During his rookie year, the plan was to go through thick and thin with his teammates, slowly build his own faction, and then, after taking over the starting spot, take over the team’s leadership. A new king means a new court. It was about completing the transition from the old guard to the new, rebuilding the main roster around a core player. This was the team’s plan, and it was Colin’s plan too.

But now, Colin’s future ”courtiers” were becoming members of another rookie’s faction—an undrafted rookie, at that! Compared to Alex, Colin didn’t have enough sway with the veteran players. And compared to Lu Ke, Colin’s on-field performance was lagging, and now even the camaraderie forged during practice was being usurped.

The alarms were already ringing. From a simple passing drill, Colin could already sense something was wrong.

One game had changed a lot. But luckily, it hadn’t changed too much. If he acted now, it was still salvageable. Colin composed himself and strode forward, his pace quickening erratically, betraying his inner tension and anxiety. He finally stopped beside Kip.

Colin proactively greeted his teammates, but he couldn’t tell if he was overthinking it or if everyone was just focused on practice. They all just met his eyes for a moment without any further acknowledgment. Colin’s heart began to race with panic.

”Kip?” Colin called out hesitantly. Kip looked up. ”Hey, Colin.” He offered a polite greeting and nothing more, then turned his gaze back to the playbook in his hands.

Colin couldn’t help but take another small step forward. ”Kip, I... uh, I’m definitely fine now. I can join the passing drills. You know, no physical confrontation, no body contact, just passing. I can totally join in.” Colin was actively pushing to practice, something that had been a rare sight over the past few months.

”Did the permit from the Alliance come through?” Kip looked up again and asked.

Concussions had become a signature collateral damage of football. Obvious or hidden, they pervasively affected a player’s career and post-retirement life.

That’s why the Alliance stipulated that if a player was sidelined with a concussion, they had to pass the Alliance’s official test before they were allowed to participate in practice or games. This was also to prevent teams from trying to circumvent the rules.

Colin was suddenly at a loss for words. Flustered, he avoided Kip’s gaze.

Kip let out a soft chuckle and said no more, turning back to his playbook.

Colin looked up at the bustling scene on the practice field, feeling increasingly anxious. ”Kip, it’s just a few passing drills. Don’t worry, I’m fine. I’m definitely fine.”

”Colin, you know that’s not right. You’d not only get me fired, but you’d also get the team fined. This is non-negotiable.” Kip didn’t even bother looking up, his tone decisive as he shut down any possibility.

Frustrated, Colin ran a hand through his hair. He hesitated for a moment, then said hastily, ”...I get it. Good luck with practice.” Without lingering, Colin turned and left.

Since Plan A was no longer an option, he had to resort to Plan B. As originally planned, Colin went to the tactics meeting room to start preparing for the afternoon meeting. At least there, he could be an active participant.

Previously, on Lu Ke’s first day with the team, he had made a stunning debut in the tactics meeting. Although the players grumbled that Lu Ke was a show-off—arrogant, condescending, and generally unlikable—the fact was that he had left a deep impression on everyone, including Jim Hubble.

In his first game, Lu Ke’s tactical arrangements had also successfully convinced the offensive unit, laying a crucial foundation for their victory.

’But so what if he got a perfect score on the Fonderick test? My own score was a solid thirty-seven, more than enough for the football field. Besides, when it came to tactics, Lu Ke was just a rookie who had only played in two professional games—and not even the full games at that. I, on the other hand, have honed my skills on the college gridiron for a full four years. Our knowledge base and application of tactics aren’t even on the same level.’

Clenching his fist, he gave himself a silent pep talk. Colin threw himself into preparing for the tactics meeting. But Colin had forgotten that it was Wednesday. There was no formal team tactics meeting; it was just a day for the quarterbacks to analyze game footage according to their own needs.

After waiting bitterly in the tactics meeting room for three hours, Colin finally remembered. By then, the team’s recovery practice session had come to a temporary halt. So, Colin changed his strategy. He sent out an invitation to all the rookie players, asking them to go to a bar with him to watch a baseball game and relax with a beer.

All the rookies. Even Logan and Marcus. But not Lu Ke.

”Hey, hey, hey, you bunch of rookies,” Pares yelled out. ”Don’t get too smug, and don’t get too relaxed. After you clean up the field, the locker room still needs to be swept, and all the helmets have to be polished! If you think you can just drag it out until Saturday and let the team’s equipment manager do it for you, you’ve got another thing coming.”

Pares’s theatrical, sing-song voice elicited a roar of laughter from the other veteran players.

Cleaning the field, packing up equipment, polishing helmets—these chores had always been the special duty of the first-year rookies, a tradition tacitly approved by team management. So, after practice every day, the rookies had to stay behind to get it all done.

Laughing and joking, Pares and his buddies surrounded Alex as they left the practice field. Their cheerful, excited voices carried on the wind. ”...How about the baseball game? It’s been a while since we went to a bar to unwind...” The lively discussion was buzzing with energy. ”Alex is back, we have to celebrate!”

Like stars surrounding the moon, Alex was the center of attention. Today was only his first day back at practice, but it seemed the climate within the San Francisco 49ers was already starting to shift.

The veteran players left first. Afterward, the first-years who had finished their cleanup duties also left as a group. The empty field was left with only three people: Lu Ke, Logan, and Marcus.

Scott, Kendall, and Aldon asked again and again, ”Are you sure?”

Lu Ke chuckled lightly. ”I’m sure. You guys hurry up and go, or you’ll be left behind.” The rookies had all answered Colin’s call to go relax at a bar, though their destination was likely different from the veterans’.

After getting Lu Ke’s affirmative reply, the three of them finally turned to leave. Watching their retreating backs, Marcus shook his head, a look of frustration on his face. ”I thought we had an understanding.”

The factional struggle was gradually becoming clear. Alex had the support of most of the team, while Lu Ke and Colin would be competing for the support of the rookies. Not only did they have to face external opponents, but they also had to withstand the test of internal conflict.

In contrast, Lu Ke, the person at the center of it all, was relaxed and smiling. ”You guys go on ahead. I still have some training to finish.”

Lu Ke had only been a player for the San Francisco 49ers for a mere six weeks, and he’d spent less than two of those weeks gelling with the team as a starter. Colin, in contrast, had a four-and-a-half-month head start to build relationships. People are emotional creatures; the outcome of a single game wasn’t enough to completely tip the scales.

’So, rather than focusing on short-term gains and losses, it’s better to concentrate on improving my own abilities. In competitive sports, absolute skill is always the ultimate form of leverage.’

So, Marcus and Logan left as well. Soon, the training facility was empty except for Lu Ke. He still had his strength training to complete.

”Lu Ke! Phew, thank goodness I made it.” A clear voice echoed from just outside the practice field. Lu Ke turned to look and saw a flowing, mint-blue floral dress dancing in San Francisco’s wild sea breeze. The fluttering hem revealed slender, pale calves, and on her feet was a pair of thin red high heels. Standing on the verdant field, she looked completely out of place, yet breathtakingly beautiful.

The newcomer seemed to realize her own rashness. She had stepped onto the field but then quickly retreated a few steps, planting herself on the concrete path beyond the turf. Her smile was a little shy, but it still bloomed brightly. ”Everyone else has already left. They... uh, said they were going to a bar to watch the baseball game. Aren’t you going with them? Skipping out on unofficial team activities isn’t a very wise choice.”

”I still have some training to finish.” Lu Ke lifted the football in his hand, gave it a light toss, and replied with a smile.