"Hey, Jack, Annie, you're here! Come on, come on!"
A middle-aged man came over sweating profusely. His short gray hair slightly revealed the traces of time. His strong and slender figure did not look like he was forty years old at all. He was wearing the San Francisco 49ers home jersey. Not only does the No. 14 jersey feel no discomfort at all, but it is also lighter and more relaxed.
This man is called Li Mo Nian, a second-generation immigrant. His parents came to San Francisco early. He was born, grew up, and became an adult here. Now working in a high school as the wide receivers coach of the varsity football team, he is a true insider.
At UCLA, the offensive coach Norm Zhou was an Asian, a descendant of Korean immigrants. In fact, in the field of football, there are far more Asian practitioners than imagined; however, the number of active players on the high school and college fields immediately decreased sharply.
This time, Chinese community organizations came to watch the game at Candlestick Stadium. The initiator of the event was the Chinese group, but it was Li Mo-nian who was responsible for the organization and execution.
Although the middle school where Li worked at the end of his career had mediocre rugby skills and he was not a vital figure, he was still a professional after all. For those outside the game, they don't even know the twists and turns of buying tickets, let alone the rules of rugby. Li Mo Nian also generously took over the responsibility and became the biggest contributor to today's event.
At this time, Li Mo Nian’s shoulders and arms were covered with San Francisco 49ers scarves, which looked like a moving human-shaped clothes hanger in the distance. He greeted enthusiastically, “Here, each of you take one.” Scarves, this is today’s support prop. When the visiting team attacks, we wave our scarves and then make noise to disrupt their tactical arrangements.”
Lu Zhengze was not polite. He took two scarves and handed one to Jiang Youning. At the same time, he asked, "Do you need my help with anything now? Just ask."
Li Mo Nian showed a big smile, "Of course, can you go find Chen Zhenzhen now? She leads a small team and is responsible for on-site support for a while, but they are not familiar with the Candlestick Stadium and do not know the specific location of the stands. , so, can you please bring Chen Zhenzhen and the others into the venue to complete the arrangement?"
"No problem!" Lu Zhengze immediately made an "OK" gesture, raised his feet and prepared to enter the stadium with Jiang Youning, but Li Mo Nian's call made him stop.
"Jack. Thank you." Li Mo Nian said seriously. Lu Zhengze thought he was thanking him for his help, so he chuckled, "I'm not as good as you, I'm just helping out a little."
But Li Mo Nian shook his head, "No, I mean, thank you for supporting Lu Ke in pursuing his dream. We all know that for Chinese parents, agreeing for their children to become a professional athlete is not a formal and step-by-step process. It's so difficult to go into an office and find a stable job."
Lu Zhengze was slightly stunned.
For Asian immigrants, they always do. Although they live in another land and have left their hometown, they have always refused to integrate into society. Instead, they stubbornly follow their own traditional values and continue to survive.
Gradually, the differences in values and outlook on life between first-, second- and third-generation immigrants are getting bigger and bigger, and the younger generation of immigrant descendants are also stuck in a gap - unable to adapt to their original culture. find a sense of belonging in the immigrant society, but at the same time cannot find a foothold in the immigrant society.
Lu Ke became the first Chinese-American quarterback to start in the league. Part of it was the shackles brought by physical talent, but part of it was the limitations brought by traditional concepts.
Before Lu Ke, there was only one non-mixed-race Chinese player in the history of the league, Wang Kai; but there are many mixed-race players whose parents are partly Chinese. It can be attributed to natural talent, but also partly to culture and tradition.
As Li Mo Nian said, no matter whether the creation of history is intentional or unintentional, and no matter whether Lu Ke carries the weight of history forward, as a player who created history in the NFL, every step of Lu Ke is changing countless people. man's future.
Once upon a time, Li Mo-nian himself experienced such challenges and difficulties.
As a second-generation immigrant over 40 years old, Li Mo-nian himself experienced the path that Lu Ke took twenty years ago, but it ended in failure, let alone joining the NFL and becoming a professional football player. Now, even if he becomes a football coach, he is still burdened with pressure from his family and society.
Now, things are slowly starting to change.
Not to mention, at least now, it is not only the first time for the Chinese groups in San Francisco to watch a football game, but also the first time for them to organize as a group and participate in the mainstream culture of the United States. It's been a long time since Yao Ming landed in the NBA; and this time he went a step further and joined the ranks of the nation's number one sport.
Perhaps, one day in the future, they will unite to fight for more rights and interests for the Chinese in the United States and overseas, not only in sports, but also in politics, society, history, and economy; not only The rise of China is also the rise of all overseas Chinese.
It's difficult and far away, but who knows? The footprints of history fell unconsciously.
Seeing the dazed expressions of Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning, Li Mo Nian, with memories surging in his mind, laughed heartily, covering up the slightly sore throat and choking, "I just want to say, thank you. Thank you for opening your heart and accepting the child." The difference; as for the others, I hope I have the opportunity to thank Lu Ke back then, this is what he has earned and what he deserves."
After saying that, Li Mo Nian left without stopping.
Looking at his back, Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning exchanged glances, and then Jiang Youning showed a smile, "Now it seems that we are not the only ones standing behind Xiaoke and unswervingly expressing support and encouragement. .”
On the road of chasing dreams and making history, it feels good to have people walking together, encouraging each other, cheering each other on, and crossing the finish line hand in hand.
…
"49 people, all 49 people here." In the Candlestick Stadium, the noisy and exciting music suddenly stopped, and then the sound of the live broadcast sounded. People who were taking their seats one after another raised their heads and looked at the stadium above the stadium. With a big screen, listen carefully to the announcements on the spot.
"Welcome to Candlestick Stadium, entering the tenth week of the NFL regular season. The game is about to start in twenty-five minutes. Today, we have another home court with 100% attendance. Let us cheer for ourselves and for Team cheers!" Under the call and incitement of the radio, the entire audience began to scream and roar, and the boiling red sea began to show its power.
Later, the broadcast continued, "However, today the Candlestick Stadium welcomed a special group of fans. They have always lived in this city and are an integral part of our lives. Maybe some of them are our best friends. Maybe some people are just concentrating on their own lives and are not very familiar with us.”
"But today, they came to Candlestick Stadium, joined us, became a 49er, felt the pulse and heartbeat of this city. Now, please allow me to be here to welcome them to join us and support our The team continues to move forward and continue to win. Gentlemen and ladies, let us welcome the 49ers from Chinatown with a warm round of applause!"
Along with the sound of the broadcast, the picture on the big screen was aimed at one side of the stands. The faces gathered here were slightly unfamiliar. The continuous Chinese faces were definitely a sight that had never been seen at Candlestick Stadium, but at this time , but they were a little shy, facing the camera, at a loss.
All this was so unexpected that Lu Zhengze and Li Mo Nian had not expected it at all; what's more, compared to Western fans, Eastern fans are always more shy and reserved, and suddenly appeared on the big screen, Western fans Maybe he showed himself to his heart's content, and the Oriental fans couldn't help but smile shyly.
At this time, the five hundred Chinese fans were slightly stunned and didn't know how to react. Suddenly, among the fans, several figures stood up and shouted something loudly to everyone. Then you can see that all the fans raised their signs high and put them on their heads, one after another. Continuously connected together, forming a painting——
Red is the base and gold is the line, outlining the image of a Bambi with a crown hanging from its horns. Below it is written freely in gold fonts, "King of the Bay Area". In English and Chinese, the calligraphy is elegant, vigorous and powerful.
A mere five hundred fans were insignificant in the Candlestick Stadium, which can accommodate 70,000 people. But at this moment, the huge painting they created using support signs was displayed on the big screen through the camera lens. In an instant, the enthusiasm and cheers of all the audience were ignited.
There is only one reason: Lu Ke.
The rookie quarterback who led the team to continuous victories is now gathering enthusiasm throughout Candlestick Stadium and throughout San Francisco.
As a result, the entire audience began to cheer collectively. First they screamed "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh", and then someone changed their slogan. Gradually, all the shouts became one loud voice.
Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning exchanged glances, and they both saw surprise and astonishment in each other's eyes. Then, joy and excitement emerged, and they all joined in the shouts of the audience.
Everyone, everyone in the entire Candlestick Stadium, not just the audience, but also the staff, and the guests in the VIP boxes, everyone deeply felt the powerful power of this wave. , unable to extricate themselves and uncontrollably want to be one of them.
Listen, that's the cry from this stadium, "King of the Bay Area! King of the Bay Area! King of the Bay Area!"
