American Football: King of the Bay Area

”The regular season is only five weeks in!” Charles stressed again and again. The more he spoke, the more agitated he became. He tried to suppress it, but the disgust and hatred eventually boiled over.

”Don’t forget Cam Newton, this year’s first-overall pick. He only has one win so far, remember? Before he entered the Alliance, everyone was singing his praises, calling him the Alliance’s next savior. And now? How are things looking for him now? You have to give rookies a long time to develop!” Charles was once again being stubborn and incisive.

This time, however, Spencer remained unhurried. His calm and deliberate demeanor stood in stark contrast to Charles, giving him the upper hand. ”We’re talking about this game. Just this one game against the Pirate Team. How did Lu Ke perform?”

Speechless and humiliated into a rage, Charles was so provoked by Spencer’s persistence that he nearly swore and stormed off. In the end, he managed to control himself. He just said heavily, ”Not worth commenting on,” before folding his arms, turning his head, and refusing to continue the conversation, his entire being radiating raw anger.

Charles was utterly defeated in today’s confrontation.

The host, Edward Bowen, who had been watching from the sidelines, saw his opening and smoothly interjected. He expertly changed the subject, throwing out another hot-button topic. ”Let’s bring the conversation back to Lu Ke. If the season were to end right now, and we were voting for MVP, who would vote for Lu Ke? Please raise your hand.”

The studio fell silent for a moment. Then, one after another, three people actually raised their right hands. There were only ten commentators on the entire show, so for three of them to raise their hands was truly incredible. Even Edward looked surprised. ”Jessica, you mean you’d pick Lu Ke over Rodgers and Brees?”

Jessica Kani, another one of Lu Ke’s supporters, had always been optimistic about the rookie’s prospects. Back in week two of the regular season, during the game against the Dallas Cowboys, she and Spencer had been his only two advocates. Now, she didn’t hesitate for a second, nodding with confidence. ”Yes.”

MVP? That was a whole different level of conversation, yet it became the hottest topic on this week’s episode of ”Inside the Alliance.” And clearly, the show wasn’t the only place it was being discussed.

After all the games in week five of the regular season had concluded, the name ”Lu Ke ’Skywalker’” was once again splashed across the front pages of sports papers and magazines overnight.

It wasn’t just because the show ”Inside the Alliance” had named Lu Ke as a candidate for this year’s MVP, nor was it just because the San Francisco 49ers had crushed the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a massive margin.

It was also because, in the official NFL.com power rankings, the San Francisco 49ers had surpassed the New England Patriots to claim the number three spot. And on top of that, in the Alliance’s official weekly awards, Lu Ke had been named National League Offensive Player of the Week for the second time, the first being after week one of the regular season.

This week, the Baltimore Ravens, ranked fifth in the previous week’s power rankings, were on their bye week, while the top four teams all secured victories. Normally, under such circumstances, the top five rankings would remain unchanged. However, Eliot Harrison made the bold move of swapping the Patriots and the 49ers.

In his write-up, Eliot gave the following reason:

”It’s not that the Patriots have gotten worse; it’s that the 49ers are looking even better. From the clash of titans in the first half to the absolute dominance shown by their seven touchdowns for the game, we are seeing a completely transformed team.

To any unconvinced fans (yes, I’m talking to you, New England Patriots faithful), I suggest you watch this week’s Alliance highlights. The San Francisco 49ers had at least three offensive plays that could make the top ten. For God’s sake, this quarterback’s name is now being mentioned in the same breath as Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers. Doesn’t that warrant a higher ranking? Besides, their strength speaks for itself.”

On top of the validation from the power rankings, the Alliance’s Player of the Week award only fanned the flames.

As a rookie, Lu Ke had now been named National League Offensive Player of the Week for the second time in just five weeks. This year’s National League was absolutely star-studded, making such an accomplishment incredible for any player, let alone a rookie. It was simply astounding.

Lu Ke was mirroring Ben Roethlisberger’s rookie season. But back then, Big Ben had one of the most elite Defense Teams in the Alliance protecting him. Now, it was Lu Ke leading his entire team, riding a wave of success. Words couldn’t describe the sheer force of his rise; he seemed unstoppable.

And so, the internet exploded. New England Patriots fans voiced their intense displeasure, flocking to Twitter to heap scorn on the San Francisco 49ers and Lu Ke. The latter, in particular, drew the ire of countless fans, becoming a powder keg that went off with a BANG.

”Only five games in his career? Tom Brady has exponentially more playoff wins, and this guy’s fans dare to run their mouths? How embarrassing!”

”He’s getting cocky after one five-touchdown game? Let’s see if he can even survive his rookie season. He looks like a stiff breeze could knock him over. It’d be a real joke if he breaks an arm or a leg and gets carted off next game.”

And those were just the mildest comments. The internet was flooded with all sorts of crude and extreme remarks. Lu Ke became the punching bag for all New England Patriots fans, the instant focus of their collective wrath. But this was only the beginning.

Major newspapers and magazines in the United States had run multiple polls, and the results always showed the same thing: the most hated team in the Alliance was the New England Patriots, and the most hated quarterback was Tom Brady—he was even more disliked than Michael Vick, who had famously run afoul of animal rights groups.

To Patriots fans, the explanation was simple: it was just jealousy.

The strong are always targets of envy, and with three championships in four years, the Patriots were unquestionably one of the most dominant teams in the Alliance since the turn of the millennium. They repeatedly worked miracles and rewrote history, so as the saying goes, more fame, more problems. They naturally became a target for criticism.

That was true, but beyond that fact, there was another reason: they would do anything to win.

First, there was the infamous Spygate scandal.

In 2007, during a game against the New York Jets, Bill Belichick had an assistant illegally film the opposing team’s defensive signals from the sideline. After deciphering the signals on the spot, they went on to win the game. The incident was later confirmed by the Alliance, and Belichick admitted to the accusations. He was ultimately fined five hundred thousand US dollars—the maximum fine the Alliance was empowered to levy—and the team was stripped of its 2008 first-round draft pick.

Later, more details about the Patriots’ spying came to light. It was alleged they would film the opposing coaches’ signals in every game to decipher their plays. They would then actively sign players who had been cut by upcoming opponents, just to confirm whether their deciphered signals were correct.

Although there was no direct written proof, ESPN interviewed over fifty players and got affirmative responses from at least half of them. The Pittsburgh Steelers later seemed to confirm these suspicions. In a playoff game, the Patriots’ Defense Team and their offense were heard calling out the Steelers’ actual play calls, having cracked their codes. The Steelers players were left flustered and completely at a loss.

Not only that, but the Patriots also allegedly sent spies—private investigators—to opposing teams’ hotels and locker rooms to steal playbooks. This tactic was eventually discovered by some teams, who started planting fake playbooks to mislead them. News of this gradually spread throughout the Alliance, and other teams began to take precautions.

Furthermore, at the New England Patriots’ home stadium, they would allegedly use radio interference to disrupt the headset communications between the visiting coach, quarterback, and the coordinators in the booth, sabotaging their play-calling. The Patriots also reportedly sent staff members, disguised as NFL personnel or advertising agency employees, to film future opponents’ practices. This was discovered at the New Orleans Saints’ practice facility, causing a complete and public fallout between the two teams.

On Lu Ke’s very first day with the San Francisco 49ers, Kip Kester had repeatedly and earnestly stressed the importance of protecting the playbook. Lu Ke also noticed that security at the entrances and exits of the practice fields at Candlestick Park was incredibly tight. All of this was a direct legacy of the Spygate scandal pioneered by the New England Patriots.

For Patriots fans, it was simple: to the victor go the spoils. Even in the business world, corporate espionage was rampant; the winner is always right. But for fans of other teams, such unfair competitive practices violated the very spirit of the sport. What made it worse was that the Patriots acted so entitled about it—and they kept winning.

(And that’s not even mentioning ”Deflategate,” which would occur during the 2015 playoffs.)

In fact, outside of the Boston area, the New England Patriots have always been the most disliked team in the rest of North America.

So, when New England Patriots fans got annoyed and started collectively targeting Lu Ke, fans of every other team got annoyed and started collectively targeting the New England Patriots.

The whole internet became a powder keg. At first, the discussion centered on Lu Ke, but it gradually devolved into a massive flame war between Patriots fans and the fans of every other team. This was just daily life in the NFL, a common sight that happened every few days during the season.

But one thing was undeniable: this resounding, satisfying victory not only vaulted Lu Ke into the MVP conversation but also made more casual fans realize that ”Lu Ke ’Skywalker’” was more than just a gimmick—he had real substance.