The brilliant, vibrant red in their line of sight converged into a seething torrent, winding its way toward a single destination. Small tributaries flowing in from all directions gradually merged, making the main stream more turbulent until it became a great river that completely encircled Candlestick Park.
Whoosh! Whoosh! The roar of the rapids relentlessly beat against their eardrums. It was as if they could feel the sharp, stinging sweep of the fierce wind on their skin. The surging heat in the air entered their veins through their pores, and their blood began to boil. Unconsciously, every cell in their bodies began to roar. This is what it means to be in the home stadium, where every scene and every image is filled with a passionate energy that spreads out and colors the whole world red. It's a vibrant, brilliant red.
This wasn't the first time Lu Zhengze had experienced the roar of Candlestick Park's home crowd, but his gasps of awe and shock were still involuntary. Amidst the torrent of seventy thousand people, an individual feels so small, able only to stare up and experience it all.
"...Zhengze? Why did you suddenly zone out? What are you looking at? Did you not hear me talking to you?" Jiang Youning's voice came closer, and Lu Zhengze finally came back to his senses.
He looked at Jiang Youning, who was wearing a large number 14 jersey with Lu Ke's name signed on the shoulder, a thick baseball jacket over it, and holding a red official San Francisco 49ers baseball cap, also number 14. Her small figure was almost swallowed up in a sea of red.
Lu Zhengze was about to say something but changed his mind. "Nothing. I was just thinking about when we used to celebrate Chinese New Year back home."
Jiang Youning looked at Lu Zhengze, confused, blinking before realizing what he meant. The overwhelming red color indeed reminded her of the festive atmosphere of Chinese New Year, which made her smile. "Do you mean that deep down, when we chose to come to San Francisco, it was because we were homesick?"
This was clearly not the case. They came to this city because the company that hired Lu Zhengze was in San Francisco, and they had work visas. It was unknown whether that company hired Lu Zhengze because of the large Chinese-American community in San Francisco.
Lu Zhengze's eyes showed a hint of a smile as he nodded in agreement, then returned to the previous topic. "I was just thinking, the games at Candlestick Park are getting more and more lively. Remember the first game of the season? The fans were full of complaints and frustration. Even when they came to the game, it felt like they were just going through the motions, like going to work on a Monday. But today..."
He didn't need to say any more. Turning to look at the scene in front of him was the best answer. It wasn't just the visual pressure of the sheer number of people. It was also the expressions on every fan's face. They were cheering, whooping, and singing, jumping around and expressing their joy and happiness. They looked forward to every game, as if this was an outlet in their boring daily lives, where they could fully enjoy this party at Candlestick Park. The change in their mentality was subtly making Candlestick Park a different place.
Watching the magnificent scene in front of her, Jiang Youning's smile involuntarily grew wider. One could vaguely see Lu Ke's features on her face, and the similar curve of their smiles always carried a rare, genuine, and sincere charm that shone through their eyes.
Lu Zhengze's voice sounded in her ear, "What were you asking just now?"
Jiang Youning came back to her senses and paused for a moment before remembering. "Oh, I was asking where the meeting point is. Which entrance was it?"
Today, Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning weren't watching the game alone but were with an organized group. This was the first time the entire Chinese-American community had collectively come to Candlestick Park to watch a game. In fact, a few weeks ago, the Chinese community had spontaneously organized to come together to watch the game at Candlestick Park to cheer for Lu Ke, but they encountered several problems.
First, football is a niche sport, and even among Chinese people who have lived in North America for a long time, only the younger generation is interested. The younger generation has very little contact with community groups, so organizing them wasn't easy.
Second, home game tickets. Starting from Week 5 of the regular season, tickets for Candlestick Park became difficult to get. They hoped to gather in a small section of the stands to cheer for Lu Ke as a Chinese-American group, but this made it even more difficult. After missing the home games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Cleveland Browns, the Chinese-American community's first collective game watch finally came to fruition this week.
Although it was only a small group of five hundred people, not five thousand or fifty thousand, it wasn't a huge gathering. But for the Chinese community, it was an unimaginable breakthrough. Before this, they had never organized a gathering to watch any sporting event.
Chinese people who live abroad live in the same communities, but their cultures, families, politics, and social aspects have never truly come together to fight for more rights, unlike the Indian, Japanese, and Korean communities. Today was the first time this has ever happened. The significance for the San Francisco Chinese community is definitely greater than that. Similarly, for Lu Ke's career, it is also significant. Interestingly, it wasn't basketball or soccer, which the Chinese community is more familiar with, but football, the most popular sport in North America. This choice truly showed a local American flair.
Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning left the parking lot, following the surging crowd toward the meeting point. They curiously looked at the people coming and going, spotting number 14 jerseys everywhere. He didn't know if he was consciously looking for the number 14 and seeing things, or if there really were that many, but Lu Zhengze felt like he saw countless number 14s. It seemed like the entire Candlestick Park was occupied by number 14 jerseys, and most of them were young people. Their youthful faces gave a genuine sense of vitality.
Just then, a huge support sign at the entrance caught their eyes. It read, "Giants VS Bambi! No Retreat!" On either side of the names, there was a giant and an innocent Bambi, respectively. The huge contrast formed a stark comparison, and the words "No Retreat" were deliberately enlarged and outlined with different colored markers.
Lu Zhengze patted Jiang Youning's shoulder and pointed with his chin, but before Jiang Youning could react, she heard cheering. "Mr. Lu, Mr. Lu!" Instinctively, Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning both turned to look. They saw a group of young people waving their arms and shouting excitedly. They didn't get close, but instead clenched their fists and screamed excitedly at Lu Zhengze. "Bambi! Hey! Bambi! Yeah!" Every action and every expression clearly showed their excitement. Although Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning had always kept a low profile, their photos had been exposed before, and it seemed someone had recognized them.
A group of people nearby heard the shouts and, not knowing what was going on, also joined in the fun. "Bambi! Yeah, Bambi!" The uneven cheers rose and fell, and you could feel the volcano-like passion. Suddenly, a boy wearing a number 14 jersey excitedly rushed over, stopping in front of Lu Zhengze. His eyes wide, his voice trembling, he shouted, "Mr. Lu, Bambi is my hero! You know what? Bambi is my hero! My hero!" On his young face, the San Francisco 49ers' team logo was painted on both sides. The red and gold paint reflected in his eyes, shimmering brightly. After shouting, the boy immediately turned and left like a tornado, coming and going quickly.
Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning exchanged a look, their eyes filled with surprise, and then they became excited. The feeling of satisfaction and pride swelled in their chests. Jiang Youning smiled at her husband and couldn't help but raise her hands high and cheer. "Yoohoo!" After she did this, she immediately became shy. Such a youthful action was not fitting for her age, but she was caught up in the atmosphere and was a little embarrassed.
Lu Zhengze, however, said with a big smile, "Maybe next time you should also get some face paint. It's a battle totem. Let's really fight alongside our son."
Jiang Youning immediately showed a look of disgust, which made Lu Zhengze burst into laughter. The two of them continued to move forward with the surging crowd and then realized that the giant support sign was from the Chinese community in Chinatown. They saw many familiar faces. Among the sea of white and black fans, this group of Chinese faces became a beautiful sight.
Some people held up support signs high, some excitedly hit their cheer sticks, some were singing along with other fans, and some were cheering and dancing by themselves... As the crowd passed by, fans stopped and voluntarily joined the Chinese-American fans, chatting and cheering enthusiastically. The group of fans surrounding them was getting bigger and bigger, becoming the biggest focal point of the game day.
At this moment, the cultural and racial barriers between them completely disappeared, and even the feeling of being strangers was fading away, all because of one game. This is the magic of sports.
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