Chapter 675: The Return of Style
There was a time when the Pro Bowl was considered a waste of time. The Super Bowl could trigger a viewing frenzy across the North American continent, but the Pro Bowl was almost deserted. At one point, the skills challenge was considered bland, with no hype or excitement, and even the most loyal fans couldn't get interested.
But today, the "Lu Ke vs. Cam" showdown ignited the audience's passion for the first time. The seemingly simple competition setup, because of the two players' excellent performance, burst with wonderful magic. Especially Lu Ke, whose performance of hitting the bullseye five consecutive times, ignited the passion of the entire stadium.
For the Pro Bowl and the skills challenge, this was a rare sight.
At this moment, Cam Newton was as if in an ice cellar. He stared at the figure in the center of the field with a lost and confused look. All the cheers and shouts, all the thunderous applause and madness, all the excitement and commotion in the stadium, everything that belonged to him—the lights, the attention, the praise, the support—had now been taken by that figure, that damned guy!
The dejection deep in his eyes began to burn, turning into anger. He gritted his teeth, almost crushing them, but he still couldn't vent the suppression in his heart, causing his whole body to tremble slightly. These humiliations and grievances would be firmly branded in his soul. The next time they met, he would repay it tenfold, a hundredfold!
This was his territory. It was not for that grandstanding clown to run wild!
People only saw that guy's handsome face and brilliant smile, but they had no idea of the ugliness and filth hidden under that mask.
He would not forget how, at the rookie training camp, that guy shamelessly tried to get every player to take a picture with him and then posted it on social media, on one hand to attract fans and on the other to pretend to be popular. But everyone at the rookie training camp knew that nobody liked that Chinese kid, nobody!
He would let people see that guy's true colors! He would defeat that guy on the field! He would make that guy lose face in the end!
This war has just begun!
After looking at the figure in the center of the field again, Cam turned around and took a few steps back, hiding himself among the other players who were full of praise and high-fiving each other. He was like a drop of water melting into the sea, disappearing in the blink of an eye. The camera could no longer capture his expression.
"Five points!"
Watching his final pass accurately land in the center of the bullseye, Lu Ke lightly clenched his fist and celebrated a little. He wasn't ecstatic, but the joy in his heart began to surge. Nobody liked to fail, even in an insignificant skills challenge.
Then, Lu Ke raised his right hand and politely waved to the audience.
This simple gesture once again caused a wave of excitement in Aloha Stadium. The entire stadium was in a frenzy. Lu Ke was like a king greeting his subjects, enjoying the highest treatment! It was as if this was not a Pro Bowl game, but a playoff victory. Now Lu Ke finally understood what it felt like to be in the NBA All-Star Weekend.
Turning around, Lu Ke jogged back to the players' waiting area. He could see Romo opening his arms for a warm hug to welcome Lu Ke's triumphant return.
But Lu Ke took a small detour, ignored Romo, and walked toward Ryan, who was behind him. He high-fived Ryan's raised right hand and let out a strange cheer. Next was Dalton, then Logan and Marcus, and then the other players who were preparing to participate in the wide receiver skills challenge. The resting area instantly became chaotic.
Romo stood at the front of the line, awkwardly with his arms open, standing alone and desolate like an abandoned puppy, looking pitiful.
After celebrating with everyone, Lu Ke circled back and gave Romo a big hug from behind, which startled Romo. Then he happily shouted, "Don't look like that. My future girlfriend will get jealous."
Romo turned around and gave Lu Ke a side kick that "sent him flying." He cursed and complained, "Damn. My girlfriend is sitting in the stands now, and she's not complaining. Why are you complaining? Get out of here!"
Then Marcus came trotting over. "I know Bambi is very popular, but if you want to compete, please get in line. Our own team members are still waiting for the lottery." His playful joke successfully made all the surrounding players start to join in. Amidst the chaos, profanity was heard all around.
Amidst the cheerful celebration, Coleman came back to the waiting area with his microphone and camera.
The field needed to be rearranged to prepare for the wide receiver skills challenge. Taking advantage of the break, Coleman seized the opportunity to interview the newly crowned passing skills challenge champion. "Bambi, Bambi, hey, guys, I need to borrow Bambi. Move aside, everyone move aside."
Coleman's joke blended seamlessly with the players, and he smoothly made his way to Lu Ke's side.
"Bambi, in the history of the Pro Bowl, we have held different skills challenges many times, and the quarterback precision passing is an important one. The rules may be different, or the format may be different, but what is certain is that the scoring standards are consistent. According to our preliminary investigation, twenty-five points, this should have broken the highest record for the quarterback precision passing skills challenge. What do you think about that?"
After Coleman's long-winded speech, he handed the microphone to Lu Ke.
Then Lu Ke raised his eyebrows, a look of shock and surprise on his face. "Are you sure it's the NFL and not the NCAA?"
Such a pathetic record was truly embarrassing and wouldn't even rank in the NCAA.
The other players around him started whistling and booing, criticizing Coleman. It was not directed at Lu Ke, but it was to encourage Lu Ke and collectively attack Coleman, as if they were mocking the meager and miserable "so-called record."
Coleman didn't mind at all and spread his hands. "That's not for me to answer. I'm not a quarterback."
A huge burden was thrown onto the quarterbacks, sweeping away all the league's legends and Hall of Famers, which was very intimidating. Furthermore, a hot potato was thrown into Lu Ke's hands, as if to say, "You said those things, not me. You can go explain it to those superstars yourself."
"So, why are we standing here?" Lu Ke pretended not to understand Coleman's blame-shifting and took Coleman's words literally. The subtext was: since Coleman can't answer, they should find a host who can.
Coleman's eyes widened, a look of innocent hurt on his face. He completely didn't understand why the tables had turned on him.
Then Lu Ke took the initiative to help Coleman out and said with a chuckle, "Wait, are we discussing league rules or passing accuracy? I need to confirm so I don't give the wrong answer." Without a trace, Lu Ke threw the blame back at the league.
Originally, the league was to blame for the skills challenge's inability to motivate players to participate. At least a large part of it was.
In an instant, all the warning signs were gone. A smile appeared in everyone's eyes as they exchanged glances, pretending to be mysterious, but the curve of their lips gave them away.
Coleman also let out a long sigh of relief. He had survived and couldn't wait to get back to the topic. "In the game just now, your performance was exceptionally good. You hit the bullseye five times in a row. What's the secret?"
"You have to throw the football like a basketball," Lu Ke's unique answer stunned everyone, but he acted as if he didn't notice and continued to talk nonstop. "I'm very familiar with Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors. We often exchange skills. I think there are many similarities between football and basketball. Maybe Stephen can be a great quarterback."
What on earth was he talking about, serious nonsense?
Lu Ke was demonstrating it perfectly.
Gradually, Coleman reacted and looked at Lu Ke with a wry smile. Then he also began to talk nonsense seriously. "So, are you willing to try this technique in an official game?"
"Maybe. When I need to fill in as the kicker, I can try it. Otherwise, on a red zone pass, if I lose focus, I might throw the football directly into the goalpost, which wouldn't be so nice." Lu Ke showed a serious expression, as if he were discussing a scholarly issue. "Excuse me, are there any relevant rules in the league? If a quarterback's pass in the red zone goes directly over the goalpost, is it considered a field goal?"
The other players standing next to him were all bewildered. Romo even started to think seriously, "Does the league have any relevant regulations?"
Only the San Francisco 49ers players who were familiar with Lu Ke understood immediately that this was a trap that everyone was falling into.
Sizing up the academic discussion-like atmosphere around them, Marcus and Logan couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into laughter.
Coleman couldn't keep a straight face either and immediately broke down into laughter.
Lu Ke was the only exception. He still had the face of a deadpan comedian, standing motionless, as if he didn't understand why everyone was so happy. Even Ryan couldn't help but laugh, but Lu Ke remained calm.
Now, Lu Ke could finally confirm that the side quest had been successfully completed. The negative effect of "Grumpy Paparazzi" was finally gone. The frustration that had been accumulating in his chest was finally released. This feeling of relief was wonderful. He was still more comfortable with this version of himself.
From this perspective, he had to thank Cam in person. Without the special quest that Cam triggered, he would have had to continue to bottle up his emotions this offseason. If it continued, he wasn't sure if he would have become depressed.
Hmm, where's Cam?
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