The San Francisco 49ers' press room is famous throughout the league.
However, the indoor furnishings are not very advanced or modern. In fact, it is just a lecture theater space. Directly in front of it is a small stage with a long table and the team's flag hanging behind it; A fan-shaped staircase room, surrounding it layer by layer. The whole design is ordinary and quite satisfactory.
What really makes people remember this place is the interior decoration and color matching. The combination of gold, red and blue is simple and elegant with grace and luxury. The dark blue carpet under the feet reduces all indoor noise and noise. Minimal, there is a soft, comfortable and brisk excitement floating in the warm air. The visual beauty always makes people happy.
In fact, Candlestick Stadium is a stadium with a long history. It has been completed for more than half a century. Traces of time can be seen in the old buildings, outdated decorations, and outdated equipment.
Although the Yorks carried out some internal renovations after taking over the team to welcome a new era with a new look; since 2006, the Yorks have been seeking to build a new stadium, and in 2010 they passed the proposal and won the With the support of the city hall, the new stadium was officially put into construction.
One day soon, Candlestick Stadium may be history.
Despite this, this stadium with rich history still carries the glory and glory of the entire team. In this press conference hall, people witnessed the departure of Joe Montana and the retirement of Steve Young. After all, the meaning is different.
At this time, more than 60 reporters gathered bustlingly in the press conference hall, waiting anxiously one by one. Those sitting on the chairs were chatting without saying a word, and their eyes were directed towards the entrance on the left side of the stage from time to time. They floated here and there, searching for the emerging figure; some couldn't sit still at all and simply stood up, pacing back and forth in the narrow passage and the open space in front of them.
Today is Friday, not Wednesday, the official news day.
As usual, media reporters will not appear at all, and the team will not be open for interviews to avoid disturbing the players' daily training. But at this time, the whole hall was very lively. The lineup of more than 60 reporters was not top-notch, but it was quite good. There was no noisy discussion, but the faint undercurrent made people feel the tension and expectation.
This is a press conference officially held by the San Francisco 49ers. Today is Friday, and with less than two days left before Sunday's game, the much-anticipated starting quarterback candidate will be officially announced.
Is it the undrafted rookie quarterback Lu Ke, who has repeatedly performed miracles in recent times, who will continue to lead the team forward; or will the veteran quarterback Alex Smith, who has been at the helm of the team for five consecutive years, return from injury? Return to power; or is Colin Kaepernick, who was highly anticipated after being drafted in the second round, rebounding after a disappointing preseason?
Thanks to the presence of Chinese-American quarterback Lu Ke, the spotlight that was already in the spotlight has now attracted countless attention. Just like Tony Romo and Kurt Warner, Lu Ke's league career has made history with every step, and the discussion has always been high.
Now, the critical moment has arrived, can Lu Ke continue to maintain his starting position? Or is the legendary experience temporarily coming to an end, waiting for the next opportunity to rise?
Even as bystanders, people can't help but be eager and impatient.
"Alex, definitely Alex."
"I agree, I don't see the need to choose rookie players. Whether it's Colin or Lu Ke, both of them are too immature. Now the 49ers need a veteran to integrate the team, otherwise their performance will be too ups and downs. A game can give you several heart attacks."
"The only question I have is how Alex is recovering from his injury. Does anyone know how he was doing during last week's passing training?"
…
The discussion in a lowered voice was noisy, but buzzing, but all the words still penetrated into Jay Fox's ears word for word, and the already nervous mood became more and more irritable. , he just wanted to stand up and shut up those reporters.
However, the remaining sanity still convinced Jay: this is their job, and shutting up a reporter is equivalent to canceling the press conference. Therefore, Jay could only sit in his original position, taking deep breaths and trying to calm down.
"What do you think?" A voice suddenly came from next to him. Jay was startled and turned his head. Then he saw a kind face and laughed. "Sorry, I scared you. Next to me, I'm sorry. Is there anyone in the seat? Can I sit down?"
"Of course." Jay said in a panic, "What did you just say?"
"Brian, 'San Francisco Chronicle.'" Brian Westbrook took the initiative to introduce himself, and Jay quickly said, "Jay, 'Los Angeles Times.'"
Brian showed an expression of sudden realization, "Ho ho, Times." For the West Coast, the "Los Angeles Times" is the largest newspaper. Although the "San Francisco Chronicle" is the second largest, the gap in influence is still quite obvious. of.
As for the East Coast, the "New York Times" is the undisputed leader, but besides them, the influence of large newspapers such as the "Washington Post" and "Wall Street Journal" is not inferior. When it comes to news media, the East Coast is not just the center of gravity in North America, but in the entire world.
When the "Times" is mentioned in North America, everyone knows that it refers specifically to the "New York Times"; but if it is limited to the West Coast region, then the "Times" refers specifically to the "Los Angeles Times". However, unlike the "New York Times" Compared to the "Los Angeles Times" still can't compare.
"It's just the first year," Jay said modestly.
Brian shrugged and did not continue to argue, "I support Bambi." Jay's thought rhythm seemed to be unable to keep up with Brian's speed. The difference between a rookie and a veteran does not only appear on the football field, "I It means that in today's starting quarterback battle, I support Bambi. What about you?"
"Bambi." Jay said without any hesitation.
"Because he is your good friend?" Brian said with a smile, "I know, you and Bambi are college classmates, as well as Logan and Marcus."
"UCLA." Jay nodded in affirmation, "Not only because of that, but because I know how dedicated Bambi is, which can even be described as terrifying. If you underestimate Bambi's strength, you will pay a heavy price." cost."
"Like the Seattle Seahawks?" Brian's example was so vivid that both of them laughed. Brian looked around the press conference hall, "However, we are still a minority. These people are empiricists who are used to making judgments based on past experience. They are also used to the fixed way of thinking about Asian players and refuse to look at them. Changes and improvements in three games.”
Therefore, they all believe that the San Francisco 49ers will choose Alex Smith. When the thirty-two teams in the entire league face the question of choosing veterans or rookies - with only three weeks of regular season data as a reference, it is estimated that more than two-thirds will choose veterans, or even four points. Three.
The position of quarterback is extremely special, and there are so many factors that people need to consider comprehensively. Even Peyton Manning had a miserable rookie season.
"Here we come!" As he spoke, the door on the left was pushed open, and Jim Hubble, accompanied by several staff members, appeared in front of the reporters.
In an instant, all the reporters began to move and quickly found their positions. The place was turbulent and noisy, but neat and orderly. They sat down very quickly, and pairs of hot eyes full of expectation were cast towards Jim. Like a Cyclops, the scorching temperature caused the air to slowly begin to burn.
"Thank you all reporters for coming to attend the team's press conference." Jim went straight to the topic without any polite words, "Today's topic is the starting quarterback. The team is now at a very important moment. After discussion and consultation by the coaching staff, After discussions and performance reviews during training over the past period, we finally came to a conclusion.”
After a short pause, Jim glanced around and found that all the reporters in the room were holding their breath——
Many reporters are sitting behind their laptops, typing quickly with their hands on the keyboard, editing news, just preparing to fill in the name of the starting quarterback, and then publish the news on Twitter and the website as soon as possible. , and then conduct in-depth interviews and prepare detailed press releases. But at this time, the hands of these reporters also stopped, seeming to be trapped in the vortex of time.
Such a scene is somewhat funny.
"In this week's game, the starting quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers..." Jim did not deliberately tease the reporter, and continued, "Lu Ke will continue to be the one."
Silence, silence, dullness, and the sound of the flow of time became extremely clear. Everyone held their breath, and their hearts seemed to have stopped beating temporarily, and then... there was a muffled "boom" in the ears. It exploded. In an instant, everyone recovered and realized what had just happened. The big news just appeared!
Before Jim could finish his words, questions came pouring out:
"What is the specific reason?"
"Has Alex Smith not fully recovered from his injury?"
"Is it too risky to choose Lu Ke as the starting quarterback?"
"Has the team considered everything?"
"What does Alex Smith think about this?"
"What's the atmosphere inside the team like now?"
"Did the team make the selection based on winning the last three games?"
…
Countless questions came rushing in at the same time, with such momentum that it was even more exaggerated than when the San Francisco 49ers announced that Lu Ke would be the starting quarterback before the first week of the regular season.
Because, at that time, there was no choice. Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick were injured successively, and Lu Ke was pushed to the shelf; but today, it was an active choice, and the weight of the news was naturally completely different.
Brian and Jay exchanged glances and smiled in unison.
