J.J. Watt, the Houston Texans' first-round rookie and a highly-regarded defensive end.

During the rookie training camp, Watt gained a reputation for his relentless, beast-like training and his workaholic-like focus. His single-minded dedication created an intimidating aura that made him hard to approach.

By the end of the camp, Watt hadn't made many friends. In his opinion, the rookie training camp wasn't the place to make friends; all those social events were a waste of time. However, Lu Ke was the only exception. The two unexpectedly became friends through training and maintained their friendship, often talking on the phone even during the busy regular season.

"Watt, how many times do you think a game tape needs to be watched?" Without much small talk, Lu Ke asked directly.

Watt, on the other end of the phone, didn't object and said reflexively, "At least five times. The first time, watch the whole thing. The second time, watch the offensive line. The third time, watch the quarterback. The fourth time, watch the whole thing again. And the fifth time, re-watch it against your notes. If you need to, you can keep watching."

Lu Ke turned to Curry and spread his hands. "I told you, I'm not alone. There's a skill to watching game tapes. A professional player's training isn't just in the gym and on the field. The preparation, note-taking, and discussions in the tactical meeting room are also very important."

Then, Lu Ke raised an eyebrow at Curry. "Don't tell me you don't have this habit in the NBA?"

"God, the plays in basketball aren't as complicated as in football, okay? We have a lot of crazies on our team, but they can't compare to you guys," Curry immediately started complaining.

Having been in the professional league for two years, how could Curry not know how to watch game tapes? But it was undeniable that the bigger picture in a football game was more comprehensive and complicated. In comparison, the sections in a basketball game weren't as detailed, so there were huge differences in the methods and content of watching game tapes.

Over the past two years, Curry always felt that something was missing in his tactical knowledge, which limited his performance on the court, but he couldn't put his finger on it. When he asked his teammates and coaches, they all had the same opinion, not thinking there was any problem, and believing that Curry was just overthinking things.

Now, facing Lu Ke, Curry had a faint feeling that he was finally finding the key.

"Basketball? Bambi, what's going on? Do you have guests right now?" Watt on the other end of the phone finally realized something was out of the ordinary.

Lu Ke put the phone on speaker. "J.J. Watt, Stephen Curry; Stephen Curry, J.J. Watt. Now that the introductions are over, Watt, we were just discussing how to get a better understanding of the big picture on the field..."

"Wait, wait," Curry raised his hands, stopping the nonstop Lu Ke. "If I'm not mistaken, J.J. Watt is a Houston Texans player, right? Are you sure it's okay for us to be discussing tactics here?"

"Didn't you just say that you haven't been watching football for the past two years?" Lu Ke's random quip made Curry pause before he reacted and let out an awkward chuckle. Lu Ke then continued, "Don't worry, I wouldn't leak any team secrets. J.J. and I are just sharing training tips. Besides, I don't need any leaked secrets to beat the Texans, do I?"

Lu Ke, of course, wouldn't share any core secrets from the playbook with Watt.

In fact, when they talked, they rarely mentioned games or each other's performance in the regular season, let alone plays. They mostly just talked about training, basic training. It was because of this that two players on different teams and in different positions became good friends.

"You sure? You want to have a one-on-one on the field to see who's better?" Watt said in a low voice.

"..." Lu Ke was silent for a moment, then exaggeratedly changed the subject. "Alright, let's get back to basic training. J.J., I remember you played hockey, basketball, and baseball in high school, right? Is it true what Stephen said, that the entire training method is completely different?"

Leigh, standing at the entrance of the living room, looked at Lu Ke and Curry, who were in a lively discussion, and Watt on the other end of the phone. The three of them were huddled around a phone, chattering and giving their opinions. In less than three minutes, they had completely switched to a mode of total concentration, the speed and focus of which were astonishing.

Both helpless and relieved, Leigh shook his head slightly and ordered pizza for the two of them—simple, quick, and convenient. They could eat while watching the game tape. It was an essential choice for a day like this. Without saying a word, Leigh quietly left, leaving the space to the young men.

After signing Lu Ke, Leigh felt that he was always full of surprises.

In the increasingly professional and standardized NFL, he saw a new vitality. People saw the aura of a 5-1 record and the brilliance of an undrafted rookie who came out of nowhere, but they didn't see the hard work Lu Ke put in behind the scenes. If Lu Ke's sudden emergence could attract more minorities to join the sport of football, it would be a blessing.

For professional players, the precious rest of the bye week was undoubtedly a time to relax their minds. But for the fans, the bye week was a long and endless period of nothingness.

Jonathan Baldwin was one of them. He counted the days on his fingers: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Logically, Thursday night's game was just around the corner, and Sunday's regular season game seemed not far away either. But then he suddenly realized that the San Francisco 49ers didn't have a game this Sunday, and his excitement immediately deflated.

The only thing to be happy about was that this Wednesday, Under Armour was holding an official press conference in San Francisco to announce their partnership with Lu Ke. This was an opportunity to see Lu Ke up close outside of the stadium.

Standing in the lobby of the Under Armour flagship store, Jonathan stared at the crowd.

Jonathan had thought that as a rookie quarterback who had only played six games, Lu Ke was still just starting to make a name for himself. Although they, the old-time fans, showed their loyal support, it was more for the team than for Lu Ke himself.

He naturally assumed that not many people would show up for today's press conference and fan meeting.

But now, the huge crowd was at least six hundred, if not eight hundred people. The entire lobby of the flagship store was completely packed, and people were even spilling out onto the street. Jonathan was bewildered and couldn't understand. His first thought was:

Did Under Armour pay people to come and support him?

However, that thought only lasted for less than ten seconds before it vanished.

He heard excited discussions about the final game-winning drive of last week's game. There were so many incredible moments, and the confidence and resilience of the offense led by Lu Ke were truly amazing.

"Lu Ke, it has to be Lu Ke. How could last week's player of the week be Bradshaw?"

"I agree, completely agree. I mean, Bradshaw's performance was outstanding, but Lu Ke completely blew him out of the water. What's wrong with the league, are they blind?"

In the sixth week of the regular season, the NFC Offensive Player of the Week was awarded to New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw. This running back rushed for 104 yards and scored three touchdowns in the game against the Buffalo Bills, leading his team to a 27-24 victory despite Eli Manning's poor performance.

The chattering discussions attracted more and more attention, and soon, the fans around him joined in. Not only the game against the Detroit Lions this week but also the past six weeks of the regular season seemed to have endless topics, and even the game they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles was still enjoyable to talk about.

In a daze, Jonathan felt as if he was back at "Joe's Bar," surrounded by the old guys, chattering away about their opinions. Football was their everything. The only difference was that the fans in front of him were younger and more vibrant.

At this moment, Jonathan looked around and realized that most of the fans were young people, looking to be in their early twenties and full of energy. After many years, the city was once again revitalized by football and had rekindled the spirit of Candlestick Park. This sight was truly long overdue.

Unable to contain his excitement, Jonathan joined the discussion. "I think so, too..."

With the lively discussions and excitement, the waiting time became interesting. After the press conference, a short fan meeting was held. Every fan could line up, buy a jersey, and talk to Lu Ke face-to-face, shake hands, get an autograph, and take a photo.

It was clear that Under Armour was a little unprepared and had not anticipated such a large crowd of fans.

An undrafted rookie, a Chinese-American player, and a newcomer who had only played six games, had steadily and step by step earned a place for himself in this city with his performance. A press conference had gathered over eight hundred fans, true fanatics, who ignited the noise of the entire city.

For Under Armour, this was a pleasant surprise.

The excitement at the venue was building, and when Lu Ke appeared on stage again in a casual outfit, the cheers and chants were overwhelming. It wasn't just simple shouts but a unified chant, once again showing the spectacular scene of Candlestick Park:

"We are! Warriors!"

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