American Football: King of the Bay Area

”As an undrafted rookie, when the team made the call for you to be the starting quarterback for the first game of the regular season, giving you only ten days to prepare, how did you feel?”

This was Brian’s first official question. It was a standard, predictable question—the kind that virtually every rookie quarterback has to face before their first start.

But on closer inspection, it had a hidden edge. There was a trap lurking within, one that was nearly impossible to avoid—being too arrogant or too humble could easily pigeonhole him.

”Don’t fumble?” Lu Ke’s reply, delivered with a witty, self-deprecating tone, made Brian pause for a second. Then it registered, and he let out a chuckle.

Then, Lu Ke adopted a more serious posture to answer the question. ”At the time, everything happened so suddenly, so quickly. No one ever wants to see a player get injured. Any injury is a heavy blow, both for the game and for the player. For a moment there, I wasn’t sure if it was a stroke of good luck or bad luck for me. I think the next team that considers signing me might want to think twice.”

First, an unexpected injury to Kevin Press gave Lu Ke a chance to play. Later, an unexpected injury to Alex Smith gave Lu Ke a chance to try out. And finally, an unexpected injury to Colin Kaepernick made Lu Ke the team’s starting quarterback.

In a way, it seemed like a curse. But on the gridiron, injuries are just part of the game.

The real curse in the NFL belonged to Ryan Fitzpatrick. For the quarterback who entered the league in 2005, whenever he was a team’s backup, the starting quarterback would, without fail, get injured. And if the starter got hurt but the team chose another backup to start instead of Ryan, that player would get injured too.

In 2005, Fitzpatrick was drafted by the St. Louis Rams. At that time, the Rams Team’s starting quarterback, Mark Bulger, suffered a shoulder injury; his replacement, Jamie Martin, then went down with a concussion.

In 2007, Fitzpatrick went to the Cincinnati Bengals, and starting quarterback Carson Palmer tore a ligament in his elbow.

In 2009, Fitzpatrick’s next stop was the Buffalo Bills. Starting quarterback Trent Edwards suffered a concussion, after which Fitzpatrick took over as the starter and has remained in that role this season.

”The Fitzpatrick Rule” had all but become a major curse in the league. Compared to that, on the intensely physical and heated gridiron, what happened to Lu Ke was nothing special.

Still, Lu Ke’s wit and humor succeeded in making Brian laugh heartily.

”But the reality was, I became the starting quarterback with only ten days to prepare. I’m sure for any rookie, it’s a conflicting feeling,” Lu Ke said, getting back to the original question.

”On one hand, we’re all looking forward to playing. We feel prepared, and we’re desperate to become part of the league. We’re champing at the bit, just raring to go. But on the other hand, we’re also worried and anxious about the game, about our own performance. After all, the pros are a whole new level, and everything is different from college...”

Here, Lu Ke paused for a moment before adding, ”Of course, I didn’t get many chances to play in college, either. So, I guess that made the jump to the pros all at once even harder.”

Brian couldn’t suppress a wide grin. This wasn’t Lu Ke’s first time dealing with the media. Over the past two weeks, Lu Ke had already demonstrated his outstanding eloquence on several occasions. But today, Brian still felt a sense of fresh amazement.

This self-deprecating banter, this effortless humor, this completely composed demeanor... He had the energy of a young man but the maturity of a seasoned veteran. It was truly refreshing. What was supposed to be a routine, exclusive interview was now starting to get interesting.

”And then?” Brian asked, beaming. ”Once you actually got on the field, how did you feel?”

”It was all a lie,” Lu Ke’s answer was, once again, completely unexpected. Brian couldn’t help but let out another soft laugh.

An interview is a complex affair, a give-and-take. There’s a ”you” and there’s a ”me.”

Both the interviewer and the interviewee play a crucial role. An interview can’t build a connection if only one side is putting in the effort. At the same time, even if both parties are brilliant on their own, it still won’t have the desired effect if they can’t find a rapport. Only when the two of them create some chemistry—neither can be absent—can an ordinary, tedious interview truly spark to life.

As the interviewee, Lu Ke’s performance today was outstanding. ’As the interviewer,’ Brian thought, ’I need to step up my game.’

”Once you’re actually on the field, there’s simply no time to think. All the excitement and all the anxiety just vanish into thin air,” Lu Ke continued. ”The game is like a high-speed train roaring past. It hits you like a punch to the gut, and I was focusing all my energy on not throwing up. I figured passing the ball was the least of my worries at that point.”

Brian leaned in, intrigued. ”So you’re saying that as an undrafted rookie, as the league’s first player of Chinese descent, walking onto the field at Candlestick Park as the starting quarterback... you didn’t feel any of the thrill and excitement of making history?” As the interviewer, Brian was starting to press a little.

”Oh, I felt it. I mean, I was the only Chinese face on the entire field—the only Asian face, even. It wasn’t exactly something I could easily ignore,” Lu Ke answered frankly. ”But that’s just it. It’s not just for the first game or the first season. Until the next Asian player makes it to the pros, I’m going to be in the spotlight. So, I figure this is going to be a long journey. I have a long... a very long time to get around to being excited.”

The way he emphasized the adjective, drawing out ”long... a very long time,” had a playful feel to it. Brian couldn’t help but smile. He strongly suspected Lu Ke was a stand-up comedian whose career had been sidetracked by football.

”’Making history’ is a neutral term. Every player who steps onto the field hopes to achieve victory and go down in the annals of history. But the harsh reality is that only a very, very small fraction of players ever achieve that goal.” Lu Ke displayed a maturity that belied his age. But when one really thought about it—

From the moment he decided to step onto a football field at the age of ten, Lu Ke had constantly faced the challenges and pressures that came with being a ”player of Chinese descent.”

Perhaps Lu Ke hadn’t spent much time on the field as a professional player, but he had long since grown accustomed to the pressure and burden of being a history-maker.

”If I’d thrown five interceptions in my first game, that would have been history, too. And believe me, no one wants to go down in the history books that way.” Behind those simple words came another jab of self-deprecating humor. Lu Ke’s candid demeanor was a true testament to his charisma.

Brian chuckled. ”Fortunately, we got to witness a different version of history. Otherwise, the atmosphere of this interview might be a little different.” Five touchdowns—that was the history Lu Ke had written. ”So, when the game ended and the team won by a huge margin, how did you feel then? Still disappointed?”

A hint of playfulness crept into Brian’s tone, which made Lu Ke chuckle as well.

”No, of course not. No one is ever disappointed with a win.” Lu Ke shook his head. ”The excitement, the elation... after the game, it’s just the same old tired script, blah, blah, blah... I’m sure you’re sick of hearing all the clichés. It’s always the same stuff, so I won’t repeat it.”

Brian raised an eyebrow, again struck by how different Lu Ke was. ”No, no, let’s hear the clichés. Why do we always love victory? Why do we always love happy endings? Why do we always love to see the hero get the girl? Because those old chestnuts are the best part.”

”Haha, is that a line from an Oprah Winfrey biography?” Lu Ke’s quip gently mocked the ”Oprah Talk Show” brand of inspirational talk, making Brian pause and reflect. ”After the game ended, that’s when it finally started to feel real. I realized that I’d finished my first career start, and on top of that, I’d won. So... party time.”

Simple, yet vivid. Brian seemed to be reliving the joy of that victory himself. ”It’s all pretty incredible, isn’t it?” After receiving a nod of agreement from Lu Ke, Brian continued with his questions. ”After a game that exciting and that intense, what was the most unforgettable moment for you? For many people, that first long touchdown pass would absolutely be the highlight!”

This time, Lu Ke didn’t rush to answer. Instead, he took a moment to think back seriously.

’The first game truly had countless classic, unforgettable moments. The first long pass, yes. The appearance of the yellow flag, yes. Jim Hubble’s trust, yes. Unleashing the Shotgun Formation, yes. But...’

”Actually, it was the moment I received my own jersey and helmet for the first time,” Lu Ke gave a surprising answer. Brian looked puzzled, but the light in Lu Ke’s eyes began to shine brighter.

”It sounds a little absurd, and even comical. But that’s how it was.” Lu Ke paused for a moment, lost in thought. A look of deep concentration settled over his features, and a faint glimmer of excitement could be seen in his eyes. ”...That was the first time in my entire life that I had received a jersey of my own.”

In elementary and middle school, his schools didn’t have official game uniforms. In college, Lu Ke never managed to get his own jersey. This situation persisted all the way until he reached the professional league. Just as Lu Ke said, it was absurd, yet it was his reality.

”In that moment, the dream became real. I had truly become a professional player. I was truly standing on the field. I truly had a place of my own.” A brilliant smile spread across Lu Ke’s face. ”And I was reminded, with absolute clarity, why I chose football, why this road has been so long, and more importantly, that this is only the beginning.”