American Football: King of the Bay Area

"...No, you're wrong! A transitional starter and an official starter are completely different. It's like a temp versus a full-time employee—the pressure and the trials are not the same. For Lu Ke, it's like he's shouldering the weight of the entire team now. Before, if he lost a game, there was no pressure. He could just pass the mess off to Smith or Kaepernick, and that was that. But now, he has to accept that responsibility. It's different."

"I know it's different, but my point is that this kind of pressure doesn't affect Lu Ke. It's just like after the fourth week of the preseason, when the 49ers had no choice but to make Lu Ke the starting quarterback. He'd been with the team for less than four weeks at that point, yet he was thrust into the role and still delivered an amazing performance. Lu Ke is a clutch player..."

"Even if he is clutch, we still have to recognize the objective facts. Lu Ke's play is getting more and more erratic, while on the other hand, Vic is starting to find his groove..."

"Are you telling me now that Vic's performance is getting better? God, that's absolutely ridiculous. Did you even look at Vic's stats from the last game?"

"Those stats don't reflect the flow of the game at all! Did you watch the game? The Philadelphia Eagles are the strongest opponent the San Francisco 49ers have faced since the start of the season, and also the toughest nut to crack. This game is absolutely not going to be as simple as you all think!"

...

The entire studio was incredibly rowdy, reaching the level of sheer noise.

ESPN was recording the latest episode of "Inside the Alliance." Ten expert commentators were holding a round-table discussion, each voicing their own opinions and arguing their points forcefully. The heat of the debate was steadily rising, gradually spiraling out of control. The gaps and overlaps between words were so frequent that it became impossible to tell who was speaking.

One person couldn't finish a sentence before another cut in. Before an opinion could be fully expressed, someone else would chime in to either agree or object, with constant interjections from the side. Occasionally, two commentators would even start speaking at the same time, their voices overlapping into an indistinguishable mess.

As the host, Edward Bowen had already lost control of the situation. But he wasn't flustered or angry. On the contrary, he watched the scene unfold with great interest, unable to suppress a chuckle.

This episode was truly chaotic, like a fish market. It was debatable whether it could even be aired, but the recording process was certainly full of entertainment. The San Francisco 49ers and their rookie quarterback had injected a fresh vitality into the 2011 season, and everyone could deeply feel their powerful impact.

For the media, this was a frenzy. The ten commentators on "Inside the Alliance" were a case in point, creating a complete carnival atmosphere.

"Stupid! Utterly stupid!" Charles Davis's voice was drowned out by the cacophony, completely unrecognizable. So, Charles simply shot to his feet. His action was incredibly conspicuous among all the seated commentators, making him stand out like a crane among chickens.

In that instant, Charles became a lighthouse, successfully drawing everyone's attention. He had achieved his goal.

"You're overestimating the 49ers, and you're overestimating Lu Ke. The three-game winning streak has blinded you, clouding all your judgment. Don't forget, we're talking about a team that started last year with a five-game losing streak and lost all four games in this year's preseason. This team has plenty of problems on both the offense and the Defense Team. Although the Defense Team is decent, it's still not enough to win games on its own. Just because those weaknesses weren't exposed in the last three weeks doesn't mean they can stay hidden.

The bottom line is, the Eagles have the advantage across the board. Their offense is more dominant, their defense has more potential, and even their special teams has the ability to score. In this game, whether you look at absolute talent or sheer momentum, the Eagles have the upper hand.

What's more, this is Philadelphia, the Eagles' home turf. They were just humiliated at home by their division rivals, the Giant Team. The players won't want to be embarrassed in front of their home fans again."

Charles stated his opinion with a firm tone. He had once again cast his vote of confidence for the Philadelphia Eagles—or to put it another way, for the fourth week in a row, he had picked the San Francisco 49ers' opponent to win.

Was it bias? Stubbornness? Or professionalism? Whatever the specific reason, Charles had certainly presented a coherent argument, and a persuasive one at that, winning the support and approval of many fans. Especially the fans of the San Francisco 49ers' opponents.

Another week of the regular season, another episode of "Inside the Alliance," and another round of game predictions. During today's recording, the situation had finally shifted. Five commentators chose the Philadelphia Eagles, expecting them to win and end their two-game losing streak. The other five chose the San Francisco 49ers, believing Lu Ke would lead the team to a fourth consecutive victory.

Since the start of the 2011 season, this was the first time the ten commentators on "Inside the Alliance" were evenly split when predicting a San Francisco 49ers game.

Just as Charles had said, no one could ignore the momentum of a three-game winning streak. Even if they personally still had doubts about the rookie Lu Ke, they had to draw a relatively objective conclusion based on the stats and the team's momentum.

However, on the whole, even among the five supporters, the attitudes of two were somewhat ambiguous, not expressing ironclad certainty.

Based on their current record, the Philadelphia Eagles might not seem like a major threat. But in terms of on-paper talent and their record in recent years, the Eagles held an absolute advantage. Without a doubt, this was the most powerful opponent the San Francisco 49ers had faced since the season began. The on-field performance would determine the outcome of the game.

The week four regular season game, San Francisco 49ers versus the Philadelphia Eagles, was set to kick off at 1:00 PM on Sunday, East Coast time.

A day early, on Saturday morning, the entire 49ers team arrived in Philadelphia. After settling into their hotel, they headed to the stadium to begin their acclimatization practice.

The home of the Philadelphia Eagles, Lincoln Financial Field, was a stadium with a unique style. Its exterior looked a bit like a Transformer, with navy blue walls that matched the Eagles' home jerseys. It could hold nearly seventy thousand people, a capacity quite similar to Candlestick Park.

It was also the home field for the NCAA's Temple University football team and Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union Football Club. But clearly, the Philadelphia Eagles were the true masters of this stadium.

In fact, as one of the oldest and most historically significant cities in the United States, Philadelphia had a long tradition and a glorious past. It was also the first city in the United States to be inscribed on the World Heritage List. The Declaration of Independence was signed here, and the Constitution was drafted here as well.

Therefore, the city was full of countless stories, and its sports scene was no exception. In the four major professional leagues—baseball, basketball, football, and ice hockey—Philadelphia had a team in each, and all of them had experienced their own moments of glory. For example, there was the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, and the MLB's Philadelphia Phillies—who had just won the World Series in 2008.

This was a city with the spirit of sports flowing through its veins. And among the four major leagues, thanks to the massive market for football, the Philadelphia Eagles were, without a doubt, the most popular team in the entire city.

Every game weekend, Lincoln Financial Field would be packed to the gills, and the entire city would be roaring and cheering for football.

After last week's away game in Cincinnati, the feeling of playing on the road was still unfamiliar and nerve-wracking. But at least he was no longer completely in the dark. Lu Ke was beginning to understand what it felt like to play an away game, and he was also starting to grasp what a quarterback needed to adapt to during field acclimatization, making adjustments according to his own habits.

The process was incredibly difficult, but he was no longer just running around like a headless chicken.

After the acclimatization practice, Lu Ke was laughing and chatting with his teammates as they left the field and headed toward the locker room. "Hey, Bambi!" A voice echoed across the stadium. Following the sound, Lu Ke paused and saw the figure of Lech Steineberg in the stands to the right of the players' tunnel.

Logan and the others didn't stop. They just patted Lu Ke on the shoulder and kept walking. Lu Ke, however, stood below the stands and looked up. "You came all the way to Philadelphia just for... tomorrow's game?"

"Yes," Lech replied affirmatively.

Lu Ke chuckled. "I thought last week was just a special case."

Lech also broke into a smile. "No, for the foreseeable future, this is my job. I'll be accompanying you to every game, handling all business up close to ensure I can take over all aspects of your work as quickly as possible."

Lu Ke's mouth fell slightly open, a mix of surprise and delight. He gave a slight nod to show he understood. "Well then, welcome aboard."

"There's a job for me right now, actually. There's a large group of reporters gathered in the players' tunnel. Can you handle them on your own? If you feel it's a distraction, you can head straight back to the locker room. Just leave the reporters to me," Lech said in a relaxed manner. "The game is what you need to focus on. Don't worry about anything else."

Following Lech's words, Lu Ke glanced toward the players' tunnel. In the interplay of light and shadow, he could see a surging crowd of reporters. He couldn't make out any specific figures, only a sea of people. It seemed they had sensed his gaze, as calls of "Bambi, Bambi..." began to drift from the distance, the faint, intermittent sounds echoing down the tunnel.

Lu Ke made an "OK" sign. "Don't worry, I can handle it. If I can't, I'll call for help."

Lech caught the playful tone in Lu Ke's words. He raised his right hand in a mock salute, and they exchanged a look. Then, he watched as Lu Ke started walking again, heading straight for the pack of reporters. Lech leaned on the railing with both hands, observing the situation in the players' tunnel like a spectator, a look of keen interest on his face.

"Bambi, what's your outlook for this week's game? The consensus around the Alliance is still that you won't win. Do you have any response to that?"