773 Touched in the heart
"I have a friend, John Ward. Don't think about it, you haven't heard of his name, he's my college teammate, and like me, he's a sparring partner, and his qualifications are ordinary. In our final season at the university, we did everything we could to be bench players, and in our final game of college, we combined for a 21-point comeback to win that game.
At a certain point, we really thought we had the whole world.
But after the season, he gave up the draft and found a regular job. He now works as a car salesman, wearing a suit and tie every day, going to work in a proper manner, and then currying favor with customers in the hope that they will open their wallets. The last time we were on the phone, he told me that he missed playing and standing on the pitch, but he knew he might never get a chance to come back. ”
In the face of Moss's irritability and anger, Lu Ke seemed to have gradually gotten used to it, and was not afraid at all, and told a story to himself in a calm tone, and after finishing speaking, after a slight pause, Lu Ke added, "But you're back." ”
John Ward.
The name that was forgotten by almost everyone, but Lu Ke never forgot it.
Perhaps, now Ward and Lu Ke have chosen a completely different way of life, but those glorious years will remain in the memory of youth forever, and will not fade, let alone disappear.
Lu Ke always couldn't help but think that if Ward could also enter the league and join the San Francisco 49ers, how good would it be, the group of teammates at UCLA would be reunited again, but ...... Life is life, and being able to fight side by side with Logan and Marcus is already a very rare experience, and he shouldn't have more extravagant expectations. The cruelty and gore of the professional arena are never tender.
Ward couldn't return, but Moss did.
In a way, fate is unfair. Moss has the talent and spirit that everyone envies, he can be unbridled, profligate, wanton and wanton, shining on this green field, he is trying to chase another great footstep, and there are countless dry bones behind him.
After retiring, Moss still has the option to come back and stand on the pitch in his own way, because God has given him the gift to do whatever he wants. Even at the age of thirty-two, even after a year of retirement, the San Francisco 49ers still chose to sign with Moss. This is the partiality of the Creator.
"So what?" Moss remained unmoved, there are so many stories like this in competitive sports, there are too many to count, and he can't and doesn't need to express his sorrow and pity for a college player who didn't even participate in the draft.
"So, why did you choose to come back?" Lu Ke returned the topic to the original point.
This time, Lu Ke did not pause and continued to say, "Those who are eager to come back will never be able to do it; And you choose to come back, but you are squandering your talents and abilities. I know you still have a keen touch, you can still tear through the zone defense, you can still find a way forward in the midst of thousands of troops; However, you can't continue to play the same way you used to. ”
"It's not because you're not a twenty-two-year-old Randy Moss anymore, it's because a twenty-two-year-old Randy Moss relied on this way of playing and still didn't win the Super Bowl, not even the 2007 New England Patriots." A simple and clear sentence, but it stabbed Moss's wound fiercely, cruel and rough, and in an instant, the blood cracked.
"Grass! Get lost! I don't care about you! Moss was completely enraged, foaming at the mouth, scolding regardless of it, and the tablet in his hand smashed straight towards Lu Ke.
Lu Ke didn't stand clumsily like a stake, and with a slight dodge, he avoided the tablet, and then there was a muffled sound in his ears, the tablet smashed heavily on the ground, and the glass screen on the surface was completely shattered, splashing the sand on the ground, but this still couldn't vent the anger in his heart, and the continuous foul mouth vented out.
Lu Ke didn't refute, nor did he leave, just stood in place, meeting Moss's gaze without humility or arrogance.
Moss is arrogant, Moss is wanton, Moss is egoistic, he has never changed.
There have been countless people who have questioned Moss because he is too unruly, he doesn't even have half the effort of ordinary players, he has studied the tactical manual in a mess, and he is completely relying on his personal talent to play.
In a flash of inspiration, he can complete an unbelievable catch, and even in the midst of thousands of troops, a touchdown is like a bag; But at crucial moments, the team wasn't sure they could trust Moss because his "inspiration" was too elusive.
Even during his time with the New England Patriots, Bilicek was always able to ask Moss to follow the instructions set out in the playbook to get to the passing position, but Moss's temper and arrogance were still a ticking time bomb, playing only once in the Super Bowl for seven seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and four seasons with the New England Patriots.
The team's reasons cannot be denied, and Moss's own reasons cannot be ignored.
This is also one of the important differences between Randy Moss and Jerry Rice.
In terms of talent alone, Rice can't compare to Moss. In fact, Rice is one of the hardest training players, his father is a bricklayer, born in a remote and quiet town, not to mention luxuries, even the pervasive "food for the soul" such as wine/essence and/poison/product can hardly be found here, which makes Rice always maintain a simple and focused attitude to life.
Incidentally, Jerry Rice is a legend of the San Francisco 49ers, who teamed up with Joe Montana and other players to create the San Francisco dynasty in the late eighties; After his comeback, Moss chose San Francisco, and it was not without Rice's matchmaking to play a role.
In the city of San Francisco, Rice is a legend.
Rice, who still lives in San Francisco, still maintains a habit he has since joining the league: almost every day, he goes to the suburbs and jogs up a small hill with a 2.5-mile incline; And each time, he sprints all his way through the final few hundred yards, honing his body's ability to push beyond the limits of his pain.
Rice's ability to perform well in the fatigue of the fourth quarter is inseparable from the fact that he has been training like this for many years.
On that long hillside, there is still a San Francisco 49ers player, but not the 80th in the past, but the 14th now
The number 80 shirt was officially retired at the Cindebrum Stadium in 2010.
Before the home game against Buffalo Bill this week, Lu Ke still started a full day of training according to his habits, running at a variable speed of 10,000 meters, and now the excitement still exists, because Lu Ke is increasing the frequency and rhythm of the speed change, further challenging the limits of the body, which has gradually become Lu Ke's warm-up method.
Unexpectedly, Lu Ke met Jerry Rice.
Rice, who has just turned 50 this year, is still in good spirits, finishing the hillside sprint as if his retirement in 2005 was still yesterday.
What is surprising is that this is the first official meeting between Lu Ke and Rice; And it was Rice who took the initiative to say hello, which really startled Lu Ke, and at that time Rice said with a smile, "Keep breathing, keep breathing, training is more important, after reaching the top of the slope, we can talk slowly." ”
After the warm-up run, Lu Ke and Les stood on the top of the hill, facing the city scene stretching under their feet, the two of them just chatted like ordinary friends, as if the matter of 49 people in San Francisco was not in the dictionary at all, and in the end, Lu Ke was relatively young and did not hold back the excitement in his heart.
Lu Ke took the initiative to bring up Randy Moss. He didn't know how to work with Moss or how to communicate with him, which has become a big problem in the team right now.
Rice didn't answer Lu Ke's question, but said with a smile, "Randy is still the same Randy, he has never changed, it was like this before, and it is like this now." Do you know? He once told me to my face that the Super Bowl was nothing at all and that he didn't need a Super Bowl championship ring to prove his greatness. A touchdown would have been enough. ”
"The year before last at the Candlestick Stadium, after the retirement ceremony of my jersey, he told me that he regretted it. Perhaps, that was the only time he showed weakness in front of me. Rice then added.
Lu Ke seemed to understand Rice's words, but he didn't seem to understand. It wasn't until today that he really understood.
Moss is still the same Moss, but the truth is that Moss is only 32 years old this year, and Rice still created a 1,000-yard season when he was 38 years old.
Talent tends to grow old with age; Hard work can bring wisdom with the precipitation of time.
Perhaps, Moss has not changed, his way of playing, his temperament, his personality, his way of life, all of them have not changed; But again, his desire to win has not changed, as has his desire for the Super Bowl. That's why he chose to come back and that's what motivates him to get on the pitch again.
That's why Lu Ke had what he said just now.
Moss's temper was finally vented, and Lu Ke said again, "My goal is the Super Bowl, and I know that all 32 teams in the entire league are aiming for the Super Bowl, but the difference is that I am ready, and my teammates and I will go all out and move towards victory step by step." Now the question is, are you ready? ”
It's not just about preparing for a comeback, it's about preparing for change.
"If you're ready, tomorrow morning, there's a tactical meeting between the quarterbacks and the wide receivers, not team-organized, me-organized. If you want, come to the training base at half past seven. After finishing speaking, Lu Ke didn't pay any attention to Moss, turned around and walked away. 2k reading web