American Football: King of the Bay Area

A dazzling and flamboyant red converged into a boiling torrent, surging and snaking in a single direction. Small tributaries flowed in from all sides, gradually merging until the main current grew more turbulent, eventually becoming a great river that majestically enveloped Candlestick Park.

ROAR, ROAR. The sound of the rapids beat relentlessly against the eardrums. It felt as if one could clearly feel the sharp sting of a fierce wind sweeping across the skin. The surging heat wave in the air seeped through their pores and into their veins, making the blood begin to boil. Unconsciously, every cell in their body began to roar and howl.

This was the home field advantage. Every scene, every image was filled with surging passion, spreading out to cover the sky and the earth and dyeing the whole world red. A brilliant, dazzling, and vibrant red.

This was not Lu Zhengze’s first time experiencing the wave of support at Candlestick Park, but a soft gasp of awe and shock still escaped him involuntarily. Standing amidst a torrent of seventy thousand people, a single individual felt so insignificant, able only to gaze up, awestruck, and take it all in.

“…Zhengze? Why did you suddenly zone out? What are you looking at? Did you not hear me talking to you?” Jiang Youning’s voice grew closer, finally snapping Lu Zhengze out of his reverie.

He looked at Jiang Youning before him. She was wearing an oversized number 14 jersey signed with Lu Ke’s name on the shoulder, a thick baseball jacket layered over it. In her hand, she held an official red San Francisco 49ers baseball cap—also number 14. Her petite figure was almost completely swallowed by the sea of red.

The words that had been on the tip of his tongue changed as he spoke. “No, I was just suddenly reminded of when we used to celebrate the Lunar New Year back home.”

Jiang Youning looked at Lu Zhengze with a baffled expression, blinking a few times before it dawned on her. The overwhelming sea of red did indeed evoke the festive atmosphere of the Lunar New Year, making her laugh. “Are you saying that when we chose to come to San Francisco, it was our deep-seated longing for home that was secretly at work?”

Obviously not. They had originally come to San Francisco because the company that hired Lu Zhengze was located there; they were on work visas, so they naturally came to this city. As for why that company had hired Lu Zhengze, and whether it had anything to do with San Francisco’s large Chinese community, that was impossible to know.

A smile appeared in Lu Zhengze’s eyes, and he nodded gently in agreement before returning to his previous train of thought. “I was just thinking about how lively the home games at Candlestick Park have become. Remember the first game of the season? The fans were full of complaints and frustration. Even those who came to the stadium seemed to be just going through the motions, like showing up for work on a Monday. But today…”

He didn’t need to finish. Turning to look at the scene before them was the best answer.

It wasn’t just the overwhelming sight of the sheer number of spectators, but also the expressions on every fan’s face. They were cheering, leaping, and singing, jumping up and down to express their joy and happiness. They looked forward to every game, as if it were an outlet from their boring daily lives—a raucous party at Candlestick Park to be enjoyed to the fullest.

This shift in mentality was quietly making Candlestick Park something special.

Gazing at the grand spectacle, Jiang Youning couldn’t help but smile. In her expression, one could faintly see a resemblance to Lu Ke. The similar curve of her smile held a rare, infectious quality, revealing a sincere and earnest warmth that shone from her eyes.

Lu Zhengze’s voice reached her ears. “What were you asking just now?”

Jiang Youning snapped back to reality, pausing for a moment before remembering. “Oh, I was asking, where’s the meeting point? Which entrance was it again?”

Today, Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning hadn’t come to watch the game alone; they were part of an organized group. This was the first time in history that the entire Chinese Community had come to Candlestick Park to watch a game together.

In fact, a few weeks prior, the Chinese Community had begun to organize spontaneously, hoping to watch a game together at Candlestick Park to cheer for Lu Ke, but they ran into several problems.

For one, football was a niche sport. Even among the Chinese population who had lived in North America for years, interest was mainly confined to the younger generation. And that younger generation rarely interacted with community organizations, which made organizing them no easy task.

For another, there was the issue of home game tickets. Starting from the fifth week of the regular season, tickets for Candlestick Park had become incredibly hard to come by. They had hoped to get a block of seats together in one section of the stands to cheer for Lu Ke as a unified group of Chinese descent, but that made the task even more difficult.

First, they missed the home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and then they missed the one against the Cleveland Browns. After a series of mishaps and coincidences, the Chinese Community’s first group viewing finally came to fruition this week.

Although it was only a small group of five hundred people—not five thousand, let alone fifty thousand—and could hardly be called a large gathering, it was an unimaginable breakthrough for the Chinese Community.

Before this, they had never organized a group outing to watch any kind of sporting event.

Chinese people living abroad, even within the same community, had never truly banded together on cultural, family, political, or social issues to fight for their rights and interests like the Indian, Japanese, or South Korean communities.

Today was a truly unprecedented first. Its significance for the San Francisco Chinese Community was immense, and the same was true for Lu Ke’s career.

Interestingly, it wasn’t for basketball or soccer—sports more familiar to the Chinese population—but for football, the most popular sport in North America. The choice had an authentically American flavor.

Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning left the parking lot and followed the surging crowd toward the meeting point, their eyes curiously scanning the people coming and going. Everywhere they looked, they could see number 14 jerseys.

‘I don’t know if I’m just consciously looking for the number 14, making it seem like there are more than there are, or if this is real,’ Lu Zhengze thought. He felt like he was seeing countless number 14s, as if the entire Candlestick Park had been taken over by them. Most of them were young people, their vibrant, youthful faces radiating an infectious energy.

Just then, a huge sign at the entrance caught his eye. It read, “GIANT VS. BAMBI! REFUSE TO BACK DOWN!”

On either side of the two names were drawings: one of a towering Giant, and the other of a cute, innocent Bambi. The huge disparity created a stark contrast. The phrase “REFUSE TO BACK DOWN” was deliberately enlarged and outlined in multiple layers of different colored markers.

Lu Zhengze tapped Jiang Youning on the shoulder and gestured with his chin. But before Jiang Youning could react, cheers erupted nearby. “Mr. Lu, Mr. Lu!”

On reflex, both Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning turned to look. They saw a group of young people waving their arms enthusiastically and shouting joyfully. They didn’t approach, but instead pumped their fists and yelled ecstatically at Lu Zhengze, “Bambi! Hey! Bambi! Yeah!”

Every movement, every expression, clearly showed their excitement. Although Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning had kept a low enough profile, their faces had been shown in the media before. Now, it seemed someone had recognized who they really were.

A nearby group heard the shouts and, without knowing why, mindlessly joined in the chant. “Bambi! Yeah, Bambi!” Ragged cheers rose and fell, creating a commotion. You could clearly feel the passion, like a volcanic eruption.

Suddenly, a teenager in a number 14 jersey rushed up excitedly, stopping right in front of Lu Zhengze. With wide eyes and a trembling voice, he cried out, “Mr. Lu, Bambi is my hero! Do you know that? Bambi is my hero! A hero!” On his youthful cheeks, the San Francisco 49ers logo was painted, the red and gold shimmering brightly in his eyes.

After shouting, the teenager immediately turned and left, gone as quickly as he had appeared, like a whirlwind.

Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning exchanged a look, a hint of surprise in their eyes, which quickly turned to excitement. A feeling of satisfaction and pride swelled in their chests.

Jiang Youning beamed at her husband, then couldn’t help but raise her hands high and let out a cheer. “Whoo-hoo!” After doing it, she immediately felt shy. Such a youthful action didn’t really suit her age. She had gotten caught up in the atmosphere and acted on impulse, and now couldn’t help but feel a little awkward.

But Lu Zhengze just grinned and said, “Maybe you should get some face paint next time. It’s war paint. It’ll let us truly fight side-by-side with Ke.”

Jiang Youning immediately gave him a look of disdain, which made Lu Zhengze burst out laughing.

The two of them continued on with the surging crowd and then realized that the giant sign was from the Chinese Community from Chinatown. Familiar faces came into view. Amidst a sea of white and black fans, this group of Chinese faces was a striking sight.

Some held signs high, some excitedly banged thundersticks together, some had their arms slung over other fans’ shoulders while singing at the top of their lungs, and others were lost in their own world, cheering and dancing…

Amidst the bustle, passing fans stopped in their tracks and voluntarily joined the group of Chinese fans, starting up animated discussions and cheers. The crowd gathered around them grew larger bit by bit, and it was still expanding, having clearly become the biggest focal point of game day.

In that moment, the cultural divides and racial differences between them completely vanished. Even the unfamiliarity between strangers was dissipating, all because of a single game.

This was the magic of sports.