Chapter 649: A Rainbow Through the Sky
Logan Newman was jogging.
This wasn't an ironic description; he was literally jogging. In a Hail Mary pass, speed wasn't the most important factor. Accurate judgment of the landing spot and precise positioning for the catch were crucial.
After crossing midfield, Logan began to slow down. His four other teammates passed him one by one, heads down, running toward the end zone without a care. Logan turned his head and noticed Lu Ke's precarious situation. One tackle, then another. As he dodged and weaved, Lu Ke's footwork was pushed to its limit, but he held on with his last bit of breath, refusing to give in.
Logan knew that Bloody Bambi was back online.
He looked away and began to adjust his footwork. He glanced toward the end zone. Kyle Williams and Marcus Lynch were already in the end zone. Six New York Giants defenders had already retreated into the end zone, waiting to get into position. The two red figures looked like they could be swallowed up at any moment in a massive white wave.
Logan's pace still hadn't picked up. He unhurriedly ran past the thirty-yard line, and then he saw Vernon Davis and Brett Swain catching up along the sideline. Their running routes were a parabola, a pincer movement from the outside to the inside. They cut in from both sides of the end zone and met at the front of the end zone.
The routes of Williams, Lynch, Vernon, and Swain—they had never practiced this together, and they had never worked it out. Yet, it seemed that after half a game of working together, they had finally found the right rhythm, and they miraculously fit together, perfectly merging as expected.
The four players formed a half-moon shape, like the pocket protection of an offensive line. Shoulder to shoulder, foot to foot, they created a dam, blocking all the defensive players behind them.
Williams and Lynch, who had arrived first, successfully held their positions. Vernon and Swain also successfully held off the cornerbacks covering them. Like a blade returning to its sheath, they met with Williams and Lynch, pushing the two cornerbacks behind them and holding their positions firmly.
It was unbelievable. Williams, who had not been a starter for half a season, did not make a mistake. Lynch, a running back, did not make a mistake either. Even Swain, who had been on the practice squad, delivered a flawless performance. Now, it was Logan's turn.
He suddenly accelerated. After his feet crossed the thirty-yard line, Logan sprinted with all his might. Twenty-five yards, twenty yards, fifteen yards, ten yards. He made a sharp turn and stopped. Logan looked up at the sky, searching for a ray of light in the hazy blue sky, a light that would illuminate all of Candlestick Park.
He found it!
"Long pass! Long pass! The San Francisco 49ers' rookie quarterback, number fourteen, is trying a Hail Mary! Unbelievable! My God, this is truly unbelievable! The offense is still on its own thirty-five-yard line, and he's challenging the end zone directly? This is a super long pass of sixty-five yards! My God! Oh, my God!"
"The entry angle is very steep. Lu Ke has pulled the football high into the air, and a rainbow arc is cutting through the sky! Like a meteor! My God, the arc of this pass is really high. It's high and floaty, and the spiral of the ball has reached its peak. The hazy clouds around it haven't completely dissipated yet, and the football has disappeared. It seems to have vanished into the clouds!"
At this moment, the entire Candlestick Park fell into a state of absolute stillness. Everyone, and I mean everyone, looked up and watched the sky intently. The spectators were, the commentators were, the coaches and players on both teams were, and even the players on the field were.
They all looked up at the sky, facing that thin sunlight. In the faint, hazy mist, because of the backlight, they could vaguely make out an arc, but it created the illusion that the football had disappeared. In a trance, everyone's eyes widened.
A rainbow through the sky, with the force of thunder, mighty and unstoppable! The entire sky was split in half by a ray of light. In an instant, golden sunlight leaked through, casting a shadow of the football's flight path, like a divine light, a miracle descending. The entire world fell into a state of frozen silence.
"It's here!"
Kirk's voice exclaimed. In a flash, he had forgotten his identity as a commentator and, as a simple fan, couldn't help but want to scream and roar.
"After the football reaches its highest point, it starts to fall! The defensive players are quickly moving their feet, looking for the landing spot. The offensive players are also making small adjustments, holding their positions and looking for the landing spot. The entire end zone is in a state of chaos. All the players are starting to crowd each other."
"It's falling! The football is falling!"
"All the players have jumped high into the air! Everyone! Who will catch this football? Who!"
Small steps, small steps. Logan was constantly backpedaling. He could only adjust his balance with small steps. His eyes were fixed on the downward curve of the football. The standard and steady spiral of the ball came into view.
Everything was so familiar, yet Logan had a misconception: the illusion that Lu Ke's long passes were more precise and stable. With just a glance, Logan could accurately judge the landing spot of the football. Or rather, it wasn't a careful judgment made by his brain, but a judgment made by his body's habits and subconscious mind. He didn't have to think at all. His feet and muscles had already made the corresponding adjustments.
He retreated, and then retreated again. The five-yard line had appeared right under his eyes. He took two big steps back, and then his pupils contracted slightly. He knew the football's descent should be accelerating.
Sure enough!
The football's downward force suddenly became fierce. The speed and curve of the descent tightened. It looked like a pass aimed at the back of the end zone, but in reality, it was aimed at the front of the end zone. Someone who wasn't familiar with Lu Ke's passes would definitely misjudge the landing spot, just like the New York Giants' defense at this moment.
In a moment of desperation, Logan became even calmer. Adrenaline burst forth, and the entire world instantly stood still. It was as if he were standing on top of Mount Everest, looking down at all the other mountains. That feeling of looking down on everything made everything around him clear and specific. He could even hear the subtle sound of the wind as it passed by.
Logan suddenly sped up. As he leaned back, he lightly pushed off with his feet. The power of his calves burst forth, and he soared high into the air. He hung in the air for a long, long time, as if he had grown wings and was soaring freely in the blue sky. He raised his hands, slightly bent them, and accurately placed them in the path of the rapidly descending football.
"Snap!" Logan could feel a familiar crisp and solid sensation, and even the spin of the ball was so accurate.
He caught it!
Then, a wall hit him hard from behind. Before his hands could complete the catch, he could feel countless hands hitting him from all directions. The stormy rain rose from zero to a hundred, charging in viciously. In a flash, his internal organs began to churn.
Logan, suspended in mid-air, couldn't control his body. He felt a thousand pounds of force pulling him down hard. His muscles seemed to be falling apart, but he gritted his teeth, holding on to the impact of the stormy wave. He clenched his fingers tightly, holding on to the football for dear life.
In the next second, the monstrous wave came crashing down, and the entire world plunged into darkness.
"Twenty-yard line! Fifteen-yard line! Ten-yard line! Five-yard line! My God, my God, my God! Logan Newman! Number eighty-eight, Logan Newman! The San Francisco 49ers' number eighty-eight! Newman! Newman! Newman made the catch! Newman accurately caught Lu Ke's pass at the front of the end zone! My God! Oh, my God! Logan Newman! Newman!"
"He caught it! He caught it! He caught it!"
"The referee has signaled! Touchdown! Oh, my God, oh, my God! Touchdown! This is a touchdown! This is a Hail Mary touchdown! Unbelievable, this is simply unbelievable!"
"The San Francisco 49ers' rookie quarterback, on the stage of the NFC Championship, at the last moment, facing a desperate situation, he bravely attempted a Hail Mary gamble, and he succeeded! This Chinese-American quarterback has succeeded! He has created history! He has created an unbelievable history that is hard to surpass!"
"This is a Hail Mary with a flight distance of sixty-five yards! This is the longest-flying Hail Mary in NFL history! Unbelievable, this is simply unbelievable! In Week 1 of the regular season, the first Chinese-American quarterback in history made a stunning debut, and Lu Ke completed a sixty-six-yard touchdown pass! He shocked the entire league! But that was a touchdown pass at the beginning of the game, not a Hail Mary! The reason why a Hail Mary is so precious and difficult is because it is a pass in the final seconds! The difficulty is unimaginable!"
"But Lu Ke succeeded! My God, Lu Ke really succeeded! A sixty-five-yard Hail Mary! A brand new NFL record! Clearly, this Chinese-American quarterback is creating his own history. He has once again proven that even as a Chinese-American player, he can still be one of the best and most elite quarterbacks in the league! His ability is beyond doubt! At this moment, we are all witnesses to history!"
"This is a touchdown! There is no doubt that this is a magnificent touchdown! A touchdown from Lu Ke to Logan Newman, a touchdown from fourteen to eighty-eight (14-To-88)! With two seconds left in the game, the San Francisco 49ers have once again come back from the brink of death. They have scored a touchdown again, and the game is about to return to a tie! My God! My God! My God!"
"What could be more exciting? What could be more thrilling? What could be more glorious? This is history! We are now standing at a historical moment! Hail Mary! Hail Mary! Lu Ke has completed a Hail Mary! The first Hail Mary by a Chinese-American quarterback in history!"
🗒️NOTE:
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
Explore up to 30 chapters in advance!