On the North American continent, racial discrimination faced by ethnic minorities is ubiquitous. Discrimination in the central region is extremely serious and can even lead to conflicts and violence. Relatively speaking, cross-strait regions are more open, tolerant, and diverse. However, discrimination still exists. In many cases, it is not explicit emotions such as ridicule, curses or contempt, but more inner doubts, disdain and disparity.
This situation is more intense and obvious in competitive sports. In 2011, Lu Ke is still the only Asian player on the rugby field. He is a solitary young man. This is the best proof.
For an ordinary rookie, two wins, one defeating a rival in the same district and one defeating an old enemy in the league, is bound to be full of praise from all fans; but for Lu Ke, two wins are still not enough, and fans are willing to express praise and Congratulations, fans are willing to join in the celebration and carnival, but deep down they still refuse to agree.
The barrier of doubt is extremely thick.
Jonathan shook his head with a wry smile, "Chris, don't get too excited. We all know that the rookie quarterback has performed very well in the past two weeks; but we just think that he still has a lot to learn, Rookies are rookies for a reason. The four elite quarterbacks all had their rookie seasons."
"You mean, we're going to give up supporting a quarterback who has led the team to victory for two consecutive weeks and choose to support a quarterback who hasn't been able to turn the team around for six consecutive years?" Chris stared. His eyes were closed, and his anger and confusion were clearly shown on his cheeks.
"I just say that in next week's game, Alex Smith will be a better choice. In the future, maybe this quarterback can still become the starting quarterback of the 49ers." Jonathan shrugged, Xu Xu Explained nonchalantly.
"Jesus Christ." Chris laughed angrily, and was so angry that he couldn't speak.
It was unimaginable. Chris couldn't believe what was happening in front of him. Just now at Candlestick Stadium, the madness and wantonness of the scene are still vivid in my mind, and all the fans were celebrating today's victory feverishly; but when I returned to "Joe's Bar", I was faced with a bucket of cold water, and in an instant, summer turned to winter. , as if they did not win today, but lost the game.
Jonathan also noticed Chris's turbulent emotions, and pressed down his hands repeatedly to express comfort, "Calm down, calm down, think about winning today's game, this is a good thing."
"Do you still know that we won the victory today? People who don't know think that we lost the game and are now criticizing the quarterback." Chris said sarcastically, without hiding his sharpness and edges. In ecstasy, he was slapped in front of his face, and now Chris was also full of resentment.
Jonathan looked back at the other people in the bar, "It seems that our attitude has angered Chris." Then, everyone else started to boo, and Jonathan looked at Chris again, "Why, it's just two people. It's only been one game and you're already a fan of that quarterback? I told you, rookies have ups and downs and nothing is known yet. You can sweep the field in one game and throw it away in the next game. First."
"Yes, I have become his fan." Chris said reflexively. After saying it, not only was he not soft-spoken, but he felt a burst of joy.
Recalling every bit of today's game in my mind, I started to get excited again, "He has a temperament that refuses to admit defeat and a desire to win; he will never show mercy at critical moments, and he will bravely stand up. , shouldering the entire burden of the team. This kind of playing temperament is exactly what Alex Smith does not possess!"
"So, yes, I support him. I think the future of the 49ers lies with him!" Chris said firmly, clenching his fist hard and emphasizing his tone.
There was a moment of silence in the bar, and then the whole room burst into laughter, as if this was the most ridiculous joke of the year.
"What's wrong with you guys? Maybe, this is the first time in eight years that the team has hope for the playoffs..." Before Chris could finish his words, he was interrupted by "haha" laughter. His words, "At least, we have a good start..." There was laughter again, and Chris had to raise his voice, "And we also have a good and energetic quarterback..."
The laughter was completely out of control. It seemed that the word "excellent quarterback" hit their weak point, and they couldn't stop laughing at all.
"Chris!" Amidst the roaring laughter, Anthony Tinozzo raised his right hand, crossed the turbulent noise, and greeted with a smile on his face.
"Guys, show some respect, hey, guys!" Anthony yelled, finally suppressing his laughter. "At least, this rookie quarterback has won two victories for our team. , he deserves basic respect." The bar gradually regained its calm, and Anthony complained, "This is much better than last year."
Laughter, real laughter. The 2010 season started with a five-game losing streak for the San Francisco 49ers. They lost to the Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints in the first two games of the regular season.
"Salute to the Quarterback!" Jonathan raised his glass in celebration, and then all the other fans raised their glasses again and shouted, "Salute to the Quarterback." Quarterback!”
The atmosphere in the bar became lively again.
Anthony waved again, "Chris, come here, let's celebrate the victory together today. Come, I'll give you and your friends a beer, and charge it to the bar's account."
Chris didn't say anything more and walked towards the bar; Jeff and Nate followed closely behind, and Danny fell at the back, looking at Jonathan with a burning gaze, still unwilling to move away, hesitating again and again. After that, he shouted, "That quarterback, he has a name, Lu Ke, his name is Lu Ke."
Not just any quarterback, but Lu Ke, the unique Lu Ke.
With their eyes widened, Danny and Jonathan looked at each other. During the change of momentum, Danny slowly and slowly joined his friends and came to the bar. Jonathan, who stayed where he was, rolled his eyes. He picked up his wine glass and bowed and saluted to the surrounding fans like a comedian taking his final call, earning another round of applause.
Standing at the bar, Anthony skillfully took out the tall beer glass and turned on the switch next to it. The buttery beer began to fill up, and the fluffy white foam seemed to have a faint aroma of wheat. "Ignore them." Anthony's The tone was extremely relaxed, "They are just a bunch of idiots. During the live broadcast of the game, they were more energetic than the other, screaming like 16-year-old girls."
The sharp rant made Jeff and the others laugh.
"Honestly, this quarterback is indeed a capable guy. I don't want to be too exaggerated about the last 66 seconds of the offense, but the fact is that I saw Aaron Rodgers." Anthony did not hide his amazement. Filled beers were placed on the bar one by one. "I can imagine how crazy the reaction at Candlestick Stadium was."
"You should really go to the scene." Chris sighed, "Lu Ke's performance at the critical moment is truly a big heart!"
"You should take a look at his performance in college." Jeff joined the topic excitedly. "In the first game of his career, he was a substitute player. He was called in at a critical moment. The team was three touchdowns behind. After he came on the field, he only had In less than one quarter of game time, he completed four touchdowns and achieved a shocking reversal. Compared with today's game, it is even worse."
"Really?" Not only Anthony, but Chris was also curious. "I thought he was unknown in college."
"Yes." Jeff and Nate exchanged glances and both nodded, "At that time, when Lu Ke came on the field, the first reaction in everyone's mind was: Who is this guy? What does the team coach think? What? In the entire stadium, more than two-thirds of the fans left the stadium. No one had any hope. Danny also turned around and left."
Feeling the eyes on him, Danny nodded generously, "I left. At that time, the only thought in my mind was that I didn't want to watch this stupid game anymore; but now, I follow that The unknown quarterback came to San Francisco and became a 49ers fan."
Jeff, Nate and Danny are all recent graduates.
After the Rose Bowl ended, they temporarily got rid of their identities as fans and returned to real life, and the connection between them gradually broke off.
In early August, the news that Lu Ke joined the San Francisco 49ers really made Jeff excited. By chance, Jeff found a job in San Francisco. Now, he can return to the world of football again. Every week Join the city-wide carnival on every game day.
After experiencing a big victory in the first week, this week, Jeff first met Nate by chance, and then learned that Danny worked in Silicon Valley.
After going around and around, they gathered together again and became Lu Ke's first fans in the professional league. Real fans.
"Tell me, what happened in that game?" Chris said extremely excitedly, "Is this his first game?"
"Yes, but he didn't panic at all, as if he had been practicing on that court for more than ten years." Nate and Jeff began to recall each other word by word.
Gradually, gradually, other fans sitting near the bar gathered, listened and joined in the discussion.
Everything about this Chinese-American quarterback is too mysterious and magical. The fragmented information fragments are simply not enough to piece together the story. Now, loyal fans personally tell every move in the game. For other fans For me, this is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Under many gimmicks and names, the image of "Lu Ke" gradually became rich and full. Not from rumors, not from the media, not from the Internet.
There were more and more fans surrounding Jeff and others, three or five at first, and then more than a dozen, coming and going, it was very lively. As night falls, the excitement of the game gradually surges. "Joe's Bar" is just the tip of the iceberg in San Francisco, and the whole city is carnival.
