In "Joe's Bar", Anthony Tinoso stood there blankly, staring at the TV screen quietly. The New York Giants were celebrating their victory crazily. They were just gearing up to prepare for the overtime game. He had a good fight, and then it came to an abrupt end, ending the season unprepared.
He thought that they could reach the Super Bowl; he thought that Hail Mary could create a miracle; he thought that the magic of the season could still continue; he thought that this dream could last a little longer...
Looking back, the whole bar was quiet, the silence was oppressive to the point of being uncomfortable. Everyone was sitting on their chairs in a daze, with slightly numb expressions that made it difficult to find any more emotions. The unexpected sudden death hit them hard. It hit everyone's nerves so much that they couldn't recover in a short time.
A pool of stagnant water.
This reminded Anthony again of the scene at the beginning of the season. Even they themselves did not believe that the undrafted rookie could lead the team to this point, but they witnessed this journey with their own eyes, a beautiful and crazy journey. , now, hope has been rekindled, they should not be disappointed, let alone give up.
Anthony cleared his throat and tried to say something, but he was really not a man of words. Looking at the bar with no sound at all, his brain was in a mess, but he couldn't sort out his thoughts at all.
At this moment, there was a rumbling sound outside the bar, making people wonder, could it be raining again? But then, the muffled thunder rolled in, and the sound gradually became clearer, from intermittent to integrated, and the shouts swept from far to near——
"We are the 49ers! We are warriors!"
All the fans in the bar suddenly woke up and ran out of the door. Even Anthony was no exception. Unable to restrain his curiosity, he walked out of the bar, opened the door, stood by the street, and then witnessed it with his own eyes. The grand occasion before our eyes.
On this street, the surging crowd is coming out of the indoors little by little, and one after another onto the sidewalk. Large tracts of red are spreading endlessly, making the entire neighborhood and city appear bright and dazzling. of red.
People raised their hands one after another and shouted one after another, "We are the 49ers! We are fighters!" That earth-shattering shout was rolling down the city streets of San Francisco like a torrent. And it flows slowly and mightily in the same direction.
If you look down from above, you can see that the blood vessels and pulse of the city are becoming alive.
Anthony opened his mouth slightly, grabbed a pedestrian and asked loudly what was going on. Then he got an unexpected answer, "We are going to march all the way towards Candlestick Park to let the team know that we Support them! We lost this game, but we are not losers!"
Then, several young people rushed over with excitement on their faces, still shouting, "Hail Mary! Hail Mary!"
The pedestrian also nodded excitedly, "We won the Hail Mary, but lost the game! This is disappointing, but we will not lose confidence! This is our night! The 49ers' night!" After finishing speaking , he took steps again and continued to move forward in the direction of the crowd.
Incredible? Unbelievable? Crazy?
Maybe, maybe not.
But after experiencing such a magical season and such a magical game, everything seemed to fall into place. Even if they were now thirteen kilometers away from Candlestick Park, so what? As long as the pulse of the city keeps beating, anything is possible.
A moving emotion was stuck in Anthony's chest. He couldn't spit it out, but he couldn't swallow it either. Finally, it turned into a slightly flashing light in his eyes, beating and pulsing, glowing with vitality.
They didn't win the NFC championship, but they did win their future and their hope.
Anthony turned around, closed the bar door, joined the crowd, and took steps towards Candlestick Park. The shouts began to spread little by little, like ripples, setting off a storm throughout the Bay Area.
"We are the 49ers! We are warriors!"
…
In the Candlestick Stadium, the shouts and the waves of people gradually merged together, and large tracts of red filled every corner of the sight, like a vast ocean, and everyone was just a drop of water in the ocean.
Cliff Hart raised the flag in his hand high, running selflessly, laughing selflessly, and releasing selflessly. The flag of the "King of the Bay Area" was buzzing like the flag of Moses. Like a staff, it commanded the vast sea, and the momentum that covered the sky and sun erupted without reservation.
Cliff is not alone.
Behind Cliff, there were Chris Wilson, Jeff Locke, Nate Chandler, Danny Reese, Jonathan Baldwin and Lee Min-Nian, six more people and six flags. In the end A team with seven flags was formed and began to run around the inside of the court with thunderous momentum.
This is not the season that belongs to the San Francisco 49ers. They lost the NFC finals and failed to reach the Super Bowl; but this is the season that belongs to the 49ers fans. They have won their hope and their future. They have regained their trust in this team. On this land in this city, the souls belonging to 49 people have been found!
So, they ran wildly.
Standing in the stadium, all the players raised their heads blankly, looking at the overwhelming red in front of them. All the sadness and pain, all the regrets and regrets, all the bitterness and sourness, all temporarily stopped. I just accepted the baptism of this red ocean in shock.
Lu Ke's eyes were firmly fixed on the seven flags. The image of Bambi appeared on the paper, as if he was taking steps, running happily and briskly. As it ran, the fire of hope spread all over the paper. to every corner of the Bay Area. That sense of satisfaction, that sense of fullness, hit my chest gently, and it hurt slightly, but the smile at the corner of my mouth couldn't help but rise.
God, he loved moments like this so much.
For this arena, for this sport, for this group of fans, never before has his goal been so clear and precise; never before has the source of his passion been so clear and real, and that burning energy has once again made him The limbs are filled with strength and truly feel rejuvenated.
Looking back, Lu Ke saw Aldon with a confused look on his face.
The two people's eyes intertwined for a moment, and Aldon spread his hands in astonishment, expressing his helplessness and confusion.
In the last defense, Aldon's missed tackle directly led to Bradshaw's rushing touchdown, but...it is meaningless to pursue these mistakes now. If Akans scored a free kick, If Williams had not dropped the ball, if Ginn, Crabtree and others had not been injured and ended up playing, if if, if, in the final analysis, they regrettably lost the game. They tried their best, but still lost the game in the end.
That's what competitive sports are like.
They need to reflect and summarize, but they cannot be immersed in regret and unable to extricate themselves. Otherwise, one failure will become a permanent curse of failure and they will never be able to win again.
Lu Ke didn't speak, he just raised his chin, signaling Aldon to raise his head and quietly enjoy the beauty of this moment.
…
In the 2011 season, the journey of the San Francisco 49ers ended like this. The final score was "24:30". Because of the touchdown in overtime, the New York Giants did not need extra points and directly killed the game and won the victory. , advanced to the Super Bowl with head held high.
After this battle, the New York Giants became the third team in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl with a season record of less than ten wins, following the Los Angeles Rams in 1979 and the Arizona Cardinals in 2008. Interestingly, Yes, both teams lost to the same team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in 1979 and 2008.
This time, the New York Giants are about to face the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. So, can they create history of their own?
The San Francisco 49ers ended the entire season, but still created hot topics after the game.
After the game, the keyword search for "Lu Ke/Hail Mary" instantly exploded with 25,000 messages per minute, even surpassing the record of the San Francisco 49ers defeating the New Orleans Saints in the divisional round. It refreshed a new history of social networking platforms; what’s even more commendable is that the entire city of San Francisco began to celebrate.
The surging crowd spread from the city to Candlestick Park, shouting "We are the 49ers! We are warriors!" to welcome their heroes back. Even if they were not victorious, they were still treated as heroes. This is undoubtedly It's the most incredible moment in the entire NFL.
Until this moment, after witnessing the live broadcast and photos, people truly understood:
Lu Ke, this Chinese-American quarterback, conquered San Francisco and the Bay Area with his strength and charm, and gained unanimous support! After dedicating an incredible rookie season and setting a series of rookie quarterback records with a devastating performance, Lu Ke truly proved that race has never been a shackle in professional football.
The topic of race can now really come to a paragraph.
Of course, everyone knows that the sophomore season will be ten times or even a hundred times more difficult, but this is a situation that every player must face. This is about absolute strength and undrafted rookies, not just Lu Ke, every rookie in the league must face it when entering their second year. But as for race, this is no longer an issue, at least it shouldn't be an issue. Those who still harbor prejudices should seek common ground while reserving differences.
The elephant in the room, now that everyone sees its presence and realizes its power. After half a century of long preparation, Chinese players and even Asian players finally stood upright on this stage!
