American Football: King of the Bay Area

Standing amidst the surging crowd, witnessing the boisterous scene before him, a bitter taste filled Alex Smith's mouth.

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, six years had passed since he joined the San Francisco 49ers. Six years. He never seemed to truly notice the passage of time, but when he suddenly came to his senses, he was already here. Six long, tedious years, gone in an instant.

During those years, he had experienced being the number one draft pick, a rocky rookie season, scathing media criticism, and harsh condemnation from the team's supporters... But it seemed he had never truly had a moment to call his own. Even at the draft, the focus had been on Aaron Rodgers.

He once thought he could create an era with the San Francisco 49ers; now, he realized his time with the team was coming to an end.

More than once, Alex had wondered, 'What if I hadn't gotten injured before the preseason this year? Would things have been different?' Or, 'What if, after leaving the San Francisco 49ers during this year's offseason, I had rejected the olive branch Jim Hubble extended and joined another team through a tryout? How would things have turned out then?'

But reality was reality. There were no 'what ifs'.

And so, here he stood, having lost his starting quarterback position and the support of the city of San Francisco. Alex knew this day was just a matter of time; he just hadn't expected it to come so quickly, so fiercely, so... brutally.

"Bambi! Bambi!" The unified, deafening chant reached Alex's ears, and he couldn't suppress the anger and sense of absurdity that welled up inside him. 'The 2011 season has only been four games,' he thought. 'Just four games, and these fans are already this eager to show their support?'

'Then what about me?'

Suddenly, Alex caught a powerful, oppressive presence approaching from the corner of his eye. He looked up reflexively and saw Colin Kaepernick, his face dark and his eyes burning with fire.

Kaepernick's muscles were tensed, his fists trembling slightly from being clenched too tightly. His head was bowed, the brim of his cap pulled low to hide most of his expression, but it couldn't conceal the taut line of his jaw. The surging anger and humiliation were almost boiling over.

For Kaepernick, also a rookie, everything happening before him was an unbearable torment. Refusing to stay any longer, Kaepernick strode away, recklessly diving into the crowd and pushing his way out bit by bit until he finally vanished into the sea of people.

The complicated emotions churning in his chest—anger, frustration, bitterness, disappointment, vexation—were all expelled with a long sigh.

Alex knew this was professional sports, where strength reigned supreme. Even a player as great as Brett Favre had suffered in the final years of his career. The changing of the guard, the dawn of a new era—it was all inevitable. Besides, Lu Ke had earned all of this through his own hard work.

After letting out a heavy breath, his shoulders slumped. He gazed at Lu Ke's back, his eyes suddenly becoming vacant.

「...」

The frantic roars, boiling passion, and surging excitement seemed to make the very air hum, rolling across his skin. His spirits soared higher and higher, as if he could embrace the entire world just by opening his arms. The beauty, the happiness, the elation—it all churned magnificently inside his chest.

A smile crept onto his lips involuntarily. Lu Ke raised his hands and applauded the fans, thanking them for their support and advocacy. In that moment, Lu Ke realized more clearly than ever before that he was a part of the 49ers, a part of this city. The feeling was so clear, so moving.

Surrounded by his teammates, Lu Ke started walking toward the fans, but his feet felt as if they were stepping on cotton, unsteady and uneven. A strong sense of unreality lingered, making him feel both anxious and insecure.

"Bambi!" The cheers gradually subsided, replaced by the fans' enthusiastic calls. "Patrick Willis! Logan Newman! Ted Ginn Jr.!" One name after another rose and fell, endlessly. The echoes of screams and shouts still rang in his eardrums, but the sounds were finally becoming distinct.

Following the calls with his gaze, Lu Ke saw a few familiar faces to his right. "Hey, Jeff!" Lu Ke greeted him warmly, only to see a look of utter disbelief on Jeff's face. "You remember me?"

Lu Ke laughed cheerfully. "Of course. You were the first fan to ever ask for my autograph. It'd be pretty hard to forget, even if I wanted to." Although his playing time with the Brown Bear Team had been very limited, it was where his professional career had started, and where he'd gained his first supporters.

Jeff turned and grabbed Nate's shoulders. "Did you hear that? He remembers me! God, he remembers me!" His frenzied shouts expressed his elation and excitement to the fullest, making Nate pat his arm. "Calm down, please calm down!" Then, Nate looked at Lu Ke, his own eyes filled with anticipation.

When Lu Ke said the name "Nate," Nate lost control too, joining Jeff in a fit of frantic screaming. 'Calm down? What's that? Can you eat it?'

"Thank you, thank you." Their joy and satisfaction were infectious, and Lu Ke beamed, thanking these wonderful supporters. Then, Lu Ke noticed a tall, skinny, middle-aged man. He was scruffy, with a messy beard, looking disheveled and down on his luck, maybe even a bit frail. But his eyes were full of life. "Don't thank us."

"What?" Lu Ke didn't understand at first.

The middle-aged man shouted again, "You don't need to thank us. Your career has just begun, and we're looking forward to seeing more from you. Today's support is just the beginning. We need you to keep leading the team and fighting! It doesn't matter if you lose a game, but we need to see your persistence and effort! In the end, as long as you can bring us victories, we're willing to follow you all the way!"

More than his words, his bright eyes were even more resolute and determined, conveying so much more. "I've always believed that a truly great leader isn't measured by how much they can do or how high they can reach, but by how much better they can make the people around them, inspiring them to unleash energy they never knew they had! Bambi, I'm waiting to see it."

Amidst the surging heatwave of the crowd, a gaze like that was like a clear, cold mountain stream, trickling through and cooling his overheated mind.

'My career is only four games old. Forget a long career of ten or fifteen years; even the 2011 season is only a quarter of the way through. The future is still long, and the challenges ahead are immense. Today, I've won the cheers and shouts of the San Francisco 49ers fans, but this is just one small step in my career.'

It was just like with Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers. The fans' adoration and the team's support were just the beginning. Victory—that was the real key to winning over the fans. In this week's game, the Carolina Panthers had lost to the Chicago Bears, and after four games this season, they had only managed a single win.

The Carolina fans knew very well that rookie players needed more time, that they couldn't be too hasty. But loss after loss certainly didn't help; it was an agonizing ordeal. Newton needed to grow up—faster, and faster still.

It was the same for Lu Ke.

"You have our approval. The next step is to conquer this city! See that? That's your goal! Not us!" the scrawny middle-aged man shouted, raising his voice. Following his pointed right hand, Lu Ke looked up and saw the banner—the same one that had once appeared in the stands during the Cincinnati Bengals game.

King of the Bay Area.

His heart surged and his blood boiled. The desire for victory, the urgency for a championship, the hope for the future—it all began to churn within him. This made Lu Ke laugh heartily. He nodded, showing he agreed and understood, then looked at the middle-aged man before him with sincerity and earnestness. "May I ask your name?"

"Jonathan Baldwin! The number one supporter of the San Francisco 49ers. I'm a supporter of the team, not of you," Jonathan said frankly, his calm demeanor a stark contrast to the surrounding noise and fanaticism.

But Lu Ke didn't mind at all. He nodded with a broad smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Jonathan. I'm Lu Ke." He took the man's right hand and shook it gently a couple of times. "Thanks for coming to the airport today. I hope we can see each other again next week at Candlestick Park."

"We need a win," Jonathan said.

Lu Ke chuckled. "Who doesn't?" With that, he let go of the man's hand and continued walking with his teammates toward the team bus outside the airport.

The cheers and shouts continued. Though they were chanting Lu Ke's name, just as Jonathan had said, they were there for the entire team. So, no fans fanatically swarmed Lu Ke. Instead, they watched as the entire team boarded the bus, then began chanting, "49ers! 49ers! 49ers!"

The mighty roar of support reverberated among every player, echoing long into the San Francisco night. It was a sleepless night, not because the San Francisco 49ers had lost the game, nor because it was a Sunday night of tossing and turning. It was because the San Francisco 49ers—a team that had been dormant for eight years, listless and accustomed to defeat—had found hope again after a loss.

It was also because, for the first time, Lu Ke truly felt the power of the fans—a power comparable to the home-field support of the Philadelphia Eagles. The only difference was that the Eagles fans had stood against him, while these fans stood on his side, supporting the entire team, including him.

Now, Lu Ke was finally no longer fighting "alone." A night like this was too wonderful to close his eyes to.