San Francisco's 49-man press conference hall is well-known among the league.

However, the interior furnishings are not very advanced or modern, in fact, it is a lecture hall space, with a small stage in front of it, a long table and the team flag hanging behind it; Facing a fan-shaped staircase room, it was surrounded by layers. The whole design is ordinary and decent.

What really makes people remember here is the interior decoration and color, the combination of gold, red and blue, simple and elegant with grace and luxury, the dark blue carpet under the feet is to minimize all the noise and noise in the room, and there is a soft, comfortable and brisk joy floating in the warm air, and the beauty above the vision always makes people feel happy.

In fact, the Candlestick Stadium is a historic stadium that has been completed for more than half a century, and the traces of time can be glimpsed in the old buildings, outdated decorations, and outdated equipment.

Although the Yorkes took over the team and underwent a refurbishment to welcome a new era with a new attitude; But since 2006, the Yorkes have been working on a new course, and in 2010 they passed a proposal that won the support of City Hall, and the new course was officially under construction.

In the near future, the Candlestick Stadium may be a thing of the past.

Despite this, this historic stadium still carries the glory and glory of the whole team. In this press conference hall, people witnessed the departure of Joe Montana and the retirement of Steve Young, and the meaning is still different after all.

At this time, more than sixty reporters gathered in the press conference hall in a bustling manner, one by one anxiously waiting, those sitting in chairs, chatting without a word, and from time to time their eyes drifted towards the entrance on the left side of the stage, searching for the figure that appeared; Others simply stood up and paced back and forth in the narrow passages and the open space ahead.

Today is Friday, not Wednesday's official press day.

As is customary, the media will not show up at all, and the team will not be open for interviews to avoid disrupting the players' daily training. But at this time, the whole hall was not lively, the lineup of more than 60 reporters was not top, but there were many of them, there was no noisy discussion, but the faintly surging undercurrent made people feel nervous and expectant.

This is an official press conference held by the San Francisco 49ers. It's Friday, and with less than two days left until Sunday's game, the much-anticipated starting quarterback is about to be officially revealed.

In the end, it is Lu Ke, the undrafted rookie quarterback who has repeatedly created miracles in recent times, who will continue to lead the team forward; Alex Smith, a veteran quarterback who has been at the helm of the team for five consecutive years, returned to the reins after returning from injury; Or was Colin Kaepernick, who had high hopes after being drafted in the second round, bounced back strongly after a disappointing preseason break?

Thanks to the presence of Chinese quarterback Lu Ke, the focus of attention, which has attracted attention, has now attracted countless attention. Like Tony Romo and Kurt Warner, Lu Ke's league career, every step is also making history, and the discussion has always been hot.

Now, the critical moment has come, can Lu Ke continue to maintain the starting position? Or is the saga over for the time being, waiting for the next chance to rise?

Even as bystanders, people can't help but be impatient.

"Alex, definitely Alex."

"Agreed, I don't see the need to pick a rookie player. Whether it is Colin or Lu Ke, both of them are too immature, and now the 49ers need a veteran to integrate the team, otherwise their performance is too up-and-down, and they can scare out a few heart attacks in a game. ”

"The only question is, how is Alex's recovery from injury, and does anyone know how he is doing during last week's passing drill?"

……

The discussion that was muffled was not babbling, but buzzing, but all the words still penetrated Jay Fox's ears word for word, and the already nervous mood became more and more irritable, and he just wanted to stand up and shut up the reporters.

Still, what remnants of sanity convinced Jay: it was their job, and to shut up a reporter was to cancel a press conference. So, Jay could only sit honestly in his place, constantly taking deep breaths, trying to calm down.

"What do you think?" A voice suddenly came from the side, Jay couldn't help but be startled, turned his head, and then saw a kind face, and laughed, "Sorry, I scared you." Is there anyone in the next position? Can I sit down? ”

"Of course." Jay said in a panic, "What did you just say?" ”

"Brian, 'San Francisco Chronicle.'" Brian Westbrook took the initiative to introduce himself, and Jay quickly said, "Jay, 'Los Angeles Times.'" ”

Brian gave a look of realization, "Roar, Times." For the West Coast, the Los Angeles Times is the number one newspaper, and although the San Francisco Chronicle is the second, the gap in influence is still relatively obvious.

As for the East Coast, the New York Times is a clear leader, but the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and other major newspapers are no less influential. When it comes to the news media, the East Coast is not just the center of gravity in North America, but the center of gravity in the whole world.

When the "Times" is mentioned in North America, everyone knows that it refers specifically to the "New York Times"; But if it's limited to the West Coast, then the "Times" is specifically the "Los Angeles Times," but the Los Angeles Times can't be compared to the New York Times.

"It's just the first year." Jay said modestly.

Brian shrugged and didn't dwell any further, "I'm rooting for Bambi. Jay's mental rhythm seems to be a little bit out of keeping up with Brian's speed, and the difference between a rookie and a veteran doesn't just come up on the football field, "I mean, today's starting quarterback fight, I'm rooting for Bambi. What about you? ”

"Bambi." Jay said without any hesitation.

"Because he's your friend?" Brian smiled and said, "I know, you and Bambi are college classmates, along with Logan and Marcus. ”

“UCLA。” Jay nodded in affirmation, "Not just because of that, but because I know how focused Bambi is, and I can even describe it as terrifying." If you underestimate Bambi's strength, then you will have to pay a terrible price. ”

"Like the Seattle Seahawks?" Brian's example was so vivid that both of them laughed. Brian glanced around the press room, "We're still in the minority, though. These people are empiricists, accustomed to judging by past experience, and accustomed to a fixed way of thinking about Asian players, refusing to see changes and improvements in the three games. ”

So, they all think that the San Francisco 49ers will pick Alex Smith. Thirty-two teams across the league are confronted with the question of whether to choose a veteran or a rookie — and with just three weeks of regular season data as a reference, it is estimated that more than two-thirds will choose veterans, or even three-quarters.

The position of quarterback is extremely special, and there are so many factors that people need to consider comprehensively. Even Peyton Manning's rookie season was miserable.

"It's coming!" As he spoke, the door on the left was pushed open, and Jim Hubble, accompanied by several staff members, appeared in front of the reporters.

In an instant, all the reporters began to move, quickly found their positions, turbulent and noisy, but neat and orderly, and sat down very quickly, a pair of hot eyes full of anticipation projected towards Jim, like laser eyes, the scorching temperature made the air slowly begin to burn.

"Thank you to all the journalists for coming to the team's press conference." Jim didn't have a polite remark and cut straight to the point, "Today's theme is the starting quarterbacks. The team is now at a very important moment and after deliberation and discussion by the coaching staff, as well as after looking at the performance in training over the past period, we have come to a conclusion. ”

After a slight pause, Jim glanced around, only to find that all the reporters in the room were holding their breath-

Many reporters sit behind their laptops, their hands tapping quickly on their keyboards, editing the news, just about to fill in the name of the starting quarterback, then publish the news on Twitter and the website, and then dig into the interviews and write detailed press releases. But at this time, the hands of these reporters also stopped, and they seemed to be caught in a time vortex.

It's a bit funny like this.

"In this week's game, the starting quarterback ...... the San Francisco 49ers," Jim said without deliberately playing tricks on reporters, "and it will continue to be Lu Ke." ”

Silence, silence, dullness, the sound of time flow became extremely clear, everyone held their breath, their hearts seemed to stop beating temporarily, and then ...... a muffled "boom" sounded, and exploded in their ears, in an instant, everyone recovered, realized what had just happened, and the blockbuster news appeared!

Before Jim's words fell, the question was overwhelming:

"What is the specific reason?"

"Hasn't Alex Smith's injury fully recovered?"

"Is it too risky to choose Lu Ke as the starting quarterback?"

"Is the team considered holistically?"

"What does Alex Smith think about this?"

"What's the atmosphere like in the team right now?"

"Did the team base its selection on the wins of the last three games?"

……

The bustle of countless questions, and the swarm of questions, are even more exaggerated than when the San Francisco 49ers announced that Lu Ke would be the starting quarterback before the first week of the regular season.

Because, at that time, there was no choice, Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick were injured one after another, and Lu Ke was driven to the shelves; But today it is an active choice, and the weight of the news is naturally completely different.

Brian and Jay exchanged glances and smiled in agreement.