Chapter 831: Second-Team Practice
The training facility was quiet and serene in the early morning. The crisp, cool autumn air arrived with the dense fog and quietly dissipated into the atmosphere. You could feel a subtle prickling sensation on your skin, like a fine needle, that went through your pores and into your blood, making your bones feel cold.
Raymond Jackson, the field manager, woke up early as usual to clean the training facility and prepare for a new day of practice.
As a die-hard San Francisco 49ers fan, Raymond had been experiencing unprecedented happiness and joy in the past two seasons. It wasn't because he had witnessed the "Chicken Soup" game or experienced the NFC Championship game in person. Of course, those games were unforgettable memories, but what truly moved him was the team's reawakened fighting spirit and vitality.
He loved this team now. Whether they won or lost, all the players, fans, coaches, and staff were united, moving forward together. Victory was the goal they strived for. Defeat was the starting point for them to move forward again. The outcome of the game could never destroy their motivation to continue, and that was the most wonderful thing.
After finishing all the preparations, Raymond officially opened the training facility gates. He didn't have to wait long before he saw a player appear.
"Hey, Jewel, isn't today a day off? Why are you here earlier than usual?" Raymond greeted him familiarly. After working for twenty years, he was very familiar with the old faces and the new ones. He could even call most of the veteran fans by their names.
Jewel Hampton was an undrafted rookie who joined the team in the offseason and made the 53-man roster before the regular season. How could Raymond not know him?
Hampton looked a bit nervous and excited. "The second team has a special practice today. After that, we'll go over the playbook and have a joint practice with the second-team defense. I feel like I need to come here early to prepare. Otherwise, if I don't perform well later, it'll be bad."
Even though he went undrafted, Hampton didn't slack off because he knew he had to work even harder to earn a spot in the professional league. What's more, the team's star quarterback was once an undrafted rookie, and he was the most brilliant and real role model. There was even more reason for him not to give up just because he was undrafted.
"Go for it! Practice hard! Maybe you'll get to play next week and fight side-by-side with Bambi?" Raymond expressed his well wishes with a cheerful voice. "Show the Cardinals what we're capable of!" As he spoke, Raymond raised his right fist high and cheered, "We're Niner! We're Fighters!"
Hampton also clenched his fists and jumped with excitement. "We're Niner! We're Fighters!"
Unknowingly, this had become the unofficial cheer of the San Francisco 49ers. But what was funny was that in the empty training facility, the two of them were shouting like fools. The passion and excitement were not diminished at all and were completely unleashed.
But the two didn't care and just cheered with all their might.
Amidst the sparse but passionate cheers, Hampton quickly entered the training facility. His light footsteps faded into the dense fog. Raymond's mood soared again. It was going to be a good day.
As he was busy, time seemed to fly by. Raymond left the equipment room and walked toward the storage room. From a distance, he could see several players from the second-team offense had already arrived on the practice field. They were scattered around, doing simple warm-up exercises.
The morning sun had just risen above the horizon but had not yet completely penetrated the thick fog. The orange glow of dawn was faintly visible, showing a tenacious vitality that was breaking through the layers of obstacles to begin a new day.
"Hey, Raymond, good morning." Someone was walking toward him, and his voice had a slight hint of a smile. He greeted him in a friendly and cordial manner.
Raymond turned his head and looked in the direction of the voice. A smile also appeared on his face as he greeted him back. "Hey, Bambi, good morning. Are you also here for practice today?"
"Yes, there's still some time before next week's game. I need to stay in shape," the person said cheerfully. He didn't stop walking and continued toward the practice field. "It seems I'm late. I have to hurry and join them. Talk to you later. I wish you a great day."
Raymond nodded repeatedly, but then he froze in place. Bambi? Lu Ke! Why was Lu Ke here? Why was Lu Ke joining the second-team practice? My God!
"Bambi!" Raymond called out in a panic. It took him a few seconds to react. The player who had just appeared was the team's star. Who could tell him what was going on?
Lu Ke stopped and turned around after hearing his call.
Then Raymond suddenly began to stammer. "Why are you... They... Why are you... What's going on..." He was so confused that he didn't know how to accurately express his shock and panic. "So, what happened? Are you hurt? Or... or..."
He went on and on with "or" for a long time, but he couldn't come up with any other reason. In Raymond's mind, he couldn't think of any reason to explain why Lu Ke would be in the doghouse.
Or, had Lu Ke and Harbaugh gotten into a conflict?
The moment this thought popped into his head, Raymond became furious. He subconsciously clenched his fists. If Harbaugh was really that stupid and arrogant and didn't realize Lu Ke's importance to the team, then they wouldn't mind starting a movement to make Harbaugh realize that, in the hearts of the fans, Lu Ke was the soul of this team!
Even though Raymond never said a complete sentence, Lu Ke understood the reason for Raymond's surprise. It was the same reason he had when he proposed the idea to Harbaugh.
In fact, it was a common thing for the starting quarterback to practice with the second-team offense. When Peyton Manning was with the Indianapolis Colts, every practice would have a corresponding time for him to practice with the second team to ensure the rhythm of the entire team was on the same frequency.
But the prerequisite was that the starting quarterback had the extra energy and was willing to put in twice or even three times the time. This was clearly not an easy thing to do. That's why people say that being a leader is never simple. Behind the superficial glamour, they must bear greater responsibility and obligations.
This was only Lu Ke's second season in the league. The playbook and quarterback skills alone were enough to consume most of his practice time. If he were to also take time out to practice with the second team, his meager personal time would be completely gone.
No wonder everyone said that Lu Ke was a practice fanatic.
"Don't worry. I'll still be standing behind Jonathan Goodwin in the next game. So, when you're watching the game on TV, remember to keep cheering for me." Lu Ke chuckled, raising his voice. Then he waved his hand again, turned around, and jogged onto the practice field.
Raymond's anger was still simmering in his chest, but it was quietly extinguished by Lu Ke's relaxed and carefree attitude before it could completely ignite. Did this mean that, after Joe Montana and Steve Young, the San Francisco 49ers had truly found a spiritual leader?
A smile returned to his face, and Raymond couldn't help but shout again, "Fight! Bambi, fight!" Seeing Lu Ke raise his right fist high, Raymond turned around with satisfaction, humming an unknown tune as he continued with his work for the day.
"What's wrong?" On the practice field, Lu Ke smiled as he looked at the dropped jaws in front of him. "Why do I feel like I'm not welcome here?"
Hampton was completely stunned. Even if he used all his imagination, he would never have guessed that the quarterback who appeared on the practice field today would be Lu Ke. One second, he was laughing and joking with LaMichael James, and the next, he was frozen in place as if he had been struck by lightning.
It wasn't just Hampton. All the other players were also stunned in place, and for a moment, they didn't know how to react to the sudden change.
What was going on?
They were talking and warming up, and then they suddenly saw the team's starting quarterback, Lu Ke, appear on the practice field. It was so unexpected that everyone looked at each other in confusion. The honest LaMichael James was so shocked that he almost hiccupped. He had to cover his mouth to avoid the embarrassing moment.
It was partly because of Lu Ke's unexpected arrival, but it was more because of the unexpected situation. Everyone was a bit at a loss. They had so many questions, but no one could answer them.
"No, no, no. We're just so happy and excited that this is how we're reacting," Joe Looney, the second-team offensive guard, said in a rush, but after speaking, he realized his vocal cords were so tight that he was almost squeezing out each word.
Lu Ke couldn't help but laugh. He didn't explain much and just waved his hand. "Then let's not waste any time. Let's start warming up now. We have a lot of practice tasks to complete today. We didn't come to the training facility on our day off just to chat, did we? It would be much more comfortable to be on the couch at home, wouldn't it?"
With that, Lu Ke turned around and began to jog and warm up without stopping.
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