American Football: King of the Bay Area

Ginn’s mind achieved an unparalleled state of calm, free of all distractions. He flawlessly caught the ball at his chest. The perfect spiral made the catch easy—he extended his arms without needing any adjustment and secured firm control of the football.

He turned his head and saw the sideline just a few feet away. With time running out, stepping out of bounds to stop the clock was the best option in this critical moment. But at the same time, his peripheral vision caught sight of the pylon in the corner of the End Zone, just as close.

So, Ginn planted his left foot hard, braking suddenly. His muscles tensed to their absolute limit as he fought his forward momentum, stopping precariously just inside the sideline. Then, he stomped his right foot hard onto the turf, just barely keeping himself in bounds. With a sudden burst of power, he forcibly twisted his body and launched himself into the air like an eagle. Aided by the push from his right foot and his forward momentum, he was truly soaring.

In that moment, Ginn could clearly feel the furious wind streaming past his arms and helmet. The world went completely silent, leaving only the roar of the wind echoing in his ears. His body felt as light as a feather as he followed the current of the air, diving forward.

He loved this feeling.

His arms spread like an eagle’s wings, his right hand gripping the football tightly. He dove, using the ball to smash into the pylon at the corner of the End Zone. He could clearly see the orange pylon getting knocked to the ground.

Then, gravity took hold. Time and space seemed to accelerate, and Ginn slammed hard into the grass, sending chunks of turf flying. He saw the blue sky and the sun, and then he heard the referee’s whistle. ”TWEET! Touchdown!”

’God, he absolutely loved this sport!’

...

Jeff Locke held his breath, completely and utterly holding his breath. He stared intently at the TV screen, his eyes glued to Ted Ginn Jr., and then he saw the most wonderful, most moving sight in the world—

Ted Ginn Jr. leaped high into the air like an eagle spreading its wings. He glided along the edge of the End Zone, touched the pylon with the football, and then crashed hard to the ground, completing the Touchdown! The graceful, elegant posture, the heroic, explosive movement—it was a perfect showcase of power and control, a sublime fusion of football tactics and awareness.

THUMP!

Jeff leaped to his feet, his knees slamming hard against the bar. He grimaced, but he didn’t care. He just roared, lost in the moment, ”Touchdown! Touchdown! Touchdown! AAAAAH!” His mind went blank as he bellowed, a clumsy and pure sound of joy, ”AAAAAH!”

The entire bar erupted. Jonathan Baldwin was roaring madly, ”Touchdown!” Fists clenched, muscles tensed, he screamed at everyone in sight, holding nothing back as he unleashed all his excitement and euphoria. ”Touchdown!” His face was twisted, his entire body was trembling, his voice was about to give out, but he didn’t care. ”Touchdown!”

Everyone, everyone in the bar was cheering and screaming. Even Anthony Tinozzo was pumping his fists. ”Fucking beautiful!” He repeatedly jabbed his fist toward the television screen, shouting uncontrollably, ”Did you see that? Did you see that? God damn it! Screw all of you! We are the 49ers! We are the 49ers! AAAAAH!”

They got the touchdown. They actually got the touchdown! With forty-nine seconds left in the game, they scored a touchdown to tie the score 27–27. All they needed was the extra point to take the lead! They did it! Just like their comeback against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2, they had done it again!

As he kept shouting, tears started streaming down Jonathan’s face. Large, hot tears rolled down his cheeks, impossible to stop.

Here was this big, tough-looking guy, standing in the middle of the roaring bar, crying like a child. He was sobbing uncontrollably, almost unable to catch his breath.

It wasn’t just because of a touchdown, nor was it just about a win, even a comeback victory. It was because of Lu Ke.

Standing on the field, Lu Ke looked almost frail. He was just an undrafted rookie this year, only twenty-two years old. Yet this was the player nobody had believed in, and he was now displaying incredible resilience and resolve. Despite being hit fourteen times and sacked twice, despite his team struggling and their rhythm being off, despite all the hardships they faced, he never gave up.

Lu Ke had put the entire team on his shoulders, uniting the offense into a single, cohesive unit. With his unyielding, never-say-die spirit, he had brutally forged a path forward. At the critical moment, two consecutive long passes delivered a fatal blow, culminating in a touchdown that was worth its weight in gold.

That spirit, that sheer force of will, hammered at Jonathan’s chest. He was speechless with guilt, utterly ashamed of himself. He hated who he’d been for the past few weeks, but he was even more overjoyed by Lu Ke’s arrival. ’God,’ he thought, ’I haven’t seen a San Francisco 49ers team like this in more than ten years.’

Passion breeds madness; persistence moves the soul.

In the end, Jonathan couldn’t hold it back anymore. The floodgates opened, and he began to sob without restraint. He owed Lu Ke an apology. And he owed him a thank you.

”Touchdown! Touchdown! Touchdown!” Celebrating wildly, Chris Wilson had nearly lost his voice from roaring, shouting, and cheering. His whole body was trembling when suddenly, he saw Jonathan’s tear-streaked face in the crowd.

Jonathan seemed to notice Chris’s gaze. The two fans, once at odds, now shared a smile that buried the hatchet. Jonathan fiercely wiped the tears from his face and shouted, ”Bambi!”

Chris broke into a huge grin and joined the chant. ”Bambi!”

Gradually, the shouts merged into one, echoing long into the night at Joe’s Bar.

...

”Touchdown! Touch...down!” Kirk shot to his feet, only to be yanked back down by the earbuds hanging around his neck. He landed with a clatter. It was an awkward moment, but he didn’t care in the slightest. He just screamed wildly, ”Touch...” drawing out the sound until his lungs burned, ”...down!”

A wave of raw passion was unleashed. Incredible! Now *that* was truly incredible! The fatal long pass, the eagle spreading its wings, the single strike that sealed the deal! A game like this could bring a tear to your eye!

Teddy was no exception, slapping the table repeatedly with a huge grin on his face, his amazed exclamations unending. ”Touchdown, Touchdown! At the very last second, the San Francisco 49ers score a touchdown! Jesus! This game is absolutely suffocating! Oh, Jesus Christ, I can barely breathe!”

It was the simplest of words—Touchdown—but it contained the most overwhelming, explosive emotion!

”My God! Oh, my God!” Kirk exclaimed again and again. He finally managed to calm down, only to let out a small chuckle at their loss of composure. ”At the most critical moment, the Philadelphia Eagles’ defense had a fatal breakdown, and Lu Ke astutely exploited it. He threw a twenty-nine-yard pass, connecting with Ted Ginn Jr. to complete the touchdown!”

After saying that, Kirk paused and turned to Teddy. ”Can you believe it? This is only the fourth game of Lu Ke’s professional career.” To be so calm, so seasoned in such a critical moment was just unbelievable. ”And can you believe this? Ted Ginn Jr. has been in the League for four years. For his first three years with the Miami Dolphins, he was a fringe player used as a special teams Returner. For the entire season last year, he had just twelve catches for 163 yards and one touchdown. But today?”

Today, Ted Ginn Jr. delivered the best performance of his career! And it was his second great game in a row!

Teddy spread his hands. ”I hate to say it, but... Lu Ke is a player with some Magic.”

Maximizing the potential of every receiver, elevating an ordinary Wide Receiver into a top-tier player—that’s an ability only great, or even elite, quarterbacks possess. Lu Ke, with only four games in his professional career, obviously wasn’t in that category yet. But at the very least, this proved he had that kind of potential.

In football, there’s more than one way to score a Touchdown. Hitting the pylon is one of those other ways.

In each of the four corners of the End Zone stands a short, orange marker called a pylon. During the game, if the player holding the ball makes contact with a pylon, either with the ball or any part of their body, it is ruled a Touchdown.

There is one requirement, however: the player must have complete control of the football at the moment of contact with the pylon.

For example, if a player throws the ball and it hits the pylon, that doesn’t count. Or, if at the moment of impact with the pylon, the player does not have firm control of the football and it’s still unstable, then not only is it not a Touchdown, it results in a Touch-Back.

A touch-back and a safety are two completely different things.

A safety occurs when a quarterback, running back, or any other offensive player is tackled with the ball inside their own End Zone. It also occurs if the offense causes a dead ball in their own End Zone under pressure from the Defense Team. In that case, the Defense Team is awarded a safety, which is worth two points.

A touch-back occurs on a kickoff or a punt when the receiving player signals for a fair catch inside the End Zone, or when the ball is kicked out of the back of the End Zone. This results in a touch-back, and the receiving team automatically starts their offensive drive from their own 20-yard line.

In that last offensive play, if Ted Ginn Jr. had failed to maintain full control of the football when he hit the pylon, it would have also been ruled a touch-back. The final call is made by the referees after carefully reviewing the video replay.

However, in this case, Ginn successfully controlled the football. With a motion like an eagle spreading its wings, he held the ball in his right hand and touched it to the pylon, completing the Touchdown!

After reviewing the replay, the referees determined that Ginn did, in fact, have control of the football. The Touchdown was confirmed! In the final moments of the game, the San Francisco 49ers had scored a touchdown, bringing the score to 27–27.

The scene was all too familiar, a near-perfect replay of their Week 2 game against the Dallas Cowboys. Subsequently, all eyes in the stadium fell upon the San Francisco 49ers’ kicker, David Akens.

David Akens, a former Philadelphia Eagles player, had joined the San Francisco 49ers in the offseason. Now, facing his old team, he was the one who would decide the outcome. Not the quarterback, not a sack or an interception, but the kicker and his extra point.

(Author’s Note: There are many other special circumstances regarding touch-backs and safeties in a game, and the rules can be quite complex. I won’t elaborate further here but will explain in detail if a specific situation arises.)