Chapter 657: The Pro Bowl Game
In the Pro Bowl voting, both the AFC and NFC could each choose three quarterbacks: one starter and two backups.
This season, in the NFC, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees were undoubtedly far ahead. Rodgers became the starter, and Brees became a backup. The last spot was the most suspenseful.
As expected, Lu Ke was the best candidate. From a strength perspective, he could be considered the third-best quarterback in the NFC.
But Eli Manning made it to the Super Bowl at the last minute, regaining the advantage. More importantly, in the fan voting, Eli's years of experience in the league and the vast New York fan base both exploded with an unparalleled burst of energy.
Although Chinese audiences have never seemed to lose when it comes to voting, this was American football, a sport that is incredibly unfamiliar to Asia. Even among the Asian community in North America, the appeal was quite limited. Lu Ke was brilliant, but it was only for one season, and his fan base was not yet deep enough.
In the end, Lu Ke lost to Eli by a small margin and missed out on the three quarterbacks' list for the Pro Bowl.
However, Eli later announced that he would not be participating in this year's Pro Bowl and would stay in North America to prepare for the Super Bowl. Naturally, Lu Ke was then added to the backup lineup and would be playing alongside Rodgers and Brees. Although it was just the Pro Bowl, it was still a very rare occasion for a rookie quarterback.
It was even more remarkable for Lu Ke, who was an undrafted rookie.
This small detail showed that Lu Ke's momentum this season was skyrocketing, grabbing everyone's attention.
Besides Lu Ke, the San Francisco 49ers had nine more players selected to the Pro Bowl.
Offense: Marcus Lynch, Logan Newman, Mike Iupati, Ted Ginn.
Defense: Justin Smith, Patrick Willis, Carlos Rogers.
Special Teams: David Akers, Andy Lee.
Ten players, a full ten players. The San Francisco 49ers dominated the Pro Bowl roster. The New England Patriots were a close second with nine players, followed by the Baltimore Ravens with eight, and the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers with seven each.
Although the number of Pro Bowl players doesn't mean everything—the New York Giants only had two players on the list, Eli Manning and Jason Pierre-Paul, yet they made it to the Super Bowl—there's no doubt that the Pro Bowl is a side-by-side reflection of a team's overall regular-season performance and popularity.
Looking at the entire Pro Bowl roster, it's clear that the San Francisco 49ers' special teams were the best in the NFC. The performances of Akers and Andy were unanimously praised. The offense was made up of young players, but the offensive line was not up to par. The defense was led by veterans, but the secondary was a disaster.
It can be predicted that the San Francisco 49ers will have a lot of work to do in the upcoming offseason and draft.
This season, the San Francisco 49ers won many games by coming back in the fourth quarter. For neutral fans, such heart-pounding games were exciting and a total adrenaline rush. But objectively speaking, the fact that they had to go all-in at the last minute also meant that their strength had not reached the top, or that their ability to control the game was not yet smooth enough.
Against the same opponent, a comeback might be successful this time, but it might fail next time. The New York Giants are the most typical example.
In other words, this young team still has room for improvement, and this offseason will be very busy.
Before the official start of the busy offseason, or before the Super Bowl ends, the other thirty teams in the league can relax a little. Strictly speaking, these two weeks might be the most relaxing time, even more so than the offseason. They will be taking flights in batches to Honolulu to participate in the Pro Bowl game.
Lu Ke was, of course, no exception.
For veterans who have been famous for a long time, missing the Pro Bowl doesn't affect them at all. They might use injuries as an excuse to give up the trip to Hawaii and stay in North America to rest. Otherwise, an unexpected injury would not be worth it. The Pro Bowl is a game that is primarily for entertainment, but injuries are still inevitable in a game with physical contact.
For rookies, the Pro Bowl is a stage for them to showcase themselves. Whether it's to attract potential teams in the future, increase their commercial value, or win more support from fans, they all need to be on this stage to show themselves off.
What's more, the Pro Bowl is a rare honor in itself.
On January 22nd, the San Francisco 49ers' NFC Championship game ended. On January 29th, the Pro Bowl was about to be held, and before the Pro Bowl, there were the skills challenges. The schedule was very tight, with almost no time to rest.
After the NFC Championship game, Lu Ke only rested and adjusted for two days at home before heading to the airport to catch a flight to Honolulu to prepare for the upcoming skills challenges. However, before officially leaving North America, Lu Ke had one very important thing to do.
The long and empty corridor was all white, and the bright lights gave off a faint coldness. The air was filled with a faint smell of medicine, which always made people tense up. In just a few weeks, Lu Ke had come to the San Francisco 49ers' official partner hospital again, but he still didn't like it here.
For a player, a hospital means injury, and it could even mean a setback in their career. For an ordinary person, a hospital means birth, old age, sickness, and death. It could very well mean being separated forever. Every time he was in a hospital, his mood was always a little heavy, and it was really hard to cheer up.
Today, Lu Ke came to the hospital specifically to visit Ted Ginn.
At the beginning of the second quarter of the NFC Championship game, Ginn was hit by two players who were out of position. He was hit so hard that he couldn't move and even lost consciousness for a short time. He left Candlestick Park immediately and was taken to the hospital for a detailed examination. When he left the field, Ginn's painful crying left a very deep impression on people.
After a thorough examination, the doctor made a diagnosis.
On one hand, he had a concussion, and the situation was quite serious. He would need to rest for at least eight to twelve weeks. After that, he would have to pass the league's official concussion test before he could get back on the field. On the other hand, he had muscle tears. His right arm and right thigh both had varying degrees of tears, and his waist had a slight sprain.
Fortunately, these were not serious career-ending injuries and did not require surgery. He only needed to rest and recuperate. Unfortunately, these injuries were all hidden dangers. He had to leave enough time to rest, and after returning to the field, he couldn't rush his daily practice. The recovery process was relatively long, and it was very likely that he would miss this year's team training camp.
On the night the NFC Championship ended, the team sent representatives to the hospital to visit him, and Lu Ke was one of them. But at that time, Ginn was still sleeping and resting, so they couldn't talk. They only learned about his situation and then left the hospital.
Yesterday, the other players from the team came to visit him one after another, but Lu Ke didn't. He chose to come alone today to visit him.
Standing at the door of the private room, Lu Ke noticed that the nurses and doctors inside were asking about his situation. It must have been a round. So he didn't push the door to go in and disturb them. He stayed at the door and waited for a while. Then, the doctors and nurses left the room one after another.
"Hey, Bambi!" The attending doctor in a white coat noticed Lu Ke's figure, stopped, and said with a smile, "Your performance in the two playoff games was really amazing! It's a shame that you missed out this year, but it doesn't matter. We'll start over next year. That last Hail Mary in the NFC Championship was really amazing!"
In the past forty-eight hours, social media had completely exploded.
At the beginning of the season, he made a grand entrance with a sixty-six-yard touchdown pass. At the end of the season, he ended it with a successful sixty-five-yard Hail Mary. Such a performance was really interesting. Although it left a regret, for Lu Ke, this season formed a perfect circle and also sparked a series of heated discussions.
"Hail Mary, 14-to-88," was even called the "Miracle of the Bay Area." It was comparable to the "The Catch 3" in the divisional game, and it far surpassed the "Battle of Chicken Soup" in Week 15 of the regular season. It left a strong mark on Lu Ke's rookie season, and his extremely high popularity had gradually left the internet and seeped into real life.
The attending doctor in front of him was an example. His eyes were bright as he looked at Lu Ke. "Excuse me, can I get your autograph?"
An autograph?
Lu Ke was still a little unaccustomed to it. After leaving the day-to-day training and games, the reality and certainty of real life began to become more obvious, and the so-called feeling of popularity also gradually became clearer. He showed a polite smile. "Of course, no problem. It would be my honor."
Then, Lu Ke saw the attending doctor hold up the collar of his white coat, inviting Lu Ke to sign on the inside of the collar.
This was an interesting attending doctor.
After signing, Lu Ke was about to move on when he found that the other nurses and resident doctors next to him didn't want to leave. They swarmed over. "Bambi! Me too!" "Yes, me too, me too."
Paper and pens were handed to Lu Ke one after another. He was slightly stunned and then chuckled. "It seems that the popularity of football in San Francisco is far beyond my imagination." It was a joke, and everyone laughed along. What they liked wasn't just football; it was the thriving football team led by Lu Ke.
After signing for everyone, Lu Ke finally sent the staff away. He pushed the door of the room open and saw Ginn's smiling face and teasing eyes. "Hey, man, did you come to visit me? Or did you come to hold a signing event?"
He seemed to be in good spirits.
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