Dominate the Super Bowl-Chapter 322 - 321 Grasping at shadows

"Skipping practice, going AWOL to hotels, living it up—is the Kansas City Chiefs’ number twenty-three rookie off the rails again?"

"Just won a do-or-die game, and Rookie Running Back Li Wei can’t wait to head to the hotel for some cozy relaxation."

"This season’s League Rookie of the Year secretly meets with a supermodel at a hotel, alone for four hours!"

"The do-or-die game isn’t over yet, but Kansas City’s top rookie is already eager to party, sparking intense dissatisfaction among teammates, with the locker room a ticking time bomb."

"Li Wei ditches his teammates to meet at the hotel alone, and who is waiting in the room...?"

Indeed, this once again proves an age-old truth—

With fame comes trouble.

No sooner had Li Wei left the Marriott Hotel than all sorts of speculative photos and rumors started wildly trending on social media.

And one more outrageous than the next.

Really, you don’t need to be very observant or smart, and certainly not Holmes, to glance at the photos and see that there’s only Li Wei alone in them—not even a fly, let alone a model. There’s absolutely nothing amiss, the accompanying text is pure nonsense.

But with hot topics and gimmicks come the traffic.

Besides, when the story’s main character is Li Wei, the League’s most discussed and controversial player, it’s easy to send social media into a frenzy.

This was just the prelude.

The reporters Li Wei had left behind at the training base’s doorstep finally showed their professional chops, promptly finding a breakthrough—

Coca-Cola.

After the first lead emerged, the connections and competencies of professional journalists played a crucial role. One by one, they started sifting through top-tier brand sponsors, and then it was everyone for themselves, skills at the ready.

Some brands were tight-lipped, saying they were unaware of any dealings with Li Wei; others were evasive, acknowledging that they’d heard Li Wei’s name mentioned within their companies, but were still in the preliminary discussion phase; some seized the opportunity to hype things up, claiming they were indeed in contact with Li Wei and hoped to collaborate.

Before long, a variety of speculative news changed its face on social media.

All sorts of guesses, legends, and groundless speculations ran rampant.

Until the official announcement from the brands, the veracity of these sponsorship messages had to be questioned, but the gossip-thirsty public was still exhilarated. Everyone claimed the news was irrefutable, as if they had personally witnessed Li Wei signing the contracts. This whirlwind of heated discussion also gave the media a perfect excuse—

"The team crisis is still unresolved, but Li Wei’s focus is no longer on the field."

"Aggressively chasing the money! Li Wei’s personal future outweighs the team’s prospects."

"Each upcoming game for the Kansas City Chiefs remains a do-or-die battle, but Li Wei is already eager to maximize his interests."

"Reason for missing practice: personal commercial activities."

"Reed’s indulgence is turning Li Wei into a locker room cancer."

"Was the performance against the Oakland Raiders a true resurgence or just a fleeting return to form? But obviously, Li Wei has more important personal financial opportunities to worry about."

"While this day was bound to come—players kneeling before the cheques waved by sponsors—but has Li Wei chosen the right moment?"

"Li Wei dominates alone; the Kansas Chiefs Offense doesn’t dare to speak out against a rookie? Is that true?"

It all felt eerily familiar.

Back in the first month of the regular season, when Li Wei went to Los Angeles to face the Chargers, there was already a buzz in the media about rumors of Li Wei skipping training sessions and losing himself in the world of fame and wealth; fast forward to the final month of the regular season, with the Kansas City Chiefs about to host their division rivals, the Los Angeles Chargers, and the media began to chatter incessantly about the corrosion and poison of fame and fortune.

It seemed like things had changed, yet it also seemed like they never did.

It turns out, life is a circle.

As the media said, the Kansas City Chiefs’ season crisis was still unresolved, with each game in the upcoming weeks being a do-or-die battle for playoff spots, and they were set to face each of their division rivals in turn:

The game against the Oakland Raiders was over; next was the Los Angeles Chargers, followed by a game against another division’s Miami Dolphins, and finally, the season-ending battle against the Denver Broncos.

Last week, the Oakland Raiders, with the same record as the Kansas City Chiefs at six wins and six losses, faced off in a decisive battle. The Kansas City Chiefs defeated their division rivals and improved their record to seven wins and six losses; meanwhile, the Los Angeles Chargers also secured a victory, keeping pace with the Kansas City Chiefs at seven wins and six losses.

This week, the Kansas City Chiefs were about to enter their second consecutive division rival’s showdown, with the victors keeping their playoff hopes alive and the losers possibly falling out of contention completely.

Therefore, despite ending a losing streak with an exhilarating victory, the continuous flashing of the red warning lights was still blaring.

Now that the media had an opportunity, they naturally clung to Li Wei’s tail stubbornly.

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Moreover, worth noting is that since week three of the regular season, when the Kansas City Chiefs easily defeated the Los Angeles Chargers away, the latter’s season had fallen into confusion, with quarterback Philip Rivers’s performance being noticeably inconsistent and the offense performing poorly; to everyone’s surprise, the team’s Defensive group stepped up, carrying the Los Angeles Chargers all the way to this point, still preserving their playoff hopes.

Currently, the Los Angeles Chargers’ Defensive group ranks third overall in the league, with their pass defense ranked number one, while their ground defense sits at thirty-first, second to last in the league.

The stark contrast between the extremes has led to highly inconsistent gameplay for the Chargers.

Luckily, as the league now emphasizes the passing game, there are hardly any teams that truly focus on the ground offense, providing a breathing space for the Los Angeles Chargers.

This time, as the Los Angeles Chargers visit the Kansas City Chiefs, the odds are fifty-fifty, with both teams having a shot, but whether the Kansas City Chiefs’ transformed ground offense can gain enough advantage over the completely extinguished ground defense of the Los Angeles Chargers to bring victory to Arrowhead Stadium remains an important point of interest.

It’s precisely for this reason that the controversy surrounding Li Wei has intensified.

At such a critical match, at such a crucial moment, could Li Wei be completely overlooking the team’s situation for personal gain? When Li Wei’s commercial activities and the team’s interests clashed, this rookie star clearly made the wrong choice.

Without careful attention, this could become a destabilizing factor in the Kansas City Chiefs’ locker room.

And with that, the media exploded.

Even the die-hard Kansas City Chiefs fans couldn’t help starting to worry; against the Los Angeles Chargers, it was Li Wei who carried a huge responsibility!

But what about reality?

In the locker room, the atmosphere was harmonious.

Kelsey shook his head with a face full of regret, looking at the messages on his phone screen, "Sigh, these media folks are still too young, too naive. They should try coming here themselves and then they’d know whether the rookie’s been slacking in training or not, it’s all hot air."

"Get flattened by a rookie on suicide sprints a couple of times, and you’ll get the picture," Houston said leisurely.

Ha ha ha, the locker room erupted with laughter.