"As an undrafted rookie, how did you feel when the team decided to make you the starting quarterback for the first ga of the regular season, and you only had 10 days to prepare?"
This was the first official question from Brian, a run-of-the-mill, expected question that almost every rookie quarterback would have to face when they started for the first ti.
However, a closer look revealed a hidden sharpness and a subtle trap that was hard to defend against. Being too arrogant or too humble could both lead to a dead end.
"Not to drop the ball?" Lu Ke's answer was both humorous and self-deprecating. Brian was taken aback for a mont, then he reacted and let out a chuckle.
Then, Lu Ke straightened up and answered the question seriously. "At that ti, everything happened so suddenly and so fast. No one wants to see a player get injured. Any injury is a heavy blow to the ga and the player. For a mont, I wasn't sure if it was luck or misfortune for . I think the next team that considers signing
needs to be a little more careful."
Initially, when Kevin Press was unexpectedly injured, Lu Ke got a chance to play. Later, when Alex Smith was unexpectedly injured, Lu Ke got a chance to try out. Finally, when Colin Kaepernick was unexpectedly injured, Lu Ke beca the team's starter.
In a way, this seed like a curse, but in reality, accidents were very common on the football field.
The real curse in the NFL was Ryan Fitzpatrick, a quarterback who entered the league in 2005. As long as he was a backup quarterback for a team, the team's starting quarterback would get injured 100% of the ti. If the starting quarterback got injured and the team didn't make Ryan the starter, the other backup players who started would also get injured.
In 2005, Fitzpatrick was drafted by the St. Louis Rams. The Rams' starting quarterback at the ti, Marc Bulger, suffered a shoulder injury. He was then replaced by Jamie Martin, who was taken off the field with a concussion.
In 2007, Fitzpatrick went to the Cincinnati Bengals, where the starting quarterback Carson Palr tore a ligant in his elbow.
In 2009, the Buffalo Bills beca Fitzpatrick's next team. The starting quarterback, Trent Edwards, suffered a concussion, and then Fitzpatrick beca the starter and stayed until this season.
The "Fitzpatrick Rule" had beco a major curse in the league. In contrast, Lu Ke's experience was not at all special on the high-intensity, fiercely competitive football field.
However, Lu Ke's wit and humor still managed to make Brian laugh happily.
"But the reality was that I beca the starting quarterback and only had 10 days to prepare. I believe that for any rookie player, it's a contradictory feeling," Lu Ke returned to the question and continued.
"On one hand, we're looking forward to playing. We're ready. We're eager to beco a part of the league. We're ready to go. But on the other hand, we're worried and anxious about our ga, about our performance. After all, the professional field is a whole new level, and everything is different from college..."
At this point, Lu Ke paused for a mont and added, "Of course, I didn't get much playing ti in college, so I guess the difficulty increased exponentially when I went straight to the pros."
Involuntarily and irresistibly, Brian's lips curled upward. This was not Lu Ke's first ti dealing with the dia. In the past two weeks, Lu Ke had shown his excellent speaking skills many tis. But today, Brian was still amazed and intrigued.
This kind of self-deprecating wit, off-the-cuff humor, and poised deanor had the youthful energy of a young man and the maturity of an old fox, which was truly refreshing. The exclusive interview, which was supposed to be a routine matter, had now beco interesting.
"And then what?" Brian asked with a smile. "What did you feel when you actually got on the field?"
"Everything was a lie," Lu Ke's answer was once again unexpected. Brian couldn't help but chuckle.
An interview is a complex thing. There is a back-and-forth, a "you" and an "I."
Both the interviewer and the interviewee are crucial. If only one party is trying, a connection cannot be established. At the sa ti, if both parties are performing well but have not found a rapport, they still cannot achieve the desired effect. Only when both parties have chemistry can an ordinary and boring interview beco exciting.
As the interviewee, Lu Ke's performance today was outstanding. As the interviewer, Brian needed to step up his ga.
"When I actually got on the field, there was no ti to think. All the excitent and all the worries disappeared without a trace," Lu Ke continued. "The ga was like a high-speed train, whizzing by. It hit
in the stomach with a 'bang.' All my energy was focused on not throwing up. I guess passing the ball wasn't my biggest concern anymore."
Brian looked up with great interest. "Are you saying that as an undrafted rookie and the first Chinese-Arican player in the league, you didn't feel the thrill and excitent of making history when you stepped onto Candlestick Park as the starting quarterback?" As an interviewer, Brian was also starting to work hard.
"Of course. I an, I was the only Chinese face, or even the only Asian face, on the entire field. Even if I wanted to ignore it, it wouldn't be easy," Lu Ke said, facing Brian's question head-on. "But that's the thing. Not only for the first ga and the first season, but until the next Asian player enters the professional field, I will be the center of attention. So, I think it's a long journey, and I have a long... a very long ti to slowly get excited."
The emphasis on the adjective, "very long," was drawn out, bringing a hint of humor. Brian couldn't help but smile. He strongly suspected that Lu Ke was a stand-up codian whose career had been sidetracked by football.
"Making history is a neutral term. Every player who steps onto the field hopes to win and go down in history. But the cruel reality is that only a very small number of players can achieve that goal," Lu Ke said, showing a maturity beyond his age. But when you think about it, from the mont he decided to play football at the age of 10, he had been facing the challenges and impacts that ca with being a "Chinese-Arican player" every single mont.
Perhaps, as a professional athlete, Lu Ke hadn't spent much ti on the field. But he had long been accustod to the pressure and burden of being a history-maker.
"If I had thrown five interceptions in the first ga, that would also be history. And trust , no one wants to go down in history like that." A simple statent was followed by a jab and a joke. Lu Ke's honest deanor truly showed his charisma.
Brian couldn't help but laugh. "Luckily, we witnessed a different version of history. Otherwise, the atmosphere of today's interview might have been different." Five touchdowns. That was the history Lu Ke had written. "So, what did you feel when the ga ended and the team won by a large margin? Still disappointed?"
Brian's tone also beca a little playful, which made Lu Ke chuckle.
"No, of course not. No one would be disappointed with a victory," Lu Ke said, shaking his head. "Excitent and elation. After the ga, it was all the cliché stuff, blah, blah, blah... I believe you're tired of hearing these clichés. Since it's all the sa old thing, I won't repeat it."
Brian raised his eyebrows, once again feeling that Lu Ke was different. "No, no, let's hear the clichés. Why do we always love victories? Why do we always love happy endings? Why do we always love lovers ending up together? Because these clichés are the best parts."
"Haha, is that a line from Oprah Winfrey's autobiography?" Lu Ke's playful jab at "Oprah Winfrey Show" style inspirational quotes made Brian fall into deep thought. "After the ga, the reality sank in. I realized that I had completed the first start of my professional career, and I had also won. So, it was party ti."
It was simple but vivid. Brian seed to relive the joy of victory. "It was all unbelievable, right?" After Lu Ke agreed, Brian continued his questioning. "After such a wonderful and intense ga, what was the most morable mont? For many people, that first long-pass touchdown was definitely the most exciting mont!"
This ti, Lu Ke didn't rush to answer but thought about it seriously.
There were indeed countless classic and morable monts in the first ga. The first long pass, yes. The yellow flag, yes. Jim Harbaugh's trust, yes. The full power of the shotgun formation, yes. But...
"Actually, it was the mont I got my jersey and helt for the first ti." Lu Ke gave a strange answer. Brian looked confused, but the light in Lu Ke's eyes beca brighter and brighter.
"It sounds a little absurd and ridiculous. But that's the reality," Lu Ke paused for a mont, lost in his mories. His eyes were filled with focus and imrsion, and a hint of excitent and thrill could be seen in his eyes. "...That was the first ti in my life that I got my own jersey."
In elentary and middle school, the school didn't have regular ga uniforms. In college, Lu Ke wasn't able to get his own jersey in ti. This situation continued until the professional league. Just as Lu Ke said, it was absurd but true.
"At that mont, the dream beca real. I really beca a professional athlete. I really got on the field. I really had a place of my own," Lu Ke's smile blood brightly. "I clearly realized again why I chose football. The journey has been so long, and more importantly, this is just the beginning."
NOTE:
New chapters drop Three tis a day, every Monday through Sunday! Plus, you have the power to unlock more: we'll release Three bonus chapters for every 300 votes! Let's get this story moving together.
Support
on Patreon: spatreon/c/MistaQuartz
Explore up to 20 chapters in advance!
Reviews
All reviews (0)