American Football: King of the Bay Area

Lu Ke jogged quickly to catch up with his teammates, and together they all headed toward the visiting fans’ section of the stands.

Catching sight of Marcus Lynch not far away, who was laughing and chatting animatedly with Kyle Williams, Lu Ke was suddenly reminded of the scene after the successful rushing touchdown. He casually asked, ”Marcus, what was that all about just now? What were you and the fans talking about?”

Lu Ke didn’t get an answer. He only saw Marcus give him a resentful look before silently shuffling to the side with a pained expression, putting Williams right between the two of them.

Completely bewildered, Lu Ke looked to Williams for an explanation, only to see him struggling so hard to hold back laughter that his stomach hurt. Yet, he stubbornly refused to say a word.

”What’s with this whole ’unspeakable secret’ vibe?” Lu Ke’s myriad questions went unanswered, and he switched into complaint mode. Instead of toning it down, Williams only seemed to be fighting his laughter even harder.

As they were talking, the gradually rising cheers made Lu Ke, Williams, and the other players look up at the stands. The earth-shaking roars and shouts grew more and more turbulent, more and more feverish!

Five thousand fans surged forward all at once, gathering at the very front of the stands, excitedly jumping, celebrating, cheering, and roaring as if this victory was a Super Bowl win.

An 0-4 preseason finish, yet a 3-0 start to the regular season.

Not even the most die-hard 49ers fans would have dared to indulge in such a wild fantasy. But now, it was all happening for real.

Over the past few years, they had grown accustomed to defeat and disappointment. A single victory was like a welcome rain, enough to make them cheer for joy. But this year, that welcome rain had fallen again and again. It was all too good to be true, feeling more like a dream.

But even if it was a dream, so what? In this very moment, they were going to revel wantonly in the joy and bliss of a three-game winning streak!

Among the crowd, Chris Wilson stood in the stands, looking down at Lu Ke among the players. His black hair and Asian features were particularly conspicuous. Surrounded by a group of tall, powerful players, the quarterback’s build was by no means an advantage. And yet, it was this young, green rookie who was creating miracles.

Turning his head, Chris looked at the spirited young faces around him—Jeff Locke, Nate Chandler, Danny Rice, Cliff Hart, Noah Parker. They had all become 49ers fans because of Lu Ke. For Chris, however, it was the other way around. As a long-time 49ers fan, it was because of Lu Ke that he was once again feeling the joy of victory, and... the scent of hope.

Deep inside, a voice was stirring. A quiet shout began to rise, and finally, it broke free from its restraints and cried out, ”Bambi, will you be our next Joe Montana?”

Joe Montana, the greatest quarterback in the history of the San Francisco 49ers Team. Bar none.

He single-handedly led the team to its peak, creating the most glorious era in its history, winning the Super Bowl four times, earning Super Bowl MVP three times, and regular season MVP twice. At the same time, he still holds countless 49ers quarterback records, and the team retired his number 16 jersey long ago.

Even across the entire Alliance, when people talk about the ”greatest of all time,” Joe Montana is a crucial name that cannot be ignored. Many call him the greatest quarterback in history.

But in truth, during the 1979 draft, Joe Montana was an overlooked rookie. No one was optimistic about his professional prospects. Countless scouts, experts, and coaches questioned his talent and ability.

On one hand, it was because he was too thin. At 6’2” (188 cm) and 205 pounds (93 kg), he was considered unable to handle effective physical contact. On the other hand, his arm strength was lacking. In the scout evaluations back then, on a scale of one to nine—one being the lowest, nine the highest—his arm strength was rated a mere six-point-five, drawing widespread doubt.

In the modern era, the Alliance has introduced numerous policies to protect quarterbacks, and it’s now the age of the passing offense. The physical requirements for a quarterback are not as strict. But back then, the running game reigned supreme. The running back was the focus of the team’s offense, and correspondingly, quarterbacks needed to be stronger to withstand more physical confrontation.

Therefore, Joe Montana was considered a quarterback without much of a future. In the draft, the San Francisco 49ers selected Joe in the third round with the eighty-second pick.

When he entered the Alliance, keywords like ”short,” ”scrawny,” and ”lacking power” were how people defined their impression of Joe Montana. But the scouts’ judgment was wrong once again. Three years later, he won his first Super Bowl.

At this very moment, Chris brought up Joe Montana not just because Joe, as the team’s undisputed representative quarterback, had led the San Francisco 49ers to build a dynasty, and his question was asking if Lu Ke could be the creator of the next one. It was also because of the countless similarities between Joe and Lu Ke:

A relatively slender build, relatively inferior strength, and a relatively poor scouting report. And today, he had led the team to another victory in a tough matchup. Of course, there was also ”The Catch” from last week’s game, where Lu Ke recreated Joe’s classic moment. All of it allowed the idea in the depths of Chris’s heart to take root and sprout.

Lu Ke couldn’t help but freeze for a moment, completely caught off guard by such a question.

Joe Montana was a great Hall of Fame player, and in the hearts of many fans, even the greatest of all time. Lu Ke had no doubt about that. But the era in which Joe played was not one Lu Ke was familiar with. Even ”The Catch,” he had only seen in clips from old videotapes.

When a fan suddenly brought up Joe, Lu Ke’s mind honestly drew a complete blank.

But to the other fans and players, the meaning was much simpler. They naturally assumed that after Lu Ke led the team to a three-game winning streak, the fan’s comparison was just an expression of hope for more victories. So, the players all started to jeer playfully, ”Hoo hoo, Montana! Montana! Montana!”

A serious conversation had, in the blink of an eye, turned into mischievous pandemonium. Even the fans joined in, raising their fists and shouting along.

”Guys, over here, quick!” Bobby Ingram jogged over, interrupting the celebration between the players and fans. ”Bambi, the reporters are all waiting for you.”

Lu Ke looked up and waved to the fans again. His gaze fell upon that flag, and he gave a thumbs-up to the fan holding it. ”Thanks.” Then, he turned and jogged quickly over to Bobby.

Standing among the ranks of fans, Cliff was hoisting the large flag, the strength in his arms nearly giving out. After holding it for several hours, his stamina was almost completely drained. Now, it wasn’t so much him holding the flag as it was him leaning on it. He looked a bit of a mess; this was definitely not an easy task.

Suddenly, Cliff saw Lu Ke’s thumbs-up. His eyes went wide, completely stunned. He watched Lu Ke’s retreating back with his mouth hanging open, glancing at Noah, then back at Lu Ke. He looked at Noah again, still seemingly unable to process it, and then saw Noah roll his eyes dramatically. ”Yes, Bambi saw it!”

”Bambi saw it! Bambi saw it!” Cliff finally found his voice and began to roar, forgetting everything else. His body seemed to find a new surge of strength as he raised the flag with both hands and waved it vigorously, all while cheering, ”Bambi! Bambi! Bambi!”

Gradually, the sounds of playful jeering coalesced again, transforming into a chant of ”Bambi,” like a triumphant victory hymn. The visiting fans’ celebration party was just getting started.

Chris’s question was thus interrupted, left unanswered. But he didn’t mind at all. Watching Lu Ke’s receding figure, his confidence was building bit by bit. Turning to look at the ecstatic fans around him, Chris also clenched his fists, raised them high, and cheered with abandon, celebrating wildly.

It wasn’t just for this victory.

Bobby stood in place and waited for Lu Ke, and then the two walked side by side. Bobby clapped Lu Ke on the arm, a wide smile on his face. ”You played an outstanding game today, beautifully done!” Everyone likes winning, enjoys winning. That’s the truth.

”Right now, the reporters are all swarming the players’ tunnel. I’d guess more than two-thirds of them are waiting for you. Enjoy it!” Bobby patted Lu Ke on the back again, then gave him a meaningful nod. ”It probably won’t be long before the advertisers come knocking. Congratulations!”

Three victories in three games: one blowout, one comeback, one hard-fought battle. Everyone had seen it. And the fact that Lu Ke was an Undrafted Player made it all the more remarkable. Step by step, Lu Ke was earning the recognition he deserved with his performance. The road ahead was long, but at least he had set sail.

From a distance, a wave of heat and noise washed over them from the players’ tunnel. A bustling crowd had blocked the entire passage, making it impassable. The turbulent sea of heads was enough to make your skin crawl. Someone was the first to shout, ”Bambi’s here!”

In an instant, all eyes snapped toward them, their scorching, fiery gazes almost enough to melt Lu Ke. The next second, all the reporters surged forward, completely surrounding Lu Ke and Bobby. But Bobby just clapped Lu Ke on the arm, then slyly slipped away through the crowd, ”disloyally” abandoning Lu Ke to the reporters.

A cacophony of questions chirped incessantly, giving Lu Ke no chance to get a word in. Questions were thrown out one after another, making it impossible to keep up. Then, Lu Ke managed to catch a snippet, ”...a lot of people are comparing you to Joe Montana now. What are your thoughts on that?”