Chapter 694: A Perfect Ending
Lei Qingkong's teasing broke the barrier between fans and a star, instantly closing the distance between them.
Lu Ke didn't mind. He spread his hands and said earnestly, "I'm so sincere! Please don't misunderstand me, okay?" But the laughter in his voice still made people unable to hold back a smile.
"By the way, I do have a question about promotion," Lu Ke continued. "Are there any football leagues in the country now? I mean, an entire season with a relatively complete schedule. I asked the NFL China staff this morning, and they said they weren't sure, and the league doesn't have any related plans or arrangements yet."
"..." Lei Qingkong was silent for a moment but shook his head regretfully. "No." Then he added, "In the current environment, it's really too difficult to start a league. Not to mention volleyball and table tennis, even soccer and basketball leagues have encountered many difficulties."
With just a simple sentence, Lu Ke could clearly feel Lei Qingkong's regret and helplessness.
But Lu Ke didn't feel any empathy for this situation. Since he immigrated abroad at the age of eight, his understanding of the current situation in China was close to zero, not to mention the complexities of professional sports leagues.
Lei Qingkong also caught the confusion in Lu Ke's eyes. He thought for a moment and then understood. "I understand what you mean. Thank you for your opinion."
Lu Ke shrugged his shoulders. "Even the NFL league officials don't understand it, so it's even more of a mystery to me. I'm more suited to playing on the field."
That self-deprecating joke made Lei Qingkong laugh.
"Bambi, the event is about to start. You need to get ready," Vincent shouted from a distance, interrupting Lu Ke and Lei Qingkong's conversation.
Lu Ke had just finished his training and was covered in sweat. This was not the right way to open a fan meet-and-greet.
Lu Ke gestured to Lei Qingkong. Without him saying anything, Lei Qingkong said, "Go get ready. There are more fans waiting for you to appear."
Lu Ke snapped his fingers, indicating he understood. After waving goodbye, he turned and jogged away.
Standing there, Lei Qingkong thought about it again and then started walking toward his friends. It was clear that their minds were already overheated, and they were all shouting at the top of their lungs.
"It's different. It's still different."
"Nonsense. Why else would they be called professionals?"
"I think Bambi probably didn't even use fifty percent of his power today."
"I'm not talking about the practice game. I'm talking about the quality of Bambi's practice. It's not just about being dedicated. His state after he puts himself into training is completely different. There's a reason why Bambi can stand firm in the league."
"The reason why professionalization is called professionalization is not just because of the commercial aspect. The entire training system is also like that."
"I was training with Bambi just now, running around the cones, and I couldn't keep up at all. When I get nervous, I start tripping over myself. Even in the 40-yard dash, which everyone says Bambi isn't good at, we couldn't catch up to him. I used to think that we were all ordinary people, so the gap wouldn't be that big no matter what..."
"Try running with Usain Bolt, and you'll definitely be speechless and feel powerless."
Every face was full of energy and cheerfulness. They couldn't wait to share what they had learned and felt. It was just one training session, but it had already made a huge difference. Lei Qingkong couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if they could truly establish their own league and invite NFL professional teams to come and play an exhibition game.
In 2005, Lei Qingkong had established the Guiyang Night Wolves football club in his hometown. Unfortunately, when he moved to Shanghai for work in 2006, he had to regretfully suspend the club's work. In the blink of an eye, six years had passed, but during this time, gathering with the American football enthusiasts in Shanghai gradually increased his love for football.
The passion that he once thought would fade with time was still burning fiercely.
Chen Muyan looked at the continuous stream of people pouring into the entrance of the Hongkou Football Stadium with a little surprise. After experiencing the grand event at Pudong International Airport, she was already mentally prepared.
It was clear that there were far more football fans in China than she had imagined. Just as the NFL officials had predicted, because of Lu Ke's arrival, they had all come to Shanghai to join this grand event.
But an airport is an airport, and a football stadium is a football stadium. The airport had a maximum of five hundred people, while the Hongkou Football Stadium was a modern venue that could hold up to thirty-five thousand people. The two occasions were not on the same level at all.
NFL China had considered choosing a soccer field at a primary school as the venue for today's event, but after thinking it over, they felt it wasn't suitable. They finally chose the Hongkou Football Stadium because they planned to imitate the Pro Bowl skills competition inside the venue and set up some related activities to attract more audience members to truly participate and experience the fun of football.
Considering the size of the Hongkou Football Stadium, the event planner also proposed a further idea to let the audience enter the field and stand around the track to feel the enthusiasm of the scene up close as much as possible, and at the same time, to minimize the desolation and emptiness of the empty stands.
But now Chen Muyan realized: maybe they should change their plan.
It was an endless stream!
A truly endless stream!
It wasn't just football fans but also many curious people who had arrived at the scene.
He was the first Chinese player to become a starting quarterback in the NFL, the first Chinese player to achieve multiple historical records in the same season, such as a touchdown, a playoff win, and a Hail Mary. He was also the first undrafted rookie to become the Rookie of the Year and even one of the players with the best rookie season performance in NFL history.
All of this, like a mysterious halo, hung over Lu Ke's head. Not only on Weibo, WeChat, and online forums, but even the sports news on major mainstream TV stations also reported on him, spreading the news far and wide. Even if they were just there to join in on the fun, countless spectators still flocked to the venue.
Such a grand occasion had probably not been seen since Yao Ming and Liu Xiang.
This was a window, a window that opened up the mysterious world of football, showing people for the first time how a Chinese player could create a miracle on this stage. However, as for how effective this window would be and how much of an aftereffect it would have, that remained to be seen.
One thing was for sure: Lu Ke's performance in his second year would largely determine the final result.
Chen Muyan's guess came true. Nearly ten thousand fans and spectators poured into the Hongkou Football Stadium in one go.
Compared to the stadium's capacity, the venue was less than a third full, and it didn't seem very lively. But compared to football events in China, this was an unprecedented and huge success.
The natural sense of closeness that the prefix "Chinese" brought about sparked people's curiosity. Moreover, he wasn't just a random substitute player but the starting quarterback who led his team to the conference finals. This was an unimaginable and huge success. What's more, when Lu Ke appeared on the scene and started communicating in fluent Chinese, the sense of empathy and excitement became even more passionate.
The afternoon and evening events were both a huge success.
"Bambi! Bambi! Bambi!"
Even if they didn't understand what the name meant, the domino effect made everyone involuntarily join in and become a part of it, cheering and shouting with all their might. The vast echo lingered in the air above the Hongkou Football Stadium for a long, long time.
The next morning, Lu Ke had another series of interviews and events. At noon, he completed his related offseason training. In the afternoon, he participated in a street event, playing a game of throwing a football at a target with passersby to see who had the feel of a quarterback.
After all the events were over, without any delay, Lu Ke rushed to Pudong International Airport, hurriedly ending his two-day, one-night promotional trip.
But in fact, the related reports continued to be published on major web portals for nearly a month. Countless people began to popularize the brilliant achievements Lu Ke had made in the past season. In a way, his influence was even more significant than Yao Ming's in the NBA. Of course, these two things are not comparable; it's just an analogy.
As a starting point, the sport of football, represented by the name "Lu Ke," entered the sight of the general public.
This was an extremely solid first step.
After returning to Los Angeles, Lu Ke still deeply missed the two short days he spent in Shanghai. The cute faces of the fans were the future of football. He sincerely hoped that in the future, he would see more Asian faces on the NFL field, joining this passionate sport together.
Just thinking about it made Lu Ke even more excited, so he decided to train more tomorrow.
But that was for tomorrow. After leaving Los Angeles International Airport, Lu Ke went straight back to his temporary apartment, but he didn't rush out of the car. Instead, he made a call to Lu Zhengze.
This time, Lu Ke's suitcase didn't have any extra things in it. It was just filled with all kinds of souvenirs that he had specifically bought for Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning. They could use them to give to their neighbors or keep them at home as a souvenir.
Over the phone, Lu Ke honestly answered every question and talked about everything he saw and heard in Shanghai. Then, he obediently listened to Jiang Youning recall the things from her hometown for almost an hour. Only then did Lu Ke say that he would mail the souvenirs back later and hung up the phone.
He opened the car door and dragged his suitcase toward the house. From a distance, he saw a small figure curled up in the doorway.
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