Chapter 944: Chapter 944: The Situation Escalates

Chapter 944: The Situation Escalates

"Where were we?"

Ryan tried to change the subject but got flustered. He saw Lu Ke’s meaningful gaze deepen, and Ryan became even more panicked. In his haste, he actually found his train of thought. "Leader! Right, leader! How important is this question? It’s about our entire team. Hmm, let’s keep talking about this."

Lu Ke didn’t know what Ryan was thinking. He thought Ryan was just shy, so he didn’t press the matter and quietly waited for Ryan to continue. "So?"

Ryan’s train of thought was interrupted, and for a moment, he couldn’t connect. He could only start over. "Sorry, to be honest, I don’t know the right answer either. I just know that when it comes to being a leader, there is no right answer. Every player and every leader has their own style. You don’t need to imitate them or follow in their footsteps. The best way is to stay true to yourself."

"Bambi, in my opinion, you’re already doing a great job. You’re leading us to victory in your own way, aren’t you?" Ryan finally got back on track, and his expression became sincere again.

"We’re winning. I don’t know how long this winning streak will last, but I know that just two seasons ago, all of this was impossible. Everything we have now is because of you and Harbaugh. So, please continue to lead us forward. That’s all there is to it."

Ryan didn’t give a standard answer, but Lu Ke’s mood slowly stabilized.

As Ryan said, every patient in the rehabilitation room had their own struggles. Others could help, but in the end, they had to break through on their own. No one could walk the journey of life for them.

The same went for being a team leader. He didn’t need guidance; he needed to stay true to himself. He needed to lead the team his own way. Maybe one day, he would become a role model for others to look up to. Maybe he wouldn’t, but he had to try to find out, didn’t he?

"For your date, I’ll have to work hard, too." With a sense of relief, Lu Ke said easily. He then saw Ryan’s shocked and flustered expression, and Lu Ke’s mood brightened again. "It’s our deal! It’s a done deal. I’m a man of my word, so you’d better be ready."

"...Bambi, I said... wait, wait, Bambi!" Ryan stammered.

On Sunday morning, Lu Ke finished his unexpected visit to the hospital, his mood had calmed down, and he completed his recovery training as planned. Then he went to find Akers, Willis, and Brooks and gathered them to discuss a plan. They started to act that same evening.

Lu Ke and Akers, Willis and Brooks. The four of them split into two teams and went to different bars. They visited each teammate’s home, and whether the offensive players were willing or not, they were all forced to go. Not a single one was left behind.

There were some problems on both sides.

On the offense’s side, Moss and Crabtree refused to go, but Gean, Logan, and Marcus were all making a ruckus. Vernon also helped a lot. In the end, they were half-dragged, half-pulled to the bar. Rupalti and Boone were both light drinkers and rarely drank alcohol for training, just like Lu Ke. The thought of having to drink tonight made them hesitate.

On the defense’s side, Justin Smith simply refused to go, citing an injury. In the end, Willis got angry and told Justin that he could just go and drink soda, but he still wanted him to come. Justin then half-heartedly went. Aldon started drinking heavily even before they got to the bar and was drunk in no time, acting crazy.

You could say it was a way to vent, to discipline, or to have a heart-to-heart talk. In any case, with the help of alcohol, they hoped to break down the barriers between them and express all their thoughts and emotions.

In the end, Justin got completely drunk and squatted at the bar’s entrance, wailing and repeating, "I missed it. I really missed it. It’s gone, it’s never coming back." No matter how hard they tried to comfort him, he couldn’t be consoled. It was genuine sadness.

Finally, Moss got completely drunk and got into a fight with Crabtree right then and there. They both threw punches at each other’s stomachs, but one of them accidentally hit the other’s face. As a result, Moss got a bruise on his cheek. Luckily, you couldn’t see it on a Black person; it was just a little red and swollen. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

The next day was still a day off, but the offense and defense didn’t rest. They still stayed separated and held their own unprecedented tactical meetings. The morning was for recovery training, or rather, hangover training. The afternoon was for watching the game tape and re-analyzing the game they had just finished.

After a full day of practice, the offensive and defensive players went to the bar again.

For professional players, although alcohol was not forbidden, it still needed to be controlled. But now was a special time, and they had to make an exception. After the previous night’s experience, the troublemakers didn’t resist and chose to go with them.

But to their surprise, the offense and defense met at the same bar, "Lima’s Alley."

Or perhaps it wasn’t a surprise, because not only were all 53 players on the roster there, but also the scout team players. More than 60 players had rented out the entire bar. It looked like a pre-meditated move.

After a few rounds of beer, with the help of the four captains, everyone slowly started to talk.

There was no formal apology, which would have been too sentimental. A toast was the best apology. Then, the awkward atmosphere seemed to slowly disappear, and the sharpness of the conflicts and disputes seemed to fade away. Under the influence of alcohol, they became harmonious again.

Everything was going according to plan.

The four team leaders’ efforts had finally paid off... but if only it were that simple.

When they officially returned to the team’s recovery training on Wednesday, the peace they had hoped for had arrived, but an awkward atmosphere was quietly spreading in the locker room.

On the surface, the conflicts and barriers were gone. All the players would nod and say hi to each other, and everything seemed to be fine. But a closer look revealed that something was wrong.

Everyone was too polite.

Their smiles were unfamiliar and polite, and their eyes were distant and perfunctory. Sometimes they didn’t even want to make eye contact. This wasn’t particularly unusual. Teammates didn’t always stare into each other’s eyes, but today’s intentional avoidance was too obvious, which created a sense of awkwardness.

What was even more tense and gloomy was that no one was joking around. Everyone quietly packed their gear, got ready, and after nodding to each other, they left the locker room as if they were running for their lives and went to the practice field. It was as if they had all become "practice addicts" like Lu Ke.

Everything was too intentional, and it became fake.

It was true that the players had talked it out and reconciled. But... did they really? They didn’t directly apologize or have a heart-to-heart conversation. The conflicts were not laid out and resolved. After all, they weren’t 16-year-old girls who would hug each other and cry until they had said everything. They had their own way of doing things.

The real problem was that the players were living, breathing people, not cold, hard data on a computer. The day before, they were pointing fingers at each other and rubbing salt in each other’s wounds. And then 72 hours later, they were back to how things were before the fight? As if nothing had happened?

What’s more, even before the fight, they had their own small conflicts and disputes. This was the normal way players got along. Now, those small matters could no longer be a reason to lose their temper.

For example, Aldon always liked to spray perfume all over the locker room, which was overwhelming. NaVorro Bowman would always complain, and they would even get into a fight. Or, Vernon always liked to walk around without a towel, and everyone who passed by would say it was a cringe moment. And then there’s Logan, who liked to tell vulgar jokes, and not only did no one laugh, but everyone would complain.

But now, all of those small skirmishes had disappeared. Even some harmless conflicts were gone. Everyone was putting on a facade, pretending everything was fine. The politeness hidden behind their words made them distant.

In reality, there might not be any more problems between the players. For example, Lu Ke and Aldon had already cleared the air, and Justin and Goodwin had hugged and made up. But the overall atmosphere of the locker room made them hesitant to act, which made the awkwardness even worse. It seemed even worse than when they had just fought.

Faced with this situation, Lu Ke, Willis, and the others were helpless. They had tried their best, and things seemed to be going as expected, but no one had foreseen this outcome. Now, they didn’t know if this strange situation was getting better or worse, and they didn’t know what to do.

But the regular season schedule wouldn’t wait for them, and it certainly wouldn’t slow down because of the 49ers’ locker room problems. In the blink of an eye, before they could even catch their breath, another game day had arrived, another away game. So, what would happen this time?

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