Chapter 50: Chapter 45: Rose Bowl Game
It was chaotic. A wall of sound—the deafening roar of a marching band—poured from the center of the bowl-shaped structure before them, crashing like thunderous waves under the open sky. A sea of people surged along the main thoroughfare, where street vendors lined the sides selling souvenirs, popcorn, hot dogs, and team gear. The scene was electric. A long, winding dragon of cars waiting for parking stretched out from the lot, its tail disappearing into the horizon...
Jiang Youning stood outside the passenger-side door, her jaw dropping at the magnificent spectacle. It was like another world, completely detached from everyday life. The impact was even more pronounced for Jiang Youning, who spent most of her days in an office. Lu Zhengze’s voice called out to her, "What is it? Awestruck?"
Jiang Youning chuckled. "Don’t act like you’re used to this. It’s your first time seeing a game live, too." Having lived in San Francisco for over a decade, they still habitually spoke Chinese in private. It was thanks to this environment that Lu Ke hadn’t lost his Chinese.
For most people from China, American football was a relatively unfamiliar sport, and Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning were no exception. When Lu Ke first said he wanted to play football, they thought he meant soccer. The same word, "football," specifically refers to American football in the United States, but soccer in most other countries. The couple wasn’t too surprised at the time. It wasn’t until they went to the school to watch Lu Ke’s first game that they were left completely dumbfounded.
Over the years, because of their son, Lu Zhengze had become a semi-fan of the sport; he could talk about teams and tactics with surprising authority. Even Jiang Youning was no longer completely clueless about the rules of the game. However, they had never actually been to a stadium to watch a game in person. Until today.
At the start of this year’s season, Lu Ke became a backup for the Brown Bear Team. His years of hard work had finally paid off, and Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning were thrilled. However, they both had jobs, and the drive between San Francisco and Los Angeles was seven or eight hours long. Even if they wanted to go to the games to show their support, it wasn’t easy.
But the Rose Bowl was different. January 1st was a public holiday. Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning had made a special trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles yesterday, specifically to watch the game. They knew Lu Ke was a backup and would very likely have no chance to play, that he would just be a tiny speck on the sidelines, but they still drove down without a second thought.
The two of them followed the flow of the crowd toward the stadium entrance. Amidst the boisterous crowd, they saw a young man jumping up and down in the distance. "Here! Here! Jack, I’m over here!" Before they could respond, the young man rushed over with a huge grin on his face. He enthusiastically hugged both Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning. "Welcome back to Los Angeles! How was it? Did everything go smoothly getting here today?"
Jack. That was Lu Zhengze’s English name. In 1997, Lu Zhengze immigrated to the United States with his family. At the time, to adapt to the social environment and daily communication, his Chinese name proved to be too much of a mouthful, so he had to choose an English name. Back then, *Titanic* was a massive box office hit, so he went with "Jack." He never imagined that name would stick with him for over a decade of his life in America.
"Everything’s fine, aside from parking taking a bit of effort. But you know, we live in San Francisco..." Lu Zhengze’s look of nonchalant resignation made everyone chuckle. San Francisco is a city of hills; parking is even more difficult there. "Sorry to trouble you to come get us. I told Lu Ke yesterday not to worry about us. There are clear signs everywhere; we definitely wouldn’t have gotten lost."
The person who had come to greet Lu Ke’s parents was none other than his roommate, Jay. Over the past few years, Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning had often come to Los Angeles to visit their son, so they were very familiar with his roommates, Jay and Logan. They could be considered old friends, so they spoke casually with one another. Today, Lu Ke had to stick with his teammates and couldn’t meet his parents, so he had delegated the task to Jay.
"I’m sure you wouldn’t get lost. But for watching the Rose Bowl, you really do need a little guidance." Jay said, deliberately building suspense. He led the two of them toward the entrance. After their tickets were checked, staff members in bright yellow raincoats came into view, guiding spectators toward the seats corresponding to their tickets. They walked through the shoulder-to-shoulder packed corridor and up the stairs to the stands. Suddenly, the view opened up, and a staggering scene unfolded before them—
A jam-packed crowd filled every corner of their vision, churning madly like a tempest. The boiling noise was like a hurricane, swirling and echoing endlessly inside the stadium. The turbulent air pressed in from all sides, squeezing them so tightly it was almost hard to breathe.
One hundred thousand people. The entire stadium held one hundred thousand people, like a vast ocean. Each individual was like a single, insignificant drop of water. The grandeur of the world and the insignificance of man had never been so stark and profound. The soul-shaking awe rendered all words powerless. It felt as if one careless moment could cause you to disappear completely into the churning waves.
"So? What do you think?" Jay said with a cheerful laugh. "Even though I’ve been here countless times, the shock never lessens. Every time, I’m just speechless with amazement. And that’s especially true tonight. This is the biggest event of the year!" Jay was also savoring the scene before him. As he looked out, his own heart swelled with an uncontrollable excitement.
"This is just magnificent!" Jiang Youning couldn’t help but exclaim. Then she added teasingly, "The last time I watched one of Lu Ke’s games, it was on the sidelines of his high school field. You know, with a bunch of bored moms and noisy kids. The whole scene was a bit of a chaotic mess."
Her quip made Jay burst into cheerful laughter. "Annie, now I know where Lu Ke gets his sense of humor." Annie was Jiang Youning’s English name.
"This is the most spectacular sight I’ve ever seen in my life!" Lu Zhengze’s mouth was slightly agape, a dazed look on his face. It felt as if his brain had stopped working.
’Imagine standing in the center of that field, under the watchful eyes of a hundred thousand people, showing off your skills, your talent, with all those cheers roaring down at you... what would that feel like?’ But Lu Zhengze found his imagination too poor to even conjure a tenth of that magnificence.
Jay couldn’t help but sigh in agreement. "Yeah, it’s just unparalleled!" Then he clapped Lu Zhengze on the shoulder and gestured for them to move. "Come on, let’s join the ranks of the fans! The party’s just getting started."
The surging crowd was like roiling magma, an active volcano ready to erupt at any moment, unleashing all its energy. The stands were densely packed with people; it seemed there wasn’t a single empty seat in sight—but that was impossible, because masses of spectators were still streaming in, finding their seats, and settling down. The optical illusion was only creating an even grander spectacle.
"Whoa." Adam Klein couldn’t help but let out a sigh of wonder. As a scout who had been in the business for over thirty-five years, he had seen countless big games, including the Super Bowl. But every time he attended the Rose Bowl, the breathtaking effect never diminished.
Because the Rose Bowl was the largest stadium in the United States, its one-hundred-thousand-person capacity was unmatched by any other venue. And also because the fans of UCLA, the University of Southern California, and Stanford were known for their unparalleled fervor, obsession, and passion.
What’s more, the two teams in this year’s Rose Bowl were returning to the bowl game stage after ten and eleven years, respectively, and it was the Brown Bear Team’s home stadium. The frenzy in the stadium was even more out of control. There was still some time before kickoff, but the explosive tension in the air was already thick enough to be suffocating.
"Hope we get an offensive shootout tonight," Adam said with a sigh, expressing his wish.
The Badger Team was, without a doubt, one of the best offensive teams. The Brown Bear Team was relatively weaker in that regard, but compared to their defense, they were also a team that relied on offense to win games. But, the more important reason was...
"Haha, what, you think there are some prospects worth watching on their offenses?" Blake Simmons, sitting next to him, joked teasingly. He was also a scout, having been around the Alliance for eighteen years, and now his hair was gray and his skin was loose.
For a scout, observing players was the only purpose. Tonight was a bowl game, which meant the long season was about to end. Every scout already had a rough draft in their mind. During the game, their job was to observe the rookies they had their eyes on and make further assessments.
However, in this year’s Rose Bowl matchup, there weren’t many outstanding, top-tier prospects, so expectations were adjusted down a bit.
Adam chuckled. "The defense on these two teams isn’t even worth mentioning. The Brown Bear Team is a little better, but they rely on their collective strength. Chuck Bullough did a really outstanding job this year. He somehow managed to coach a third-rate Defense Team into a second-rate one. I actually think Chuck could try applying for a job in the Alliance. There’s a real shortage of good defensive coaches right now."
"Really? What about JJ Watt? You’re not high on him?" Blake asked curiously. The Badger Team’s Defensive End, the player had improved by leaps and bounds. This year, his junior year, he’d recorded sixty-two tackles and seven sacks during the season and was selected for the Associated Press’s All-American Second Team. He was definitely on many scouts’ radar.
"Is there any shortage of scouting reports on him?" Adam shrugged, stating the obvious. "Tonight, we’ll just see how many sacks he can get on the opposing quarterback."
"What about the quarterbacks?" Blake continued to ask.
