Chapter 1009: The Record Is Mine
The pass was thrown.
Lu Ke frowned. His fingertip control was a little off. The pass arc and distance were probably a yard or two longer than he intended, and the spin control wasn’t quite right. As he expected, his nervousness had an unavoidable effect on these technical details.
But once the arrow is shot, there’s no turning back. All he could do now was hope for Logan.
Lu Ke’s eyes were fixed on the football, arcing high across the sky. It landed in Logan’s arms, and he watched as Logan stumbled into the end zone. Then, his gaze shot toward the referee, a silent observation that even he didn’t realize was coming from a body so tightly coiled with tension.
Touchdown!
The referee raised both arms, signaling a touchdown! It was a pass for a touchdown! An undeniable touchdown!
Lu Ke couldn’t help but clench his fists. A shout and a roar escaped before his brain could even process what was happening. "Ah!" The emotion from the depths of his soul ca out in a triumphant roar. "Ahhh!"
He did it! He finally did it!
Without warning, his eyes were blurred by hot tears.
He thought he didn’t care.
He had always insisted that it was just a number, nothing to get excited about. In his long career, he would create many more numbers, so of which would be records and so not. But at the end of the day, he believed in his performance on the field and his hard work in practice, not a simple number.
Even if this number represented a record, so what?
That’s the nature of records and history. From the mont they’re born, they’re destined to face countless challenges, waiting to be broken and rewritten one day. The true aning behind a record is the challenge itself, the challenge to personal and human limits, not just a historical number.
So he had always maintained a normal attitude, refusing to get caught up in sothing so foolish.
But... the mont the record was set, his emotions completely broke free. He did care. He had always cared.
From a little-known Chinese-Arican quarterback to a top quarterback who broke a league record and wrote his na in history, the journey was long. He had co so far and endured for so long. He thought he was fine, but the calluses on his palms and the soreness in his body were constant reminders of how unexpectedly difficult this road had been.
Without the support of his parents, Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning, without the companionship of Logan and Marcus, without Candice by his side, without... without the turning of John Ward, he might never have made it to this stage, even with the Football Superstar System.
John Ward.
The image of that back, slowly fading into the distance, reappeared in his mind, and Lu Ke started to cry.
He hadn’t anticipated such a powerful surge of emotion from a single touchdown pass. All of the bitter and sweet mories ca flooding in at once, so much so that he couldn’t control himself. No matter how many deep breaths he took, he couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. In the end, he just stood there, helpless, letting the hot tears fall freely.
He did it!
He really did it!
At that very mont, in a football bar in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, all the fans were cheering, screaming, and celebrating wildly, applauding the brilliant touchdown drive and the San Francisco 49ers’ perfect performance today. In the midst of the loud and chaotic crowd, John Ward silently watched the big screen, with tears streaming down his face.
John was wearing a San Francisco 49ers’ number 14 jersey. He held a pint of beer in his hand, his eyes fixed on Lu Ke on the field, his tears falling uncontrollably.
He had once caught a pass from that quarterback. He had once tead up with that quarterback to win a last-second ga. He had once fought side by side with that quarterback on the field.
They were both once practice players with no talent or skill, just going through the motions every day, unconcerned with their future or years of effort, content to drift along and wait for the day they would officially retire after college graduation.
John thought he wouldn’t care. Reality is harsh, especially in sports. So people just can’t do certain things, and it’s a fact. But in his mind, he heard the whipping wind again—the fierce wind at the end of the ga where they beat USC—and the mory was still as vivid as ever.
Lu Ke did it.
"My God, he actually did it," John said, raising his beer in a toast to the TV screen. His face was a ss of tears, but a smile spread across his lips. He gulped down the entire pint, slamming the glass on the table when he was done. "Next up, the Super Bowl?"
Jonathan Goodwin was the first to rush over. He hugged Lu Ke’s helt, repeating the sa words over and over. "You did it. My God, you did it!" His voice trembled with an emotion he could barely contain. He couldn’t help but pat Lu Ke’s back over and over, marveling at the mont.
The rest of the offensive line sward over, each patting Lu Ke’s helt in a simple but clear way of showing their congratulations.
Logan jogged over with the football, waving his right hand and screaming with joy, "Bambi! Bambi, Bambi!" His face was filled with incredible excitent, and his eyes, bright even through the helt, were filled with emotion. "You did it! Ahh! Bambi, you did it!"
Lu Ke looked up, his eyes teary, and saw Logan. It was then he realized how much of a ss he was. He laughed and cried at the sa ti, stepping forward and extending his hands to Logan. "Give the ball." This was the football from his record-breaking mont, and he wanted to keep it, though he knew he would have to ask the referee for permission first.
Logan held the ball with one hand and made a throwing motion. Seeing Lu Ke get ready to catch it, he gently tossed the football over Lu Ke’s head and into the arms of a nearby Ginn.
Lu Ke’s mind short-circuited for a mont. He realized he was being played. He just stood there, shaking his head with a helpless, bitter smile.
Seeing Lu Ke so flustered, the San Francisco 49ers’ players all burst into laughter, enjoying the mont.
"Bambi!" A voice called out. Lu Ke instinctively looked up and saw Logan holding the football in both hands, kneeling on one knee, as if he were presenting a tribute. It was a gesture of respect and admiration.
This small gesture made Lu Ke laugh heartily. Logan was a real character.
But before Lu Ke could react, Ginn and Marcus imdiately joined Logan, kneeling on one knee in a knight’s salute. Then ca Goodwin, Staley, and Boone, and soon all the offensive players joined in, offering their spoils to him like subjects presenting a trophy to their king.
Lu Ke played along with their prank, gesturing for Logan to stand up and present the football to him. Lu Ke then held the ball high with his right hand, like the Statue of Liberty, showing it to the crowd as if announcing his coronation.
That comical sight made both the players and the fans erupt in laughter.
After presenting the trophy, Logan gave Lu Ke a big hug, their helts clinking together. He then leaned in and said in his friend’s ear, "Rember, this is your team!" Then Logan let go and gestured to the stadium with a flick of his chin.
Lu Ke followed Logan’s gaze, turned, and looked around, seeing the vast, crimson ocean of fans surging with emotion.
It was a mory from the first ga of the 2011 season at Candlestick Park. With everything going wrong, Lu Ke was thrust into the role of the 49ers’ starting quarterback. Fans saw it as a terrible choice and didn’t hide their dissatisfaction with the team, the coach, and Lu Ke himself. They even went so far as to cause a disturbance at Lu Ke’s parents’ ho.
In that ga, after scoring a touchdown, Logan yelled at the crowd, "This is your quarterback! Do you see him?! Do you see him?!"
It was a ga for the history books. For the league, it was the debut of the first Chinese-Arican starting quarterback. For Lu Ke and Logan, it was the ga where they proved themselves.
Now, with ti having passed, they were in the sa stadium, with the sa fans and the sa players, but everything had changed completely. Lu Ke had earned the support and love of the entire city and had made his own mark in the history of the NFL.
"Rember, this is your team!"
That simple sentence brought tears to Lu Ke’s eyes again. He gave Logan a tight hug, patting his friend’s back hard. "To be honest, you did that on purpose, right?" He knew Logan had seen him crying and was deliberately trying to get an emotional reaction from him with those touching words.
Logan looked like he was about to spit up blood. "Help... help ."
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