In just four weeks, Lu Ke has become like a fish in the locker room. This little joke revealed too much information. The reporters standing at the scene are all smart people, and they can clearly feel that the atmosphere within the young San Francisco 49ers is gradually becoming harmonious.
Especially for a Chinese player, this is really rare.
"Bambi, please ask! This game lasted until the end, but the team unfortunately lost the game. Do you have any special feelings?" The first person to ask the question was Jay Fox, a familiar old face, and he was actually playful. Ji Ji blinked at Lu Ke, only to see a look of disgust on Lu Ke's face, which made Jay roll his eyes speechlessly.
Lu Ke suppressed the smile at the corner of his mouth and wiped the sweat that was falling from his forehead. "Is the NFL too unfriendly to undrafted rookies?" At the end of the sound, Lu Ke raised his eyebrows slightly and asked a rhetorical question. The reporter answered with a sentence pattern that immediately made the reporters laugh collectively.
"Any time, a loss is uncomfortable, and it is such a close loss. We are a very young team. Obviously, we still have a huge job to do to avoid the end of the next game. When you ask me the same question again, I may not be able to joke anymore."
Lu Ke answered sincerely, with a kind of humor in his serious tone, and the reporters laughed again.
"Skywalker, please let me ask! Today's offensive line performance was not good enough. For the second consecutive game, they encountered consecutive hits and tackles. Do you want to express your opinion on this?"
"Uh, wait, are we all going to ignore the 'Skywalker' thing? What is going on here? Are you a fan of 'Star Wars'?" Lu Ke did not rush to answer the question, but He couldn't help but chuckle and cast doubtful glances at the other reporters.
The reporter who just asked the question, Harry Ayans, works for Sports Illustrated, the most influential professional sports magazine in the United States.
"Sports Illustrated" has more than 23 million weekly readers and more than 3 million regular subscribers. Every week, 20% of American men read this magazine, its influence is second to none; and, their 's "Swimsuit Issue" has become a culture. Every year, the magazine also selects the best athletes of the year, corresponding to People Weekly's Person of the Year.
As the most professional and influential sports magazine in the industry, "Sports Illustrated" sends reporters to every game every week, and naturally the San Francisco 49ers will not be missed. However, Lu Ke's sudden appearance never attracted enough attention from them.
At the beginning of every season, when the troops are strong, several rookies with outstanding performances emerge, or veterans have a second spring. This is really normal; and, in the opinion of the magazine editor, Lu Ke’s His popularity is more or less due to his identity as a Chinese. Because of political correctness, the league has given him strong support.
This kind of excitement is actually all an illusion. As the season progresses and the competition progresses, dark horses will eventually fade and eventually return to mediocrity.
However, after the game ended last week, the title "Skywalker" became one of the hottest topics on social networks; at the same time, after winning three consecutive victories, Lu Ke has become the absolute focus comparable to Aaron Rodgers. , perfectly replicated the trajectory of Kurt Warner's birth.
"Sports Illustrated" could no longer ignore it, so senior professional reporter Harry came to Philadelphia to complete the interview at close range and take a peek at the hot undrafted rookie quarterback.
Facing Lu Ke's rhetorical question, Harry chuckled knowingly, "I thought we were all using nicknames for interviews now. This is a very common situation in sports arenas; the only surprise is that your profession Just four games into your career and now you have so many nicknames, you obviously get a lot of attention."
Lu Ke didn't like Harry's tone.
It is filled with a kind of self-satisfaction and arrogance of relying on one's elders and showing superiority. It may not necessarily be racial discrimination, but what is certain is that the contempt for rookies, especially the disdain for undrafted rookies, is revealed between the lines and falls on the ears of the listener. Inside, extremely sharp and harsh.
In fact, this is not uncommon. In a competitive sports circle where strength is respected, rookie players who lack self-proof and lack of recognition of their strength are always under a critical eye. They must continue to prove themselves, and Lu Ke is just one of more than 300 rookies.
Therefore, Lu Ke was not angry, but said loudly and calmly, "If you can pronounce my name accurately, then I hope you can use the formal title. This gentleman." He smiled politely, but did not flinch in his words. He gave in and expressed his views openly.
Harry chuckled lightly, raised his eyebrows slightly, showing surprise, and then continued enthusiastically, "What if I don't know your name?" This was a clear provocation.
But Lu Ke smiled instead of getting angry, "For me, this is not a problem. I can introduce myself; but for reporters, I have to start questioning your professionalism and authority. Before the interview, even preparation I didn’t do my job well. I believe I’m not such an indistinguishable face.”
After the Buffalo Bills' Wang Kai entered the injured list, Lu Ke is now the only Chinese player in the entire league. This face is obviously the best business card.
Face provocations with force. Lu Ke's calmness and wisdom made Harry stunned. He did not expect the rookie player's counterattack to be so calm and measured.
After answering, Lu Ke ignored Harry and turned to look at other reporters, "Why didn't I know? I have other nicknames now. Can someone explain it?"
A reporter next to him quickly explained the uproar on the Internet, which made Lu Ke helplessly laugh out loud, "The scene in middle school has reappeared again. Everyone has this misunderstanding, but in fact, 'Lu Ke' ' is my last name; but now I finally understand the powerful influence 'Star Wars' has had on American culture."
"Bambi, today's offensive line still made a lot of mistakes. Throughout the game, you encountered thirteen collisions. Especially the protection of the blind side was not good enough. What do you think about this?"
It wasn't Harry, but another reporter still asked the same question, which was the focus of curiosity for all reporters. For any quarterback, the offensive line is crucial; but when the offensive line is in poor condition, even the four elite quarterbacks, even running quarterbacks, will have difficulty sustaining.
"This means that we still have room to continue to improve, I think, this is a good thing. We have just experienced an excellent start to the season, and we all hope that this is the peak state, otherwise..." Otherwise, the subsequent games will only be all the way. It's a slippery slope. Even though he didn't finish speaking, the meaning couldn't be clearer. Lu Ke responded to the question in a candid and humorous way, without triggering a locker room war. Such a response was once again eye-catching.
"Excuse me, this week's game ended up being a loss. If next, the coaching staff is going to change the starting quarterback and let Alex Smith or Colin Kaepernick take the field, what do you think?"
Following the voice of the question, it was clear that it was still Harry, with an aggressive attitude and no cover up, forcing Lu Ke to the corner in one go.
"So, after you analyzed the game, I was responsible for the team's defeat, so you made such a judgment?" Lu Ke did not answer, but asked back. Harry frowned slightly, and just retorted, "No." , this is not his problem.
But Lu Ke ignored it, cut off Harry's words, and said directly, "If the coaching staff makes preparations, I can only immerse myself in training again, and then prove my strength, hoping to return to the starting position. ." A decent answer, no surprises.
Then the conversation changed and he showed his aggression, "Otherwise, what is this reporter expecting? A fight between me and the coaching staff? Or a fight between me and other quarterbacks? I know that football is always about tough confrontations. game, but I don’t know when rugby and boxing were the same sport.”
Following Lu Ke's words, all the reporters' gazes were directed towards Harry. For reporters, what they need is explosive points and gimmicks; not only will they not protect their colleagues, but they will continue to fan the flames and watch the drama themselves.
Even though Harry had been on the battlefield for a long time, he felt a slight surprise at this time, but he still did not panic and answered loudly, "You know that's not what I meant."
"That's good." Lu Ke cut into the topic in time, cutting off Harry's subsequent questions or excuses again, and then turned to look at other reporters with a smile on his face, "Do you have any other questions?"
Harry was immediately put aside, his expression a little stiff.
"Bambi, what did you and Vic say after the game?"
"What are your expectations for the next game?"
"During today's game, you made two connections with Crabtree and Gene and passed the ball very well. What do you think of Gene's status?"
…
A steady stream of questions lasted for nearly twenty minutes before the reporters let Lu Ke leave with satisfaction. All the reporters stayed where they were, sorting out the interview materials and exchanging opinions on today's game, with cheerful expressions.
Standing among the crowd, Jay kept watching Harry's movements.
Harry stared at Lu Ke for a long time, with a meaningful expression on his face. He didn't ask any more questions. After the question session ended, he turned around and left silently. Jay didn't like Harry's way of asking questions, nor did he like Harry's way of concocting news. , it's like... it's like it's for profit, for hot spots, for gimmicks, and it's just like using any means.
News shouldn't be like this.
