Chapter 760: First Glimpse of Potential
"38-10."
The San Francisco 49ers easily defeated the Detroit Lions at home. From the offense to the defense to the special teams, the two teams showed a comprehensive gap, which caused a stir. Everyone was discussing, what happened?
Was it just because of the change of home and away locations that led to the significant gap in the two teams' performance? This is a plausible guess. Home-field advantage is a variable that cannot be ignored. Moreover, in all aspects, the Detroit Lions' strength had not collapsed.
In this offseason, both the Lions' offense and defense successfully maintained their core lineups, with no earth-shattering changes. Their overall strength was preserved, and they also successfully defeated the St. Louis Rams in the first regular-season game. Stafford's performance was noteworthy.
In other words, this Detroit Lions team was still the team everyone was familiar with, at least on paper.
But against the San Francisco 49ers, the Detroit Lions were powerless. Is there a better explanation besides the home-and-away difference?
Maybe there is.
That is, the San Francisco 49ers have been reborn during the offseason. Not only has the defense been strengthened, but the offense's new combinations have also sparked more chemistry. Their overall strength has clearly improved. Judging from their performance against two playoff teams from last season in consecutive weeks, this guess is strongly supported.
However, the long season has just begun, and the San Francisco 49ers still need to be tested by more games to truly become a top-tier team.
At the very least, this young team is showing a sign of maturity, revealing the potential of a powerful team.
The referee blew the whistle to end the game. Emma stood blankly in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the surging red wave of people, one after another, rippling in a mighty wave. The whole world began to churn. The vast tide kept rushing toward her, creating ripples in her eyes.
Even more surprisingly, inside the stadium stands, ten fans could be seen lined up in a long vertical line. Each of them was holding a red flag with a picture of Bambi on it, and they began to run in unison.
The flags, unfurled in the wind, fluttered freely, and the breathtaking human wave followed the flags' pace, circling the entire stadium endlessly. One lap, then another.
It was... indescribable!
Throughout the game, from the first minute to the last, the tactical confrontation and strategic game that erupted in the clash of two strong teams perfectly combined physicality and mentality. The complex and dazzling tactical plays were even more profound than soccer, subtly revealing the profoundness of a game of Go.
She didn't want to admit it, but...
"How do you feel?" Roger Goodell's voice came from behind her.
Emma forced a proper and dignified smile, turned around, and saw Goodell and Leonardo standing beside her. Their cheeks were slightly flushed, showing traces of an exciting game. The excitement and exhilaration that had not completely dissipated were still surging in their eyes.
"It was a beautiful game, wasn't it?" Goodell didn't wait for Emma's answer and said with a smile. His voice was like gurgling hot spring water, non-aggressive, yet impossible to refuse.
"...It's... a sport." After a moment of silence, Emma searched for the most suitable adjective, but she failed in the end, answering in an awkward way.
Emma didn't want to admit her true feelings, and she didn't want to admit that even just replaying the game in her mind was a torment. At the same time, she couldn't offend Goodell, nor could she lose face in front of Leonardo. After hesitating, she chose the simplest and most appropriate answer.
For girls, they can never understand boys' fanaticism for sports. "A sport," this is a meaningless noun. This was what Emma meant.
Goodell and Leonardo exchanged glances and laughed heartily.
Goodell nodded repeatedly, affirming her words. "Indeed, it is a sport. That's a fact."
"But what I mean is that every sport has its own charm, and the charm of football lies in the perfect combination of power and intelligence. Believe me, if enough women participate in this sport, we will also welcome them with open arms. You know what? Many high schools in the United States now have women's flag football programs," Goodell said in a refined manner, as if a scholar was discussing an academic topic.
Emma nodded slightly and said politely, "Yes, I believe that, of course..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Goodell interrupted her. "I think our winners have returned to the locker room. How about it? Would you like to go to the locker room with me to congratulate them? Of course, if you're interested, we can also visit the visiting team's locker room to cheer them on."
The atmosphere froze for a moment.
Under their gazes, Emma shrugged her shoulders slightly and said insincerely, "Of course, why not? It's our honor to congratulate the winners." At the same time, she forced a bright smile on her face and happily agreed.
The entire Candlestick Park was completely boiling.
The 2012 season had a successful home opener, and they had successfully won two consecutive games. What's more, it was a clean and exciting blowout victory. For the 49ers, nothing could be more wonderful than this moment. So, everyone was cheering and celebrating freely. Everyone was releasing their emotions wildly.
"Faster! Faster!"
Candice was bouncing with joy, calling for Curry. She moved quickly through the boiling crowd, heading toward the player tunnel. Her long, tanned legs moved nimbly. The cheering and celebrating figures flashed past her eyes. She high-fived one of them and shouted, "Bambi!"
Instantly, everyone around her started to join in. "Bambi!"
The continuous shouts were like surround sound, echoing around them in 360 degrees, creating waves of long echoes. Like a tide, the echoes flowed down the stairs with a ringing sound, and finally poured out into the stadium like a waterfall, creating a roaring sound.
Curry's footwork couldn't keep up with the rhythm. He could only barely catch Candice's back, constantly shouting, "Slow down, hey, Candice, slow down!" But his voice couldn't get through. He could hear the calls of "Bambi" all around him, and he couldn't help but clench his fists and cheer with them, "Bambi!"
Their feet finally reached the player tunnel, and they could see the San Francisco 49ers players slowly leaving the field.
Candice leaned out, a bright smile on her face. She imitated a fan, calling out enthusiastically and wildly, "Bambi, I love you!"
Curry looked at Candice in surprise, then he also started to shout, "Bambi, I love you!"
The fans around them started to follow suit. The layers of shouts were like a downpour, concentrated at the entrance of the player tunnel, pouring down. Not only Lu Ke, but all the players noticed it. They all looked up and joined in the fun.
Looking in the direction of the voices, Lu Ke saw Candice in the crowd at a glance.
Her face was full of a bright smile, and a playful and mischievous look flashed in her eyes. Her whole face bloomed like a flower bud, making everyone who stood in front of her smile uncontrollably, as if they were bathed in golden sunlight.
Then Lu Ke saw Curry standing next to Candice. He also had a look of ecstasy on his face. He stretched out his right hand exaggeratedly and kept repeating, "Bambi, I love you." His face was so full of urgency and desire that it looked a little funny, making people laugh.
Lu Ke took a few steps back, took a run-up, and then jumped high in the air, high-fiving Curry, Candice, and the others, showing his appreciation.
This action instantly made all the fans on both sides of the stands go wild. They shouted excitedly, "Bambi! Bambi!" There was no order, and the chaos of the syllables made the sound waves around them become frantic and wild, as if the entire world was filled with sound.
Then, Aldon and Marcus, the two jokers standing next to him, started to mess around. Aldon grabbed Marcus's waist and lifted him up, bringing him closer to Candice and Curry.
But Marcus didn't grab their hands—or anyone's hands. Instead, he made a pose as if he was about to touch them but didn't.
This scene was a perfect imitation of Michelangelo's classic painting, "The Creation of Adam," on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican Museum.
At the same time, he was enthusiastically shouting, "Bambi, oh, Bambi!"
The exaggerated performance was so awkward and cheesy that it made everyone burst into laughter. Then they saw Candice suddenly lean out, grab Marcus's hand, and at the same time, she called for Curry and the other friends to hold on to Marcus.
Caught off guard, Marcus was completely unprepared. He was slowly pulled up. He immediately started to panic and shouted for help, "Aldon! Aldon! Bambi, I was wrong, Bambi, save me! Bambi!"
When Emma arrived at the scene, this was what she saw from a distance: a joyful and harmonious, happy, and euphoric scene.
🗒️NOTE:
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
Explore up to 30 chapters in advance!