Dominate the Super Bowl-Chapter 290 - 289 fighting shoulder to shoulder

Anderson hesitated slightly, as Li Wei was out on his morning jog, and it seemed he shouldn’t interrupt Li Wei’s routine; but after a brief struggle, he still spoke up.

"Do you have a minute?"

Li Wei looked at his watch with a serious face, pondering deeply, before finally glancing at Anderson, "You have three minutes."

It was such a small gesture, but the atmosphere lightened up again.

A smile crawled up the corners of Anderson’s mouth.

"Do you know about the 1969 season?"

Li Wei nodded lightly: in the 1969 season, the Kansas City Chiefs won the team’s first and only Super Bowl Championship Trophy.

"That season, we lost twice in the regular season to the damned Oakland Raiders, they simply steamrolled us, utterly destroying us."

"Our quarterback Len Dawson was out for the season due to a leg injury, forcing backup quarterback Mike Livingston to step in and complete the season."

"Unexpectedly, Livingston led the team to five consecutive wins and into the American League final, facing the Oakland Raiders for the third time that season."

"No one favored us. After all, the Oakland Raiders were the division champions and had swept us twice in the season. Everyone was discussing a Super Bowl showdown between the Oakland Raiders and the Minnesota Vikings."

"But we won."

"’17:7’, we made them shut up with their heads covered in dust on their own field in Oakland."

At this point in the conversation, Anderson checked on Li Wei and found there was no sign of impatience on Li Wei’s face; instead, he was listening intently and with relish.

Anderson chuckled softly.

"Have I told this story in the bar, what, ten times? Twenty times? I’ve lost count, the young ones are all fed up with it, showing impatient faces whenever I bring up these old stories."

"We can’t live in the past, can we?"

Anderson’s gaze toward the front revealed a touch of profundity, briefly losing himself in thought. It was now clear that he too had a story of his own.

It was only for a moment. Anderson gathered his thoughts and continued.

"But that game, it’s what has kept me going at this bar for forty years, it supported me through the tough times when my mother passed away due to illness, it supported me through the financial crisis of 2008, and it’s also supporting me through this wave upon wave of unemployment."

"I support the Chiefs, not because they can win championships or victories, but because they’ve become a part of my life. I remember the Chiefs’ scores the week I got married, I remember the sight of other Chiefs fans coming to my father’s funeral, and I remember every face in the bar the day the Chiefs lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers and were knocked out last year."

Despite the bitterness and disappointment, and the heavy weight of six consecutive defeats, Anderson’s lips always maintained a smile.

"Don’t worry about Chris, he has nothing right now, no family, no job, no savings. He’s going through the lowest point of his life; the only thing he has left is the Chiefs."

"He’s just scared, scared to have hope, afraid that hope will rise and then vanish, so he’d rather give up on hope entirely and let himself rot away in the darkness, which might feel easier."

"But deep down, he’s just like us, always standing behind you guys."

"He hasn’t missed a single Chiefs game."

Li Wei revealed a teasing smile, "Has he not missed even these last six games?"

Anderson laughed outright, "Not a single one."

Then, his expression also became more joyful.

"He won’t leave, and neither will we."

"We all love victory, but we won’t turn and leave just because of defeat. For a full forty years, I’ve been right here, and I am not planning on going anywhere."

"So..."

The words suddenly came to a halt.

After saying so much, completely beyond Anderson’s expectations, a mix of emotions surged into his heart, leaving him somewhat unaccustomed for a moment.

But Li Wei understood, he understood it all.

"David," Li Wei called out, Anderson instinctively looked up, "we are still in the fight, so please, stand shoulder to shoulder with us in battle, will you?"

"We," not just "I."

Did this mean there was no chaos in the Kansas City Chiefs’ locker room?

Anderson nodded slightly, "Alright."

Then. Enjoy exclusive content from novelbuddy

Li Wei took strides forward resuming his morning run, his lean and sturdy figure gradually moving farther away under Anderson’s gaze, eventually disappearing into the sunset.

To be honest, it was impossible and unrealistic to have no turbulence or impatience in the locker room after six consecutive losses.

Without warning, the team went from a winning streak to losing one, meaning there were definitely problems. If they didn’t identify the problems, the losing streak couldn’t be stopped, and they might slide into the abyss for the rest of the season.

Actually, looking back at the first six victories of the season, five of them were won by fighting hard in the fourth quarter, which also meant that the team had always had issues, they just hadn’t been exposed yet—

They had always treated the Pittsburgh Steelers as the ultimate enemy, tense to the core, and after the strenuous battle to defeat the Steelers, they heaved a long sigh of relief. The mentality changed when they faced the Oakland Raiders afterward; it wasn’t that they underestimated the opponent, but they definitely weren’t as guarded, nor did they anticipate the fierce and strong counterattack from the Raiders.

Add to that the physical and mental wear and tear from the game against the Steelers, they couldn’t hold on during the critical moments of the fourth quarter against the Raiders.

A single defeat, a turning point.

More than the loss itself, the disruption of the rhythm and momentum of victory were the main issues, and then the team’s weaknesses and shortcomings were exposed.

One game, then another, unstoppable.

Clearly, the team had issues, but in Li Wei’s view, no team was perfect; a team that looked perfect on paper hardly existed in reality. How to cleverly play to their strengths, avoid weaknesses, and adjust tactics to counter the opponent was what truly mattered.

So, the team’s problems might be solved or might not be solvable during the ongoing season, but these were issues for the coaching staff.

As for the players, they had their own ways to address issues.

A touchdown, a breakthrough, an offensive drive, a defensive play, or a change of ball possession— as long as they could bring intensity at crucial moments and once again boost the team’s morale, perhaps the Chiefs could turn the situation around.

In other words, set an example, and do your best.

Li Wei was also always thinking and learning.

Before entering the NFL, Saban and Burns had already reminded Li Wei:

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

The NFL is a whole new world.

Li Wei’s talent was undeniable; the NCAA couldn’t hinder his progress, which was why he entered the professional league. But in the NFL, he was still too young and inexperienced, he had a lot to learn, challenges to face, and room to grow.

On one hand, there is always someone better; all the players in the Professional League are monsters, and talent is just the threshold. The geniuses here are all more freakish than the next.

On the other hand, tactics are complicated and diverse; personal performance may shine in the playbook, or it may be completely lost.

Li Wei still had more challenges on his road to becoming a better player—

Clearly, the Football Training System had noticed this too.

So, in the flip opportunity he just received last week, Li Wei uncovered a brand-new training template, which, in his view, was a reminder from the training system.

And it was an S-level!