Colin Kaepernick was absently fiddling with the fork in his hand, stabbing at the potatoes on the plate. A whole boiled potato had turned into a hornet's nest at this time, and his peripheral vision kept looking towards him involuntarily. He drifted towards the young man diagonally across from him. Among the Western faces, the Eastern face and the short black hair were particularly conspicuous and dazzling.
What's more, he is not alone now. Opposite him, there is another oriental face sitting opposite him. The two of them are talking and laughing, and they are having a good time. In the rugby training base, such a scene is like seeing the aurora at the equator. It is really jaw-dropping and difficult to adapt to.
"Colin?" Kendall-Hunter raised the knife and fork in his hand and waved it, "Hey, man, what are you doing? There is still a lot of training in the afternoon. What are your plans now? Control your weight? I remember the physical trainer said your weight is too light and you must add carbohydrates."
In this year's draft, the San Francisco 49ers selected a total of ten rookies, including two sixth-round picks and three seventh-round picks. Kendall is one of ten rookies who plays running back.
According to the team's unwritten rules, rookie players must sit in a fixed area before the regular season, and are not allowed to mix with senior players unless approved. This is not an iron rule, but in the training camp before the season, it is convenient for the veteran players to "train" the rookies.
Kendall's call brought Colin back to his senses, but obviously, Colin did not hear Kendall's words at all, but said to himself, "Don't you think this is ridiculous? Why can he be interviewed by reporters? And reporters come to the team restaurant? Doesn’t this break the team rules?”
"What rules?" Kendall asked in confusion.
Colin waved his hand irritably, "I don't know, there are rules anyway. Aren't they worried that this reporter is a spy? Come here specifically to spy on our training secrets?"
Rookie players, from a positive perspective, are the hope of the team's future; from a realistic perspective, they are just a group of unknowns who must prove themselves.
Before the start of the official season, even the first-round picks may not have reporters coming to interview them. Generally speaking, only the No. 1 pick, No. 2 pick, and No. 3 overall pick are the focus of media attention. Other rookies, in the eyes of reporters, are Same, no difference.
However, on the first day after the Chinese-American quarterback signed the contract, reporters came to interview him, and he even got the team's approval? This is simply ridiculous!
Kendall chuckled and said, "You're a funny guy." Apparently he didn't take Colin's words seriously at all and thought it was a joke.
In response to this, Colin was depressed and aggrieved. He rolled his eyes angrily, and then he caught a figure in his peripheral vision, Aldon Smith, this year's first-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers.
Put it on any team, no matter whether people agree with it or not, the first-round pick is the focus of attention gathered by thousands of people. What's more, Aldon Smith is the seventh overall pick in the first round, ranking in the top ten. It's even hotter. In comparison, Colin is a second-round pick, so his attention is reduced by half.
Aldon is like a little sun, naturally becoming the center of the rookie players. Although Colin is the quarterback and the brains of the team, Aldon is the linebacker and the leader of the defensive team. After all, it is still incomparable.
In full view of the public, Aldon walked up to the Chinese quarterback, placed the plate next to him, and took the initiative to say hello. The two shook hands, bumped shoulders, and patted each other on the back, talking and laughing, and their expressions looked incomparable. Intimate, Aldon even greeted the reporter, and then said "I won't disturb you anymore", turned around and left with the dinner plate.
disturb?
A string in Colin's head was immediately stretched to the extreme, and he stood up with a bang, which startled Kendall, "Colin? What's wrong?"
But Colin ignored him and took long strides. Kendall came back to his senses and quickly shouted, "Colin!" before speaking, he was worried that he would make a loud noise, so he quickly lowered his voice. With a little time difference, Colin had left the rookie area and walked towards the direction where the veteran players gathered.
Kendall looked at Colin's retreating back in confusion, and his eyes happened to collide with Lu Ke's. Lu Ke showed a friendly smile, and Kendall returned a friendly smile. He turned his head and muttered, not knowing what Colin was going to do.
Without any hesitation, Colin targeted one player: Parys-Haralson.
During this offseason, the San Francisco 49ers conducted a major purge inside and out, releasing 17 players in one fell swoop. The entire roster was reshuffled. Therefore, there are not many veterans left in the team now, and Pares is one of them.
In fact, Parez was a draft player in 2006 and only stayed with the team for five years; he was only a fifth-round pick that year. As an outside linebacker, his career performance was mediocre and he did not enter the Pro Bowl. , has not entered the first team or second team of the United States, and is basically the same as the draft pick.
However, Pares is a charismatic player, with a bright personality, willing to make friends, a brotherly brother, and a loyal and loyal character.
After the team underwent a major purge, the team was in turmoil. On the one hand, they had to face the challenges of a new coaching team. Jim Harbaugh was an absolutely iron-fisted coach; on the other hand, they had to face the challenges of rookies. The impact, as well as the run-in after free agents and undrafted rookies join.
The veteran players need a representative to maintain discipline and organize activities. Pares himself is a veteran player, and there are only a handful of players who are more senior than him. Coupled with Pares' personality and style, the veteran players have vaguely formed a team centered on him.
"Colin, you should know that first-year students are not allowed to enter this area during lunch time." Pares was chatting with his teammates. When he raised his head, he saw the team's main quarterback, who was young, energetic and full of violence. gas.
"I know." Colin said crisply, and then turned his head to look in the direction of the rookie area, "But I also know that rookies should not be interviewed by reporters alone, and it is still during lunch time."
Following the direction indicated by Colin, Pares looked over, and then saw Lu Ke who was talking to reporters. It was not difficult to find him among the bustling crowd. Not only Pares, but other veteran players also turned their heads and cast curious glances——
To be honest, for the entire league, Chinese players are like giant pandas:
How strong is he? Can he really handle the intensity of the professional game? How does he fit in with the team and get along with the players? What impact will cultural differences have? Even as a substitute, will he drag the team back? Will he become so much in the spotlight of reporters that it blurs the focus of the game? Will he become the target of criticism from other teams?
Everything is new, everything is negative, everything is strange. They are like guinea pigs in an experiment. While curious, they are always a little repulsive. It is not easy for a rookie player to win the recognition of the veterans. What if he is a Chinese player? That would be even more difficult.
"This rookie obviously has not received the shock education of the team and does not know the heights of the sky. Is this allowed?" Colin continued to add fuel to the fire and added.
Due to the substantial rotation of the team this year, the entire team has joined a large number of unfamiliar faces, so that the tradition of pranks played by veteran players on rookies seems to have weakened. Although, in the past three months, the players led by Parez have given several good lessons to the ten rookie players, but the strength and intensity are not worth mentioning.
However, Colin's words also make sense: The rookie who just joined today still has a long way to catch up before he can become a real 49ers player.
Pares looked at his friends and said with a smile, "How are you, are you ready to become a mentor?"
In three months, the integration of the 49ers team has been basically completed. The original veteran players and the transferred senior players have gradually become familiar with it. The intensity of the pranks now is naturally not comparable to what it was back then.
There was a meaningful smile on everyone's face.
Suddenly, Pares raised his head and looked at Colin who was snickering, "Also, it seems that you haven't learned the lesson. Before the regular season, you are not allowed to cross the line, just not allowed, nothing is allowed. Colin's smile suddenly froze at the corner of his mouth, "Immediately, do thirty push-ups, starting now."
Colin stared at Pares blankly, unable to say a word. Then he saw the joking eyes of the other players next to him. Colin gritted his teeth, lay down, and began to do ups and downs on the spot.
In an instant, Colin became the center of attention in the entire restaurant. Even Lu Ke and Lin Shuyuan turned their heads, not knowing why.
"It's all him. It's all him. It's all him." Every time he stood up, Colin gritted his teeth and muttered in his throat. If it hadn't been for that damn guy, he wouldn't have fallen to this point. This account, one by one, must be settled carefully in the future.
"Don't you care? What happened?" Lin Shuyuan looked at Colin in surprise. He looked around, but found that everyone had a accustomed look on their faces. In the eyes of those old players, you could also see gloating.
Lu Ke just shrugged, "In the American sports arena, rookies are always teased in various ways. There is nothing new."
As a Chinese-American quarterback, he would experience similar pranks every now and then in elementary school, middle school, and college. From the initial anger and resistance, to the subsequent dullness, depression, and resignation, and then to the subsequent disappearance of the invisible. , or even a smart counterattack, he is no longer a child.
"Then you..." Lin Shuyuan thought of it immediately. After all, he is also a Chinese American living in the United States.
Lu Ke showed a smile, "I guess it will be my turn soon."
Lin Shuyuan looked suspicious in his eyes: Why did he think Lu Ke was eager to try?
