When he left the restaurant, Lin Shuyuan stood on the street. The strong wind was blowing and constantly drilling into his collar, and goosebumps appeared on his skin. He had only one thought: get back to the editorial office, go inside, and enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee. But when he looked back at the lively and excited scene in the tea restaurant behind him, his departure didn't seem to have much of an impact.
After a mont of hesitation, Lin Shuyuan started walking. He didn't go to the editorial office but took two turns and headed toward a sporting goods store. He planned to buy a ho jersey for Lu Ke to show his support.
In North Arica, besides the team's official stores, team rchandise can also be bought in general sporting goods stores. Before stocking up, these stores need to beco authorized dealers and get licenses from all thirty-two teams—except for the Dallas Cowboys, who run their own rchandise. The other thirty-one teams have a unified license, and stores can sell all their related products.
Besides football, you can also find rchandise for other sports like basketball, baseball, and hockey.
The San Francisco 49ers' official rchandise stores are located at Candlestick Park and in the city center. If Lin Shuyuan wanted to buy a jersey now, the general sporting goods store two blocks away was the best choice.
Lin Shuyuan quickly arrived at his destination. He pushed open the door and saw a dazzling array of jerseys, posters, various trophy replicas, and countless autographed cards from star players. It was a sports rchandise kingdom, with everything you could possibly imagine.
Lin Shuyuan didn't linger. He walked straight to the counter and found the store owner, who was writing sothing with his head down. He asked, "Excuse , I'd like to buy a San Francisco 49ers ho jersey, number fourteen. Where can I find it?"
"What number?" The store owner put down his pen and looked up.
"Number fourteen."
"Haha, Lu Ke, right? The Chinese quarterback?" The store owner laughed cheerfully, saying Lu Ke's na accurately, which was a surprise. Noticing Lin Shuyuan's surprise, the owner explained, "Don't be surprised. In the past forty-eight hours, all his jerseys have sold out. Even if I'm not interested in football at all, I know his na now."
"What do you an, sold out?" Lin Shuyuan felt his thoughts couldn't keep up.
"Just what it says." The store owner was in a great mood. His tone was relaxed, and he was smiling. "This isn't the first ti. Last Thursday, the batch of number fourteen jerseys I had in stock sold out. But there weren't many, only one or two hundred, because I didn't know who he was and was worried they wouldn't sell. I didn't dare to get too many. Later, I saw that the jerseys were selling well, so I ordered another batch of two thousand, which arrived on Saturday and sold out this morning."
The owner tapped the small notebook on the counter with his finger, which looked like an accounting book. "I just called and ordered the next batch of jerseys."
Two thousand jerseys, sold out in less than forty-eight hours?
If this were at the official online store or the flagship store at Candlestick Park, it might not be a big deal. But this sporting goods store wasn't in a bustling area. It was located in Chinatown—which was practically a football desert. This seed incredible.
And that wasn't the end of it.
"I heard that the number fourteen jersey is selling exceptionally well now. The San Francisco 49ers won again this week, didn't they? And it was a rare, big victory? Two-thirds of the stock was gone in one afternoon yesterday. I've been so busy I haven't had a mont's rest. It's been a long ti since this has happened, not since Yao Ming," the talkative owner shared more information.
Then, the owner gave so friendly advice. "If you're in a hurry, buy it from the official website. If you're not, I should have them in stock the day after tomorrow. Co back then. By the way, the sizes on the official website are also selling out fast. They probably need to restock their warehouse, too. I just logged in, and it said that size L is already sold out."
"Wait, what did you say?" Lin Shuyuan had a feeling that he had caught an important piece of news. "The jerseys on the official website are also selling out fast?"
"I can't see the sales numbers from the official website, but size L is gone. It also takes so ti for them to restock, but they're fast. They should be able to replenish their stock within twenty-four hours," the owner said casually, while Lin Shuyuan was stunned. His mind was racing.
What was going on? The world had completely changed after one ga?
The facts were exactly as Lin Shuyuan saw and heard!
Just as Lin Shuyuan witnessed, after the Week 5 regular season ga, the number fourteen jersey belonging to Lu Ke ushered in an unprecedented sales frenzy, with both the ho and away jerseys flying off the shelves!
According to the NFL's official statistics, the number fourteen jersey set a new record for single-week sales, second only to the single-week sales record set by Cam Newton after the draft. This data not only easily made him the champion of jersey sales for the San Francisco 49ers this week, but also the champion of single-week sales for the entire league.
What's even more incredible is that the single-week sales of the number fourteen jersey were even better than the combined sales of all other players on the San Francisco 49ers team this week. Thanks to this week's sales frenzy, Lu Ke is now the third-ranked player in individual jersey sales for the 2011 season, only behind Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis.
All of this happened in just one week, truly showing people what it ans to beco a sensation overnight!
This rapidly rising upward curve not only attracted the attention of the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL but also major entertainnt dia outlets. They all reported on Lu Ke's excellent performance on the football field and how he was moving forward one step at a ti, becoming one of the most unique phenona on the NFL field this year.
Sotis, being "Chinese" can be a reason for people to attack you, but other tis, being "Chinese" can be a synonym for creating a miracle. Just like being an "undrafted rookie," you might be t with doubt and taunts, but after breaking through the restraints and shackles, you can burst forth with ten or even a hundred tis more shock and surprise.
Back then, Kurt Warner erged in the sa way, becoming an incredible "Cinderella" in league history. Similarly, Tom Brady's glory also began as the 199th pick in the sixth round. Behind his repeated successes, this story is always brought up.
Now, it's Lu Ke's turn. After overcoming the impossible, Lu Ke is writing a miracle of his own.
In addition, the NFL's official statistics further showed that the sales of the number fourteen jersey were mainly concentrated in the San Francisco area, accounting for over 80% of the total. Of the remaining sales, 17% ca from other parts of California outside of San Francisco. Outside of California, it was less than 3%.
This data suggests a conclusion: the entire sphere of influence is still centered in San Francisco, and in other parts of North Arica, the influence is still negligible. The excitent on the internet is, in the end, just people watching the show.
In fact, this wasn't surprising and was even expected. This is the typical sales curve for a rookie player's jersey.
Rookie players lack self-proof and market appeal. After the draft, they join their respective teams, and fans show their support and expectations for the rookie player by buying their jersey. But outside of the team, other fans are still spectators. They are waiting to see the rookie players' performance on the field, then they find a player they are interested in and buy their jersey.
Every rookie player, including Cam Newton, is like this, and Lu Ke is no exception.
The sales frenzy of the number fourteen jersey perfectly illustrates one thing: the San Francisco 49ers' fan base is finally starting to wake up, and Lu Ke has finally won the support and trust of the fans.
From a positive perspective, this is motivation. From a negative perspective, this is pressure.
After five consecutive gas of stellar performance, the fans' expectations are skyrocketing. They will expect more in the future. Leaving aside the Super Bowl and playoffs, at the very least, they expect a string of victories and for Lu Ke to lead the San Francisco 49ers back to the playoffs after an eight-year absence.
The more attention you get, the more pressure you have. The higher the expectations, the greater the disappointnt. This has always been a double-edged sword. But what's undeniable is that Lu Ke now has the love and admiration of this city. As an undrafted rookie and a Chinese quarterback, Lu Ke achieved this in just five gas. This is an incredible start to a career.
So, can Lu Ke beco another Kurt Warner? People are waiting to see.
Fans are enthusiastic, comntators are full of praise, the news dia is focused on him, and the internet is on fire. After the end of Week 5 of the regular season, Lu Ke truly enjoyed the high-level treatnt of both fa and fortune.
But for Lu Ke, this was a disaster. His daily training was being chased by paparazzi, and he eventually had to go to the training base at Candlestick Park to complete his training. And there were more than a dozen journalists gathered outside his ho, waiting around the clock, trying to dig up more secrets about Lu Ke's private life.
What was the deal with this quarterback who seed to have popped out of nowhere?
Lu Ke deeply realized that moving was a necessity, otherwise, Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning's daily lives would be affected.
The more lively, crazy, and noisy it got, the more Lu Ke realized that it was not easy to stay focused. Fortunately, Leigh Steinberg intervened in ti and allowed Lu Ke to use his private apartnt to escape the paparazzi and focus on preparing for the next regular season ga, putting himself back into his daily training in an orderly manner.
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