Chapter 1056: Conflict Erupts
A riot broke out among the fans.
It wasn't just at "Joe's Bar." Intense conflicts also broke out at two other bars in the church district. Again, a verbal dispute between fans from both sides escalated into a physical confrontation. Many of the "12s" got drunk and started causing trouble, smashing up the bars and fighting with other fans. The scene was in chaos.
The most terrifying thing was that at "Joe's Bar," a fire unexpectedly broke out in the midst of the chaos. Luckily, the situation wasn't too serious. The fans on the scene quickly extinguished the fire before it could spread and immediately called the fire department, nipping the potential disaster in the bud.
There were no casualties.
But after the incident, the 12s quickly fled the scene, leaving a mess behind. They drove out of San Francisco and disappeared without a trace. This even led to a police manhunt and investigation, but these were all subsequent events. The negative impact was much more than that.
This incident completely enraged the residents of San Francisco!
The last time was in Seattle, and this time was in San Francisco. It was clear that the 12s had no intention of resolving their rivalry with a head-to-head on the field. Instead, they let their emotions spill over into real life, trying to settle things with their fists. Now that the enemy had come knocking, how could the "Niners" just let it go?
The fans' emotions erupted like a volcano. Any fan wearing a Seattle Seahawks jersey who hadn't managed to leave in time was in danger on the streets.
The situation was on the verge of getting out of control.
Fortunately, having learned from the incident in Seattle, the San Francisco City Hall was prepared. They were on high alert before and after the game. As soon as the first signs of chaos appeared, they quickly got the situation under control, urging the fans to calm down. In the end, there were only six minor incidents that resulted in eighteen fans with minor injuries, all of which were scrapes and bruises, with no serious injuries. But the fans' emotions still hadn't been vented.
The Niners refused to compromise on the 12s' actions of actively provoking, starting fires everywhere, and causing incidents!
On social media, a new round of trash talk officially began. The "sore loser" label for the Seattle Seahawks was now completely cemented. Twice in a row, after losing, they caused a series of incidents. Not only did they lack class, but they also ruined the atmosphere. Such fan behavior was truly disheartening.
San Francisco fans even issued a warning: If any Seahawks fans dared to come to San Francisco again, they would show no mercy! Even if it meant being called "football hooligans," they would drive out these "disgusting maniacs." They were not welcome here!
But the Seahawks fans were not to be outdone. They repeatedly challenged the Niners' bottom line, calling them "soft." They claimed that the Niners didn't dare to fight back when provoked and that they had no guts. They only dared to talk big on the internet. Some fans even boldly challenged them to a fight on social media to see who had the tougher fist.
This made the situation even more explosive.
It was foreseeable that this verbal war between division rivals had just begun and would likely not end for a very long time.
In fact, it wasn't just the fans. A conflict also broke out between the players.
When the referee blew the final whistle, Lu Ke didn't celebrate wildly. This was not only because he had already experienced it the previous year but also because he had believed in victory throughout the game. The final victory was just a natural progression. This season, Lu Ke's goals were even greater, so he wouldn't get carried away by a divisional round victory.
So, Lu Ke immediately went back to the center of the field, waiting for Russell Wilson to come and shake hands.
Russell looked a bit sullen and down. A playoff loss was clearly more painful than a regular-season loss. But considering the camera lights, he tried his best to hide his emotions. He politely shook Lu Ke's hand as a greeting and then quickly let go.
As division rivals, they were never friends. They weren't even opponents who had a mutual respect for each other. An enemy was an enemy.
What's more, countless media outlets this season had compared Russell to this year's "Lu Ke." This was like a heavy burden for Russell, one that he always tried to shake off but never could. When he faced Lu Ke, Russell always felt a pressure to prove himself. He believed he was a better quarterback than Lu Ke, but he had lost to him three times in a row this season. This was truly frustrating.
Lu Ke also had no intention of winning Russell over with his charm. After a simple greeting, he turned to leave, but Russell called out to him, "Aren't you going to exchange helmets with me?"
The camera was still broadcasting live, authentically recording every move.
Lu Ke's feet, which were about to leave, returned to their spot. He carefully looked at Russell. After taking off his helmet, Russell's honest and simple face was fully visible. He looked straight at Lu Ke's eyes, seemingly challenging Lu Ke's bottom line.
This made Lu Ke chuckle. He rubbed his wet hair. "Do you want to exchange helmets with me?" He threw the question back to Russell.
It was clear that Russell's question was meant to embarrass Lu Ke. If Lu Ke had agreed to exchange helmets, Russell could have said that Lu Ke looked down on him and only agreed to exchange helmets because he was forced to. Of course, if Lu Ke had refused him on live television, that would have been even better. He could have exposed Lu Ke's hypocritical mask.
But Lu Ke threw the question back, implying that Russell was the one who didn't want to exchange helmets.
Russell was not to be outdone. He replied, "I think the question should be whether you think I'm worthy of exchanging helmets with you?" The scheming was too complicated, so he just laid his cards on the table. He looked at Lu Ke fearlessly, with a hint of smugness, as if to say, "What are you going to do now?"
To his surprise, Lu Ke smiled brightly, lifted his chin slightly, and looked Russell up and down meaningfully. Then he just turned and walked away. He walked away...
Russell hadn't expected this at all. His expression froze, and a hint of confusion appeared in his eyes. What did Lu Ke mean by this?
After thinking about it over and over, Russell finally understood.
Lu Ke's calmness and composure were clearly saying: "It's good that you know your place. You are not worthy of exchanging helmets with me, you loser. In this game, you couldn't even put up an effective fight. There was no suspense in the outcome of victory or defeat. What right do you have to challenge me?"
But Lu Ke didn't say it directly. He just left with a meaningful smile, leaving all the thinking to the audience watching the live broadcast, letting them interpret it themselves. So all the confrontation fell back on this game. Indeed, Lu Ke had the right to walk away proudly. Indeed, Russell had no right to provoke him.
This...
Russell tightly clenched his fists. He could feel the helmet's sharp edges in his palm, and his muscles started to ache, but he wanted to remember this pain and humiliation. In their next meeting, he would return the favor tenfold!
Lu Ke didn't care about Russell's provocation. Today was for celebrating a victory, and there was no need to let a fly ruin his mood. He turned around and applauded all the fans in Candlestick Park, thanking them for coming to cheer for the team. This victory belonged to them, and it belonged to all the fans.
When he got back to the entrance of the player tunnel, he saw a group of players tangled up in a brawl. The red jerseys and the white jerseys were completely fighting with each other.
Although he didn't know why, Lu Ke quickly went up and saw Patrick Willis, David Akers, and Ahmad Brooks trying to break up the fight. Lu Ke also quickly pulled the fighting players apart. Aldon Smith, Vernon Davis, and Crabtree were all there.
Logan was roaring angrily, "Say that again! You motherfucker, say that again! I'll rip your fucking mouth off!"
"Logan! Logan!" Lu Ke shouted, "What's going on? What's going on?!"
Logan breathlessly shook off Ginn and Mike Lupati's grip and mumbled, "I'm fine, I'm fine. I said, I'm fucking fine!"
On the other side were Kam Chancellor and Sherman, both of whom were known to be troublemakers, and their arrogance was even more overbearing.
Sherman was smiling hideously. He was out of breath and said, "I was right? I was right! It turns out it's Bambi! Haha! It's actually Bambi! It seems your sister and that filthy guy have some dirty little secrets..."
He only said half of the sentence. Before he could continue, Lu Ke instantly understood. He turned around fiercely and glared at Sherman, yelling in a cold and brutal voice, "Shut up! Loser!"
The two short words were sharp, aggressive, and powerful, echoing throughout the player tunnel. The fierce and violent look in his eyes shot out a terrifying glare, completely cutting off everything Sherman was about to say. It made Sherman feel genuine fear and threat.
If he continued to speak, Lu Ke might tear him to shreds.
Under Lu Ke's gaze, Sherman swallowed all his words. After realizing how much of a coward he was being, Sherman was a bit annoyed and angry. He forcefully shook off his teammate's grip, then puffed out his chest and said some more harsh words without showing any weakness, "I was just talking. If I actually did it, who knows what would have happened. People from some places are just so conservative."
After making this veiled comment, he saw the 49ers players collectively clench their fists and take a step forward. He was cut off and quickly turned and walked away.
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