Chapter 816: A Battle of Wits
The reporter asked, "So, you don't like him?"
Lu Ke replied, "That's your opinion, not mine."
The switch between the question and answer was incredibly fast, with almost no time to think. The reporter had subtly hidden a trap in the question, but Lu Ke remained highly alert. He not only avoided the trap but also retaliated with a quick response.
"Remember, don't write that down wrong. That's the reporter's opinion, not mine," Lu Ke said with a smile, feeling great as he looked at the helpless reporters in front of him.
"So, you mean you like him?" the reporter pressed again.
Lu Ke simply raised an eyebrow, still not falling for it. "What, did sports news suddenly turn into entertainment news? Or did action movies suddenly turn into romance movies?"
The reporters were at a loss. They went around in circles, but Lu Ke still didn't take the bait.
One trick didn't work, so they tried another. "The Seattle Seahawks' cornerback, Richard Sherman, said in a previous interview that he always believes he's the best cornerback in the league. He said that if you dare to throw the ball in his direction, he will break up every pass, or even get an interception. He thinks your passing skills are nothing special and that you don't have the guts to throw in his direction."
"Who?"
Lu Ke's simple and direct response was full of confusion and doubt. It seemed to lack any sharpness, but it gave the most powerful and strongest counterattack possible.
Instantly, all the reporters were brought back to the season opener a year ago. It was the same matchup, the San Francisco 49ers against the Seattle Seahawks, and Richard Sherman had also provoked Lu Ke. Lu Ke's response was a verbatim copy of his previous one. The sarcasm and mockery immediately increased tenfold, creating a hilarious and absurd effect.
Many reporters started to get excited, anticipating a fiery battle of wits.
But one reporter held back his excitement and pressed on. "Richard Sherman, number 25 of the Seattle Seahawks. He's a rookie from last year, from the same rookie camp as you."
But Lu Ke's expression remained unchanged, so the reporter had to continue his explanation. "Before the season opener last year, Sherman also made similar comments, but in the end, you successfully completed two touchdowns on his side."
Lu Ke simply shrugged. "Well, there's my answer." He gave a powerful counterattack without even needing a single soldier. And that wasn't all. "His presence in media interviews is so strong that I barely feel his presence on the field. If my reaction just now was offensive, I apologize."
The apology pushed the sarcasm to the extreme. It not only mocked Sherman's arrogant talk but also ridiculed his poor performance. It attacked Sherman on all fronts, leaving him at a loss—
More importantly, no matter how Sherman responded, he couldn't come back from this. Because Lu Ke didn't need to counterattack any further. Sherman's reaction would only prove Lu Ke's words: he was all talk and no action. But for the outspoken Sherman, being told to shut up and not respond was worse than death.
He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
With a single gesture, Lu Ke put Sherman in a difficult position. That was true skill.
In reality, Sherman's on-field performance wasn't that bad.
After being completely outplayed by Lu Ke in his first game as a rookie, Sherman gradually adapted to the pace of professional games. He played in a total of ten games that season, contributing four interceptions, seventeen pass deflections, and fifty-five tackles. All of his stats were the best among rookie cornerbacks.
This season was even better. In the past six games, Sherman had firmly secured his position as the starting cornerback for the Seattle Seahawks. Together with Earl Thomas, a first-round safety from 2010, they formed a strong secondary defense and became an indispensable part of the team's path to victory.
In last week's game against the New England Patriots, Sherman successfully intercepted a pass from Tom Brady. He immediately grabbed the football and started to mock his opponent, saying, "U-Mad, Bro?" He kept talking trash, almost causing a fight on the field.
And that wasn't all.
After the game, he uploaded a screenshot of the game on Twitter, showing him gloating at Brady after the interception, and captioned it with the same line, "U-Mad, Bro?" Finally, he brazenly tagged the official Twitter accounts of the New England Patriots and Brady. The provocation was as obvious as it could be.
On Twitter, fans of the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks broke out into a fierce war of words, making it one of the hottest topics in the past two days.
And that still wasn't all.
Sherman also sent out a series of sarcastic tweets. For example, "The number 14 is just a flashy Barbie doll. Yes, he's Barbie, not Ken. The only reason he can get a touchdown is because I'm not on the field." And another one, "I think that after this week's game, that little baby will cry. Should I give him a pacifier?"
In one of the most direct and sharpest tweets, Sherman said, "I'm @LuKe. I bet you don't dare to throw the ball to my side! You're a coward who needs to go find his mommy, otherwise..." The accompanying picture was a dejected photo of Brady after he was intercepted. The provocative intent was not hidden at all; it was out in the open for the world to see.
As a result, fans of the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks had been feuding for the past two days.
In response to Sherman's provocation, Lu Ke gave a direct counterattack. But the reporters were still not satisfied.
"Lu Ke, will you throw the ball in Sherman's direction this week?"
The reporters were pressing hard, adding fuel to the fire. They were forcing Lu Ke to make a statement, but in Lu Ke's eyes, this was an incredibly childish thing to do.
"How did I answer that same question last year?" Lu Ke asked back.
The reporters at the scene looked at each other in silence.
No one would forget that last season, the San Francisco 49ers swept the Seattle Seahawks, both at home and on the road. Especially in the game at CenturyLink Field at the end of the season, the media was hyping up all the hatred and hostility, believing it would be a fierce battle. But the San Francisco 49ers easily defeated their opponent "48-23."
As for the matchup between Lu Ke and Sherman?
Lu Ke's completion rate when throwing to Sherman's side was 89.4%. He completed three touchdowns and had no interceptions. Lu Ke didn't deliberately avoid Sherman or deliberately throw to his side. There were no unnecessary deviations or changes in his plays. He completely outplayed Sherman in both games.
In the twenty-two games of his two seasons so far, Sherman's worst defensive ratings were in the two games against Lu Ke.
So, as Lu Ke said, he wasn't the one who needed to worry.
Whether it was Russell or Sherman, their provocations didn't leave a mark. In Lu Ke's calm responses, all the attacks fell back on themselves. In the end, the reporters went around in circles and returned to the most basic question. "So, what are your thoughts on this week's game against the Seattle Seahawks?"
"We'll do our best to win."
This time, Lu Ke's answer was not reserved or humble. He confidently declared the team's desire for victory.
On the Seattle Seahawks' side, there was a huge uproar. When he was interviewed, Russell tried his best to stay calm and composed, but it was not an easy thing to do.
"We will do our best to win." Then, Russell realized that was Lu Ke's line, and he was repeating his opponent's line. This made him flustered, and he couldn't help but start coughing. "I mean, we are confident that we will win. The San Francisco 49ers are a very strong team, but this season, we are also in our best form. I believe we can defeat our opponents."
"Yes, Lu Ke is a very good quarterback, but I think I can play better, well enough to defeat him," Russell added.
Compared to Russell's effort to stay calm, Sherman was not so polite. "He's just a clown. Yes, I still think so. He thinks he's smart and witty, but he's just trying to entertain the audience. I can beat him. I can expose his true colors. He's just a clown who's all talk."
When the reporters mentioned Lu Ke's excellent performance this season, Sherman rolled his eyes. "That's because he hasn't met me yet. I will show everyone. If he dares to throw the ball to my side, I will counter with an interception and show you all the truth, who the real hero is!"
"Damn it! To hell with Bambi! To hell with the San Francisco 49ers! We will win the game! I'm saying it right here, we are the ones who will win! He doesn't dare to throw the ball to my side. He absolutely doesn't dare to throw the ball to my side because he's a coward! He's a mouse!"
"Yes, yes, yes. I said it. Because of political correctness, we can't say those discriminatory words anymore. He's like a god who can't be touched, but I just said it. To hell with Bambi! So what are you going to do now? Suspend me? Are you worried that I'll be able to beat him, so you'll suspend me in advance? And then help him win the game? Go ahead! I welcome it at any time!"
Sherman was in a full-blown rage, spewing out all his anger. Especially after Lu Ke said the classic line, "Who?" he completely lost his mind. His mouth became like a dam that had been opened, pouring out all his thoughts.
The result was that the league fined Richard Sherman two thousand five hundred dollars for his foul language.
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