In San Francisco in January, you can clearly feel the raging and rampant winter, but at this time, there is a slight sweat on the tip of Candice Swanepoel's nose. The entire Candlestick Park is filled with raging heat waves. The sparkling, slightly undulating red sea has no end in sight. The blood-red sunset in the evening fills the sky, sea and stadium with a dazzling and bright halo.
Tonight, at 8pm sharp, West Coast time, the divisional round between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks is about to begin. There are still more than four hours before the official start of the game, but the venue is already packed with people.
Candice's expression was extremely focused, not affected by the hustle and bustle around her at all. Her eyes like the azure sea faintly reflected the dazzling light of the sun, as if she was engaged in the most important artistic creation in the world, and then The smile on his lips rose little by little, "Okay! Annie, what do you think? I think Jack looks younger like this!"
Jiang Youning stood behind Candice and nodded repeatedly with a smile on his face, "I think so too."
Lu Zhengze, who was still a little uncomfortable being the center of attention, turned his head awkwardly, "Are you sure it doesn't matter? I always feel it's not appropriate."
At this moment, Lu Zhengze had two oil paint patterns painted on his cheek. The left side was the San Francisco 49ers team logo, and the right side was a small crown. It looked exactly like the standard configuration of a fanatical Niners. .
But for Lu Zhengze, he was a little uncomfortable. At heart, he is still an Asian. Painting these things at his age always seems to be unprofessional and out of place. After arriving at the scene today, because of the fiery atmosphere, Jiang Youning also painted oil paints. With Candice’s encouragement He nodded impulsively, but... he regretted it now.
"Jack, don't worry, you look great now!" Candice showed a big smile, gave a thumbs up to Lu Zhengze, and at the same time shouted to the other nine people next to her, "Isn't that right? What do you think?"
"That's right!" Li Mo Nian was the first to shout, and then shouted in Chinese, "Lao Lu", which is the nickname among their Chinese fans, corresponding to Lu Ke's "Little Lu", affectionately for Lu Zheng Ze came up with a nickname. When they wanted to make a joke, they would deliberately call it this. Then they switched back to English mode, "I'm starting to get jealous now. Come on, come on, give me two!"
This season, the San Francisco 49ers entered the playoffs for the second consecutive year and went one step further to create an undefeated season. The enthusiasm for watching games in the Chinese community has also reached the highest point in two seasons. Many people living in The immigrant generation here who have never learned about rugby for many years have also begun to learn it, and even organized rugby rules learning seminars.
Today is the first game of the playoffs. All fans come to Candlestick Park to cheer. Even if they cannot enter Candlestick Stadium to watch the game, the big screen outside the stadium is the best place to feel the atmosphere of the game simultaneously, and it is just the Bay Area. The number of Chinese fans present in the district has exceeded 20,000.
As we all know, San Francisco is the city with the third largest number of Chinese in the United States, second only to New York and Los Angeles. In terms of population density, more than 20% of San Francisco residents are Chinese, which ranks first in the United States. If With the addition of Oakland, the number of Chinese in the Bay Area will exceed that of Los Angeles and be second only to New York.
After two years of preparation and preparation, the San Francisco 49ers now have absolute appeal in the Bay Area, especially for the Chinese-American community. They are witnessing history step by step. The pride and pride are indescribable. Even other Asian groups are jumping on the bandwagon.
It is no exaggeration to say that Lu Ke's appeal to the Chinese community in North America has even faintly surpassed Yao Ming. On the one hand, it's because of rugby's unique leading position in the United States; on the other hand, it's because Lu Ke is making history with his astonishing performance on the field - in the final analysis, competitive sports are still about winning and losing.
Finally, Li Mo was no longer alone.
All his dreams and ambitions, all his persistence and regrets have now been realized in Lu Ke, and even the entire Chinese community has begun to undergo subtle changes - others don't know, but as a middle school rugby As a coach, he can clearly feel that more and more young people from the third and fourth generation of immigrants are beginning to join the sport of rugby.
In the past, his persistence was considered as not doing his job properly, and even his family and friends could not understand it. He just walked silently on the road of his dream; now, his dream is being realized step by step, and his His work, his ideals, and his hobbies are all recognized, and every second of his life in the present is joyful and happy.
Turning his head, Li Mo Nian could see a large number of Chinese faces in front of him. Each face was filled with pride and excitement, because of Lu Ke and the San Francisco 49ers.
Li Mo Nian likes this moment, not because of a specific thing, but because of everything this moment brings.
The reason why a dream is called a dream is not because it is beautiful and brilliant, but because it represents the source of power in life, which makes life bearable. What's more, you still have to have dreams. Maybe they will come true one day?
…
"Do you think we can still meet the minimum consumption for today's game?"
"Of course! Otherwise, is it still called minimum consumption?"
"However, the team's current injury problem is really annoying. The offensive team has finally regained its touch, and now it has lost half of its strength. The defensive team's frontline is also worrying. We are not afraid of other problems, just injuries. sick!"
This past week, the wild card game was in full swing, and the San Francisco 49ers were also actively preparing for the game. After a full season of high-intensity competition, injuries are still inevitable.
Mario Manningham suffered a knee injury in the final stage of the game against the Arizona Cardinals and left the field on a stretcher. Later, after in-depth examination, it was confirmed that he had strained the medial ligament of his knee. It was not too serious and he could rest for two weeks. But if you want a fierce confrontation, you need to rest for at least three weeks or more. This year's playoffs will be completely missed.
Chad Hall sprained his ankle during training. Fortunately, the situation is still under control. He can play in this game but cannot start. The specific status still needs to be seen after the rotation; and Randy Moss His physical fitness has been problematic since entering the second half of the season. Hubble has been consciously controlling Moss's game time. The confrontation in the playoffs has accumulated more, and it is not yet sure how long his physical fitness can last.
As fans have said, in the second half of the season, the San Francisco 49ers' winning offensive team replaced almost half of their receiving lineup. Now it has to go back to three receivers in Michael Crabtree, Ted Ginn and AJ Jenkins, plus a rotational Randy Moss.
Considering that Crabtree still hasn't fully recovered, Moss can't play the whole game, and Jenkins is still too immature, then Gene can't stand alone. It's very likely that they will passively return to the two-tight end tactic again. on, and Vernon Davis' status is even more elusive than Crabtree's.
Among the offensive team, the only good news is that Anthony Davis' injury is completely gone. He can return to the offensive line to ensure that Lu Ke has a strong pocket.
At the same time, the defense is also facing injury problems.
It's not an injury that's serious enough to affect his appearance, but it's a minor injury that lingers. Both Justin Smith and Ray McDonald on the defensive front have relapsed from old injuries - the San Francisco 49ers are playing in the "34" formation this season, and there are only three injuries in total. Two defensive frontmen are now facing injuries, which means that their ability to raid the quarterback in the frontcourt and put pressure on the offensive line will be tested.
Linebacker Navarro Bowman is dealing with a shoulder injury, cornerback Chris Gulliver has been injured in the past two games, and safeties Donte Witler and Dashon Goldson are also struggling. Not at their best.
Although injuries in competitive sports are inevitable, and almost every player has injuries to one degree or another, the fatigue and overdraft of the winning season are slowly spreading.
The San Francisco 49ers' defensive team is dominated by veterans, and the impact is more obvious; the offensive team is dominated by young players. Compared with injuries, the ups and downs of status and adjustments still have a greater impact.
"But I still have confidence in us! Because there is Bambi!"
"Rugby is a team sport. We can't put all our hopes on Bambi. Bambi is indeed very good, but if the pressure is too much, he is not omnipotent! Barbie will be ruined!"
"I mean, Bambi is the spiritual leader, he can still find a solution after all! Believe me, when the receiving team was in ups and downs before, Logan was also absent due to concussion, and Bambi was stunned to use the second-line players. Continuing the winning streak, if Bambi hadn’t dug in, who among us would have known that Mario and Chad could be so good? So, it’s the same now, Bambi must have realized the problem! He won’t let it go!”
"That's right. What's more, we are facing the Seahawks now. We have a psychological advantage! We can definitely defeat our opponents easily! The minimum consumption is definitely not something we just talk about casually!"
"Anyway, in terms of strength comparison, we are the one with the upper hand, aren't we? We have won every single game in the season, and we have won it every game!"
"But... forget it, just pretend I didn't say it. I also hope that we can win! Come on, come on!"
Although the last fan didn't say it, Li Mo Nian knew: But... there are too many upsets this year.
