American Football: King of the Bay Area

”No, no, I’m telling you, the Church District is pretty rough, security-wise, but you can’t deny that the young Latino guys always know how to enjoy their alcohol and women. The bar scene there is incredible. Little Italy and Little Tokyo, on the other hand, have a nice atmosphere, but they’re really only for old people and families...”

Aldon and Logan were arguing about which area in San Francisco had the most interesting bars. Aldon was clearly an expert on the subject, speaking with the eloquence and authority of a professional. But as they walked, the two of them suddenly stopped, forcing Lu Ke and Marcus, who were a couple of steps behind, to halt as well.

”What’s wrong? A traffic jam?” Marcus cracked a bad joke and chuckled to himself. Lu Ke, on the other hand, used his height advantage to see the vast scene before them—

A dense, surging tide of people had blockaded the entire arrivals hall, making it impassable. The crowd swelled back from the automatic doors of the exit, looking so thick that the doors themselves couldn’t close. Not only that, but looking up through the atrium, the second-floor departures hall was also bustling with countless people. Even the area near the sky bridge connecting to the express train was completely overrun.

People, people, and more people. It was a boiling sea of bodies, a shoulder-to-shoulder mass of heads bobbing like a volcanic eruption, rumbling as it completely took over the airport’s arrivals hall. A rough estimate put the number at two or three thousand, maybe even more. Even for a busy airport, it was a spectacular sight.

In the United States, airport terminal designs in major cities follow the same basic plan. Terminals are assigned by airline, not by domestic or international flights. Major carriers like American Airlines and Delta Air Lines each occupy their own terminal for all their flights, twenty-four hours a day, while smaller airlines share a single terminal.

Because of this, airport terminals aren’t always packed with people. Depending on the airline’s flight schedule, a terminal can be either bustling or quiet.

When the San Francisco 49ers’ flight arrived at the airport, only two flights had landed in their terminal, so the area around the baggage carousel was incredibly deserted, occupied only by a large group of athletes and team staff. The sudden sight of this sea of people, and the stark contrast it created, made everyone involuntarily come to a halt.

Lu Ke had witnessed the hundred-thousand-strong crowd at the Rose Bowl and endured the sonic assault of Lincoln Financial Field, but right now, this small arrivals hall delivered a visual shock ten, even a hundred times greater. The staggering vastness and magnificence washed over him, making him feel as if he were in the middle of a meteor shower’s starburst, feeling his own smallness as never before.

”Whoa...” The exclamation escaped his lips uncontrollably. He stared in disbelief at the scene. Even seeing it with his own eyes, even feeling the surging wave of heat on his skin, the incredible shock didn’t diminish. In fact, it only grew stronger.

”What’s up?” Marcus’s view was blocked by Aldon and Logan. Confused, he looked up at Lu Ke and asked, but Lu Ke didn’t know how to describe it either. He just opened his mouth and said, ”...See for yourself.”

Marcus felt like he’d just taken a critical hit. ’Are you making fun of my height?’

Grinding his teeth menacingly, Marcus took a step to the side and peeked out from behind Logan. He then saw the spectacle before him, and his jaw went slack, nearly hitting the floor. He blinked, realizing he wasn’t mistaken, but words seemed to fail him. He just turned back to Lu Ke, utterly dumbfounded.

Lu Ke nodded and spread his hands, as if to say, ’See? Words can’t describe it.’

”Jesus... Christ...” An astonished exclamation drifted to his ears, the words drawn out long and slow. Turning his head, Lu Ke saw the little mustache on Patrick Willis’s chin trembling slightly. It was so comical that Lu Ke couldn’t help but smile, which actually helped him recover from the shock.

”You’ve never seen a scene like this?” It was normal for Lu Ke, a rookie player, to have never seen anything like it. But Willis had been knocking around the Alliance for four years. Had he really never experienced this before?

Willis shook his head. ”Never.” He shook his head again and shrugged. ”I mean, we’ve had fans come to the airport before, but at most, maybe a hundred? Two hundred? I’ve never seen this many people. To be honest, the team’s record over the past few years has been so bad, it’s a miracle the fans didn’t just cancel their season tickets. Frankly, the attendance for the first two regular-season games was already pretty good, considering it’s a new season.” He didn’t say much more, but it was enough.

Clearly, for Patrick Willis, this massive airport reception was a first, and the shock was so overwhelming he still couldn’t quite process it.

”AHHHHHH!” The buzzing din suddenly exploded, erupting into a frenzy of roars and shouts that surged down relentlessly. Like a torrential downpour, like Fierce Waves, it crashed down on them, instantly filling the entire airport. Even the air began to vibrate and resonate, as if the whole world was shaking.

The fanatical shouts morphed into a scorching shockwave of air that swept over them, hammering violently against their eardrums. For a moment, their hearing gave out. The roars vanished, and the world fell into an endless silence. It seemed as if there wasn’t a single sound, not even a buzz, leaving them with a sense of weightlessness.

Not even at the Rose Bowl or Candlestick Park had Lu Ke ever felt anything like this. ’So this is what it feels like to be at the center of the world, to be surrounded by adoration and praise,’ he thought.

The powerful sonic wave hit them head-on, nearly knocking them off their feet.

All the San Francisco 49ers players looked at each other, exchanging glances. A similar excitement, a similar thrill, a similar passion surged through their veins. After a roller-coaster of a game, they had to face the bitter regret of their first loss of the season. But at the same time, they had earned the long-absent support and cheers of San Francisco. Everything was so wonderful, so blissful, that it made them forget everything else.

”AHH!” Someone—it was impossible to tell who—was the first to roar back, and then the other players joined in, shouting and releasing all their pent-up energy. Like a wolf pack that had found its kin, they howled with uninhibited joy. The howls grew and grew until they merged into one, echoing through the entire forest.

Jonathan Baldwin stood in the crowd, watching the young, spirited, and vibrant team with immense excitement, his eyes blazing. The sight reawakened the deep-seated fanaticism and devotion he held for the 49ers. He leaped high into the air, beckoning to his friends and waving his hands rapidly, signaling that this was the moment.

This was the moment.

Cliff Hart raised a flag high, and with Noah Parker’s help, began to wave it forcefully, letting it unfurl in the air. The flag, red with gold trim, bore the image of Little Deer Bambi. Despite its charmingly naive appearance, the deer wore a crown. The title ”King of the Bay Area” was grandly displayed for all to see as the flag billowed.

Jeff Locke, Nate Chandler, Danny Rice, and the others raised their fists high, pumping them in the air as they roared, ”Bambi!”

At first, the faint chant was like a small boat in a storm of roars, in danger of being overturned at any moment. But gradually, steadily, the trickle grew into a rushing river, and finally into a massive waterfall, crashing down and echoing again and again throughout the hall.

”Bambi!”

Everyone was chanting the same name. An undrafted rookie, a Chinese-American quarterback, a player who had only played four games—it sounded unbelievable, even ridiculous, but it was happening. It wasn’t because he had achieved greatness, but because he had reawakened the soul of this team.

A brilliant smile bloomed on Jeff’s face. He turned to look at Nate and Danny, and their eyes all held the same look: the Rose Bowl. They were once again remembering that game at the Rose Bowl, when everyone had chanted the same name in unison, hoping for a miracle, and witnessing one.

Now, having come from Los Angeles to San Francisco, they felt that same pulse, that same heartbeat, once again.

”Bambi!” Jeff roared, impassioned, ecstatic, and full of fervor.

...

Standing among his teammates, the cheers and chants flooded his ears. His hearing returned, instantly amplified a hundredfold, roaring past his eardrums like a hurricane. The momentary shock left an endless aftershock, and Lu Ke stood frozen in place, a look of utter bewilderment on his face, completely failing to understand what was happening.

As a rookie quarterback, he hadn’t had much interaction with the city’s fans, and the few memories he did have weren’t exactly pleasant. But today, he was suddenly thrust into a whirlwind of cheers and support. Everything came at him like a meteor shower, crashing down hard.

On reflex, Lu Ke turned his head, trying to find an answer from his teammates, only to see Logan and Marcus, grinning from ear to ear, raising their hands high and joining the chant, ”Bambi!”

Staring at his two friends, Lu Ke was stunned for a moment, then broke into an incredulous laugh. Right after, Patrick Willis also raised a fist near his shoulder, rotating it as he chanted ”Bambi! Bambi!” in a deep baritone. He then bumped Lu Ke’s shoulder. ”Man, this is your moment. Enjoy it.”

Amidst the booming noise, Willis had to shout to be heard, his voice still coming in fits and starts. He laughed cheerfully. ”Looks like you’ve already won this city’s support. This is a start.”

Tonight, the San Francisco airport would not sleep.