The afternoon sun in Philadelphia was sparse and lazy. The high and vast sky was cloudless, and the pale golden light pierced through the light blue sky, making for a languid warmth. The crisp autumn weather made one want to lie on the grass, do nothing, and waste time in the sun.
But the city was in a frenzy of celebration and noise. The sight of people swarming the streets was condensed into noisy bars, hanging flags, and crisscrossing radio waves, painting a picture of a lively and joyous atmosphere that permeated the streets and alleys of the city. It seemed that even the teenagers walking down the streets, humming songs, were taking light steps and jumping happily.
All of this was for one reason only: game day!
The entire city was buzzing. A huge crowd was surging toward Lincoln Financial Field. The massive traffic jam stretched from the stadium's parking lot all the way down half the highway. It seemed that all the residents were flocking to the same destination. The stadium, which could hold 69,176 people, was full today. Outside the stadium, there were still many fans holding up signs asking for tickets, hoping to get a chance to enter the stadium at the last minute.
The burning passion lit up the afternoon and the city.
Standing in the players' tunnel, you could look up and see a corner of the stadium's stands. The navy blue jerseys were a vast, unending sea, surging and spreading to both sides. The endless sea was so vast that you couldn't see the end. The distant horizon seamlessly connected with the bright sky, and it continued to extend endlessly, making the entire world feel like one.
"Go! Go! Eagles!"
The uniform shouts were repeated again and again, layered and overwhelming, continuous and endless. The echoing sounds bounced back and overlapped, one layer on top of another, gradually forming a sound wave that resonated with the air. Then... the entire stadium started to shake.
Hum... hum... You could clearly feel the ripple-like vibrations under your feet. It echoed the majestic navy blue in your field of vision, passing through your eyes and eardrums, hitting the depths of your soul, leaving you completely frozen in place, unable to move even a single finger or take a breath.
"Go! Go! Eagles!"
This was a true home game. The powerful support completely drowned out all other sounds, as if the hands of time had stopped once more.
In the first two weeks of the regular season, Candlestick Park was a disorganized mess. The support and cheers were weak and negligible, only providing the visual pressure of a full house.
In the third week of the regular season, at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati was plagued by economic hardship, and the fans simply didn't have the energy to pay attention to the game. According to the data from the first three weeks, the Cincinnati Bengals currently had the lowest attendance in the league, and the on-site support was sporadic and unpredictable.
But now, Lu Ke finally felt what it was like to have a home-field advantage. It was as if the entire city was united as one. If you listened carefully, you could feel the soul of a city.
Lu Ke had heard a rumor that the reason football was so popular in the United States was because of two teams: the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers.
Both teams were traditional NFL powerhouses and also one of the most successful teams in the NFL. They had one thing in common: the cities where their teams were located had both gone through a period of deep and terrible decline in their history, a low point that even threatened their very existence.
The fan bases of the Steelers and the Packers were mainly composed of poor residents, including blue-collar workers, people on welfare, and residents of slums. In their desperation, the two teams, with one victory after another, united the entire city and all the fans and residents, leading the city out of the low point and back to its peak, one step at a time.
Because of this, the fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers were always the most loyal and die-hard. Even if the team's record was terrible, they would never lose faith and would support the team unwaveringly. Naturally, every game day would become a day of celebration for the entire city, like Christmas.
Today, at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field, Lu Ke felt this fervor, which was thrilling, intoxicating, and inspiring. Sports was always so captivating. It had nothing to do with politics, nothing to do with the economy, and nothing to do with life, yet it had to do with everything.
Ding, a sound rang in his mind, reminding Lu Ke that the game tasks had been announced again.
"Game Tasks:
Complete a touchdown in an official game; Task requirement: none; Task reward: base points +1 for each touchdown.Improve passing completion percentage in an official game; Task requirement: passing completion percentage of at least 60%; Task reward: base points +1.Control turnovers in an official game; Task requirement: fewer than or equal to two interceptions and fumbles; Task reward: base points +1.Maintain game control in an official game; Task requirement: reasonable run/pass balance, with a run percentage of at least 30%, and reasonable pass distribution, with every on-field receiver catching at least one pass; Task reward: base points +1.Win the official game; Task requirement: none; Task reward: base points +3."
The game tasks had changed!
The daily training tasks and special tasks had always been ever-changing, almost changing every so often and keeping up with the times. But the game tasks were uninspired and becoming more and more boring. You could almost predict them in advance. It was nothing more than passing, touchdowns, and so on. There was no novelty.
Lu Ke was starting to wonder if the system for the game tasks had a bug. Today, the game tasks were finally updated. Although the changes were not big, it was a step forward.
Overall, the game tasks had just added two new options: one was to control turnovers, and the other was to distribute the passes. In fact, the goal of these two tasks was the same: to improve the quarterback's ability to control the game.
Every quarterback had their own passing habits. For example, the partnership between Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison was one of the best quarterback and wide receiver duos in history. They held a series of records, including the most career pass attempts, most career passing yards, most career touchdowns, and so on. Their partnership on the Indianapolis Colts became one of the most brilliant partnerships in the history of the league.
Similarly, Lu Ke also had his own passing habits with Logan Newman. Not only were they good friends, but their passing chemistry was also unmatched. The subtle details, such as the passing route, the strength of the pass, the position of the run, and the catching habits, could all be done without communication.
Many times, the defensive players knew that Manning was going to throw the ball to Harrison, but they just couldn't stop him. So, Harrison made Manning great, and Manning also made Harrison great.
However, from another perspective, in addition to their go-to moves, top quarterbacks must have the ability to create magic out of nothing.
If Harrison were injured, and Manning couldn't pass or get a touchdown, then Manning would not be considered great. In fact, besides Harrison, Manning was one of the best at developing wide receivers in the league. With Manning, countless unknown wide receivers became top players in the league.
In addition to choosing the passing targets, the run/pass balance was also extremely important. Although it was now completely a passing era, an excellent quarterback must understand when to pass and when to run, and how to reasonably set up plays to properly control the rhythm.
This wasn't like soccer or basketball, where a single player's flash of genius could turn the tide and where clutch moments always thrilled people and made heroes. In a football game, the success of any hero requires the help of the entire team.
For a quarterback, without the help of a run game, it's almost like having one arm and one leg. It was simply too difficult to win a game by relying purely on passing. Even the four teams with the elite quarterbacks were still trying to find better running backs every year to relieve the pressure on the quarterback.
In other words, distributing the passing routes, balancing the run and pass, and reducing turnovers were all a reflection of a quarterback's game intelligence and ability to control the game.
However, in the past, these were all the functions of special tasks. Today, they were added to the game tasks in advance. Why?
After thinking about it carefully, Lu Ke guessed that maybe in the past, he lacked experience, so the system had to temporarily use special tasks to help Lu Ke improve his skills in specific areas, just like patching a program. After three games of training, Lu Ke's skills hadn't reached the point of a qualitative change, but he had made long-term progress. So, the tasks were updated directly.
This meant that the difficulty of the game tasks had increased. Did this also mean that the difficulty of the special tasks would also increase in the future?
Now, Lu Ke vaguely understood that among the six previous hosts before Seven, some had succeeded and some had failed. It was not only because of the difficulty of the daily training tasks but also because the difficulty was constantly increasing. For a player, even a little bit of slacking off could lead to all their efforts being for nothing.
As for Lu Ke, he was not nervous at all. Instead, he was eager to try. This also meant that his skills had indeed improved, and the system had acknowledged it. This proved that his hard work and effort were finally paying off, and he had taken another step toward becoming a football superstar.
"Bambi!" A roar came from his side, but what really woke Lu Ke up wasn't the shout, but the heavy slap on his shoulder. Logan's voice was almost inaudible amidst the cheers of the stadium.
Lu Ke turned his head, and Logan pointed straight ahead. Lu Ke then charged forward with the team and entered Lincoln Financial Field. The fourth regular season game had begun.
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