Chapter 146 144: Overnight Fame
"Other than the political correctness being pushed by the league, I can't see any other possibility."
Edward looked surprised by Charles's interpretation. "You mean this rookie quarterback is benefiting because he's of Chinese descent?"
That was certainly... a novel interpretation.
"Exactly," Charles said firmly. "Setting aside his heritage, one flashy performance is just an anomaly. It doesn't prove anything. But now, everyone sees that he's of Chinese descent—the first starting player of Chinese descent in the league's history. So after just one decent showing, they're all hyping him to the moon, terrified the Asian market won't get the message: 'Hey, Asians can play football too!' It's purely a business promotion strategy."
It was twisted logic, but Charles actually managed to make it sound somewhat reasonable.
But Spencer, sitting next to him, wasn't buying it. "I disagree! Isn't all the skepticism he's facing right now precisely *because* he's of Chinese descent? And, just as you said, let's set aside his heritage. How do you explain Number 14's quarterback rating and PFF score? Numbers don't lie!"
Faced with Spencer's aggressive questioning, Charles flew into a rage out of humiliation. Those two glaring numbers were an utter disgrace, like two sharp slaps to his face. The momentum he had just built was instantly crushed, and he shot Spencer a vicious glare, looking like he wanted to roll up his sleeves and start a fight right then and there.
"Believe me, those numbers don't prove a thing." Charles deftly sidestepped the main point, parrying Spencer's sharp argument. "The proof is in the pudding. Let's see what happens next game! Next week, the San Francisco 49ers will face the Dallas Cowboys. That game will be the true test. We'll see what this quarterback is really made of!"
Edward and Spencer exchanged an interested glance. Even if Charles was just being contrary, his crude words held a kernel of truth: after a stunning debut, Number 14 did indeed need to prove himself further.
"Then we'll just have to wait and see," Spencer said, before stoking the flames a little more. "But what if—and I'm just saying, *if*—this quarterback has another brilliant, stunning performance?"
"Ha! Absolutely impossible!" Charles shot back without a moment's hesitation. His smile returned, and the contempt and ridicule in his eyes were once again plain to see. "You need to look past those brilliant stats from the first game and see his weaknesses. His frame is so frail, you don't even need to sack him. A few consecutive hits will have him crying his eyes out. And don't even get me started on his footwork—it's as clumsy as an ox!"
The more he talked, the more animated he became, gesticulating wildly in his excitement. "Didn't you notice? His performance in the second quarter was absolutely abysmal. If the Seahawks had managed to keep up the pressure, it was only a matter of time before he completely collapsed. The outcome of the game would have been entirely different!"
With his taunts firing on all cylinders, almost on par with Lu Ke's performance in the second half, he said, "How about this? Let's make a bet. If this rookie quarterback continues his excellent performance in Week 2 and wins the game, I'll swallow my microphone! What do you say? You dare to take that bet?"
Faced with Charles's blustering, Spencer remained silent. Edward quickly stepped in to change the subject, avoiding an awkward and tense moment.
Spencer wasn't some fanatical supporter of Lu Ke; he was just arguing the facts, and the show needed differing opinions. But seeing the crazed look in Charles's eyes, Spencer simply raised his hands in surrender and said no more.
After this episode of "Inside the League" aired on ESPN, it instantly became a hot topic. Within just twelve hours, the video on ESPN's official YouTube channel had racked up eight million views, and the comments section was completely flooded. Charles's challenge made the front page of the sports section in major newspapers, with over eighty media outlets focusing on the story, sparking widespread debate.
As the first week of the regular season came to a close, people suddenly realized that something was different about this year's football season. The main topic of discussion wasn't Peyton Manning missing a game due to injury for the first time in his career, nor was it how Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers played this week. It wasn't even Charles's challenge. It was—
Who exactly was the target of Charles's challenge?
Or more accurately: "Lu Ke, who the hell is this guy?"
It all felt like déjà vu. After the game between UCLA and the University of Southern California, the very same question had been asked on campus. This time, the same question was being asked again, but the scope of the discussion had expanded to the entire North American continent. It wasn't just football fans anymore; even casual viewers were joining in.
The first player of Chinese descent in NFL history had made his debut and crushed it, making history? He'd broken a whole series of rookie quarterback records in a single game: most touchdowns in a debut, highest completion percentage in a debut, highest quarterback rating in a debut, highest PFF score in a debut... Was he completely unstoppable?
My God, there was no bigger news.
Chinese descent? *Really* of Chinese descent? Had they read the news wrong? Even after the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, ESPN, Fox Television, and the official NFL website all confirmed it, people couldn't help but ask again: Are you absolutely sure there's no mistake?
The question now was: who exactly was this Chinese-American quarterback who had seemingly appeared out of thin air?
Overnight, the name "Lu Ke" seemed to spread like wildfire across North America. According to official statistics from Google, searches for the keyword "LUKE" surpassed thirty million within twenty-four hours, far outstripping all other keywords to become the hottest search term.
The keyword being searched was "LUKE," the English name, not the player's actual name, "Lu Ke."
Misled by the search term, almost no one could find any personal information about Lu Ke. They couldn't even find his Facebook page. On fan forums like Facebook and Yahoo, countless fans were complaining, "Who the hell is this guy? The whole world is full of Lukes. Is he Luke Evans? Or Luke Skywalker?"
And here's where it got interesting. Luke Skywalker is the name of the protagonist from the classic Star Wars trilogy, a cultural icon with its own special significance. Because of Lu Ke, everyone's searches were leading them to Luke Skywalker, and many people were left wondering, 'Is a new Star Wars movie coming out? Is this some kind of promotional campaign?'
This wasn't a joke; it was a fact. On the Yahoo forums alone, there were over two thousand posts asking things like, "What does Luke Skywalker have to do with football?" It was a massive mix-up.
The bustling and chaotic online discussions were just the tip of the iceberg. For the major media outlets and countless reporters, their sources were far more reliable.
And so, the information that the San Francisco Chronicle had originally uncovered was now being dug up by every other reporter. They combed through Lu Ke's entire career, turning it over and over like a farmer plowing a field. They didn't stop there, either. They dug even deeper, unearthing details about him joining his elementary school basketball team before he had even immigrated.
But instead of solving the mystery, their findings only raised more questions.
Looking at his career trajectory, Lu Ke's skill level showed a steady upward curve. The improvement in his physical attributes and technical skill was especially noticeable in his senior year of college. Was this because people of Asian descent have a different developmental timeline? Scientific studies showed that teenagers in Europe and America tended to develop and mature earlier—and, of course, also age faster. Was that the reason?
Looking at his development over the past year, back during the Rookie Training Camp, Lu Ke's performance was still somewhat inconsistent. In a single quarter or during a two-minute drill, he could be like Popeye after eating spinach, suddenly unleashing a game-winning play. But his overall average performance was far from satisfactory, which was one of the reasons he went undrafted.
But after more than half a year of honing his skills, Lu Ke had clearly grown. During his first regular-season game, his performance in the latter half of the first quarter and all of the second was highly unstable—not just rookie jitters, but the instability of a player completely overwhelmed by a powerful defense. And yet, he still managed to finish the entire game and secure the victory!
So, what did it all mean?
Had Lu Ke grown into a competent quarterback? Like Tom Brady, who was widely criticized by scouts in college and during his Rookie Training Camp, only to gradually develop after entering the league. Did this mean Lu Ke was on the path to becoming an excellent starting quarterback?
Or were his physical limitations and technical shortcomings still a fatal flaw? Was his first game just a flash in the pan, a meteor that would streak across the sky only to quickly burn out? Like Ryan Leaf, who was brilliant in college but whose star quickly dimmed and fizzled out after he entered the league?
Charles chose the latter. And after careful consideration, most football experts did too.
"No one can deny that Number 14 was stunning in his debut. No one."
Steven Golic, an expert commentator for the New York Times sports column, stated his opinion bluntly, acknowledging Lu Ke's excellent debut.
"But the question is, with such a slight frame, how many offensive drives can he withstand in the brutal physicality of the league? With such poor footwork, how many passes can he complete from a clean pocket? More importantly, once the mystery is gone, after he's been studied hundreds, even thousands of times by the rest of the league, how many weapons will he have left in his arsenal?
On that, I have my doubts!"