Chapter 606: 605 Secret Base Chapter 606: 605 Secret Base The vehicle moved forward through the night.
Clark watched Li Wei, who was driving intently, and felt no sense of reality.
It was hard to imagine that Li Wei was still the sa person he rembered—
Brimming with brilliance, the center of everyone’s attention, without a doubt the most valuable player on the Kansas City Chiefs team, and one of the few in the League.
Yet, he was still down-to-earth, still approachable, as if nothing had changed except the passage of ti.
“Master?”
“Hmm?”
“So, how did you co to think of becoming a coach?”
Clark was startled, then laughed wryly, “I can’t believe you held back until now.
I thought you’d ask the mont we t.”
Li Wei shrugged lightly, “Continuing with football is a dream, returning to a nine-to-five job is also a dream, and choosing to start a family in the face of daily life’s trivial matters is yet another dream.
I don’t think anyone’s dream is greater than anyone else’s.
...
Everyone lives their life earnestly, and everyone deserves respect.”
“Brother, I hope to continue seeing you on the football field, but I’d be just as happy to see you sowhere else.
How could I ever forget those gas, right?”
Clark rembered how all the staff mbers of the Kansas City Chiefs couldn’t stop praising Li Wei—it wasn’t forced flattery.
That admiration and recognition were inadvertently shown, and now he understood why.
Li Wei never placed himself above others; that was the key.
But this is Li Wei, isn’t it?
Clark couldn’t help but smile, “Rember the wildcard ga?”
“Titan.”
“Right, you and Derrick Henry, the two Heisman Trophy winners before and after you, and figures who have made their nas in the history of the Crimson Tide Storm, happened to et in the professional playoffs.
Of course, we couldn’t miss it.
In fact, we watched the ga together.”
“Wait, if it was the wildcard ga, that ans it was the nationwide championship weekend, right?”
“Yes, we were about to face Georgia, but no one wanted to miss your ga.
That ga, wow, even if I close my eyes now, my blood still boils with excitent.”
“No way, there were still the conference championship and the Super Bowl after that.”
Li Wei joked, but Clark was completely serious, “It’s true.”
“To , that ga was the turning point for the team’s transformation.
You were standing on the edge of a cliff, possibly facing the shadow of losing the first ga of the playoffs again.
The Heart Demon weighed heavily on everyone’s chest, including Coach Reed.”
“But you didn’t give up.”
The simple words were filled with excitent and passion, and Li Wei was deeply moved, “That’s because I never experienced it.
I don’t believe in curses or nightmares.”
Clark shrugged lightly, “Maybe.
But at the sa ti, you also told us to never doubt our dreams.
They have more power than we can imagine.
It was that night when I realized my dream.
I still want to be involved with football; it’s still the source of my passion.”
“Maybe I can find a job, maybe I can’t, and then I’ll have to run around trying to make a living as a repairman, like Kurt Warner did.”
“But I still want to try.”
Those who have dreams can see stars and oceans in their eyes.
No matter the size of the dream or whether it can be achieved, they are different.
Li Wei glanced at Clark through the rearview mirror, “That’s what makes you different, Master.”
Clark laughed aloud, “Just like the one in a million plus one league assistants who dreams of becoming a running back coach?”
Li Wei was candid, “Who knows?
If my career lasts long enough, maybe one day I could play for a team with you as the head coach; if not, maybe I could play for a team where you are the Offensive Coordinator.”
“Co on, if you’re going to dream, dream big.”
Clark was dumbfounded, hardly believing his own ears, but as he looked at Li Wei and pictured the scene, he couldn’t help but feel his blood boiling with excitent.
Seeing Clark’s shock, Li Wei shook his head in disappointnt and said, “Master, you’re supposed to catch the joke.
You should say, ‘Compared to your dream of becoming a head coach, my desire to hang in there is truly an unreachable dream.'”
Clark laughed, “Then I should work hard as soon as possible, striving to beco a head coach before you retire.”
Laughter filled the car.
And just like that, during their conversation, they had arrived at their destination—
It had only taken a little while.
Though it’s called a city, the busy and bustling center of Kansas City is just the size of a palm, and twenty minutes is enough to traverse the entire city.
Unable to contain his curiosity, Clark leaned out of the car window and couldn’t resist expressing his amazent, “Old Oak Tavern, I know this place.”
Li Wei said, “Every Chiefs player and fan knows it.
On ga days, it’s as lively here as it is at Arrowhead Stadium.”
Clark was a disciplined man.
He knew he had many shortcomings as an assistant coach, and the only reason he had gone from the NCAA to the NFL was because of Burns.
To not let Burns down, or embarrass Li Wei, he devoted one hundred percent of his ti to his team duties.
Spare ti?
What’s that?
Forget spare ti, even eating and going to the bathroom were spent analyzing tactics.
Except for taking showers and sleeping, Clark dedicated all his ti to work.
So, Old Oak Tavern remained a legend to him.
Li Wei had anticipated this, and after studying ga footage for the day, he brought Clark here.
Just as with tactics and expertise, understanding the team culture and the fans’ culture is actually an inseparable part of a professional team.
Standing at the entrance, Clark surveyed the tavern—
Feeling sowhat let down.
It was a very ordinary tavern; the letter “K” above “The-Old-Oak” had already fallen off and was hanging by a thread.
The patchy red paint above the storefront had faded and peeled off in the wind and rain, and the dusty brick walls looked dim and dreary.
Even the windows were covered with a layer of dust.
This place?
Honestly, if Clark had driven past, he wouldn’t have stopped.
This inconspicuous spot is the holy land for Kansas City Chiefs fans?
Though he thought this, Clark didn’t say it out loud.
Having co from a small town himself, he knew the heavy toll the economic crisis of 2008 had taken.
Even though recovery is slowly ensuing, it’s mainly happening in the big cities on the East and West Coasts; the cities and towns in the central regions keep emptying out.
Young people who fled to big cities for survival during the economic crisis have not returned, leaving these cities unable to regain their vitality.
Li Wei noticed Clark’s expression but said nothing—
This sight precisely demonstrated what the tavern had gone through in half a century of weathering storms, and it was also why it could bring fans together.
Before they could even step inside, they saw West coming out the door with a large garbage bin of food waste, his face flushed and dripping with sweat.
Li Wei took the initiative to offer help, “Hey, need a hand?”
West looked up, and spotting Li Wei in the dim light of the night, he was so startled he almost let the garbage bin fly out of his hands, narrowly averting disaster.
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