The interviews were endless, the congratulations were non-stop, and countless noises echoed in his ears. Lu Ke strongly suspected, "Is this not an away game? Where did all these people come from to congratulate me? Is it okay for the away team's staff to come over and congratulate me? If I remember correctly, they seem to be our division rivals, and the kind with a long history of resentment, so what's going on?"
Finally, Lu Ke managed to get away from the journalists and returned to the locker room. All the noise was blocked by the door, and the world was finally quiet. It had been almost an hour since Sam Bradford's last pass was intercepted. The adrenaline rush hadn't stopped, and the feeling of exhaustion after the intense excitement instantly swept over him. He needed a little time to himself now. Not to think, but to empty his mind.
For the entire long season, his mind was filled with all kinds of tactics. He was even watching game footage in his dreams, a literal experience. Now he needed to enjoy a moment of emptiness, not thinking about anything, not doing anything, just completely emptying his mind.
The huge away team locker room was empty. Everyone was still outside, being interviewed and celebrating. He could vaguely hear the noise from the stadium echoing through the pipes and concrete walls, but it wasn't loud at all. Instead, it made the wide space seem even quieter.
The focus and a focus of his eyes gradually scattered, and he slowly zoned out. "Creak," the sound of the door opening and closing echoed in the locker room, stirring up a faint echo. The small sound seemed to be amplified dozens of times, which instantly brought Lu Ke's thoughts back to his head. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw Alex Smith.
Alex's steps froze involuntarily, as if in slow motion. He slowly put his foot down and stared at Lu Ke. The expression on his face hadn't had time to fully recover, which added a hint of awkwardness. It was clear that Alex had not expected to find Lu Ke alone in the locker room instead of being outside, receiving applause and flowers. For a moment, his thoughts were stuck. He pointed to the back and then to the front, trying to say something, but no sound came out. The gesturing only brought a sense of emptiness. After realizing his awkwardness and stiffness, Alex closed his eyes and sighed softly in frustration, seemingly embarrassed.
Just as Alex hadn't expected it, Lu Ke hadn't expected it either. However, seeing Alex's actions, Lu Ke was the first to come back to his senses and asked, "So, the journalists were willing to let you go?" The second half of today's game was crucial for Alex. His performance couldn't be called top-tier, but he still maintained a good state. In the upcoming playoffs, Alex would definitely receive more attention. The journalists had just asked Lu Ke, so they probably wouldn't let the person in question go either.
"No, they're like a bunch of flies. You can't shoo them away." After the awkwardness was broken, Alex returned to normal. He waved his hand gently and said with a smile, "I finally had to push Michael and Vernon to them to get away. What about you? I'm sure the journalists wouldn't want to let you go."
"At least their tackling isn't as fierce as the Baltimore Ravens'," Lu Ke shrugged and made a self-deprecating joke, which made Alex laugh.
After the laughter, the atmosphere gradually became quiet. Alex didn't respond, not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't know what to say. Although they weren't enemies, they weren't friends either. After the loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4 of the regular season, the rift and distance between them had been broken. As the season progressed, their communication gradually increased. Alex was very willing to teach Lu Ke his game experience, and Lu Ke was very willing to discuss the playbook with Alex.
However, all of this was limited to the training field and the game field. All of their communication was only about football, very professional and very dedicated. They never talked about personal matters outside of the game, and their understanding of each other was close to zero. On the 49ers team, the three backup quarterbacks' relationship with Lu Ke was very clear. Colin Kaepernick was the most distant. He just trained silently and had almost no communication. Scott Tolzien was the closest. The group of rookies often got together and had tactical meetings. They were all friends in private. Alex's position was somewhere in between. It was just a simple colleague relationship. Friendly, but not close. Once the topic left football, the atmosphere would become stiff.
"I'm going to take a shower first," Alex said, changing the subject stiffly.
Lu Ke nodded in agreement. "I'll sit for a while."
"It's not to look at the playbook, is it?" Alex joked, which was a rare sight.
Lu Ke didn't mind. Instead, he patted the spot next to him and motioned, "What do you say, want to join me?"
"Oh! No!" Alex waved his hands repeatedly, with a look of "no thanks" on his face. He kept backing away, as if he wanted to avoid Lu Ke. The simple exclamation and exaggerated expression created a huge contrast, and both of them burst out laughing.
After the small joke, Alex walked straight toward the bathroom, but his steps hesitated at the door. After thinking for a moment, Alex turned around and said loudly to Lu Ke, "I'll probably be traded after the season."
This was still a secret for now. For every professional player, it was a tacit rule to keep the secret as much as possible before a trade was completed. Of course, if they had a falling out with the team or were intentionally leaking information for a raise, that would be a different story.
Alex belonged to the former. The trade had not been finalized yet. Only he and his agent knew about it, and no information had been leaked. Although Alex himself didn't know why he wanted to tell Lu Ke at this moment, they weren't even friends. But his intuition told him so, so he said it frankly.
Perhaps it was because they were comrades-in-arms, and Lu Ke had always been upright and open. He had earned the respect of the team, including him, with his own strength and hard work. Sometimes, deep down, Alex would secretly feel a sense of envy. It wasn't because of his skills or tactics, but because of Lu Ke's courage. His boldness and decisiveness at critical moments in the game always erupted with a powerful momentum. His perseverance and charisma in making quick and decisive decisions were key to turning the tide. This was something he lacked.
As the saying goes, character determines destiny. Alex couldn't help but wonder if his career would have been completely different if he had been as decisive and determined as Lu Ke.
Lu Ke was suddenly surprised. He turned to look at Alex, his eyebrows showing his surprise. "Are you sure?"
Alex nodded in confirmation and then showed a slight smile. "Or are you willing to give me the starting position?"
Lu Ke spread his hands and said sincerely and firmly, "On the field, strength determines the winner." It was this kind of open and confident attitude, this kind of all-out attitude, that subtly won people over.
Alex chuckled twice and didn't answer. Instead, he changed the subject. "Here, even if I do my best, I might not be able to fight for a spot that belongs to me. But there are 31 other teams in the league, and many of them need a quarterback. I'm still young. I can still find an opportunity. I can still stand on the field as a starter."
He paused for a moment. Alex seemed to want to say something but didn't. The next words didn't fit his personality, but after hesitating, he gritted his teeth and said firmly, "I still want to stand on the field again, face you head-on, and defeat you fair and square."
In the end, Alex was still unwilling. In the end, Alex still had ambitions. In the end, Alex was still trying. This was a good thing. Because for a professional athlete in a competitive sport, it was a cruel world of winning and losing. When they gave up on competing, when they gave up on fighting, when they gave up on ambition, what they enjoyed and pursued was no longer the same.
The same was true for Peyton Manning this season. Everyone chose to give up on him, and no one was optimistic about his future, but he always refused to surrender. He was always doing rehabilitation and trying to recover and work hard because he knew that if even he gave up, his career would come to an end.
The same was true for Alex Smith. Separation and reunion, beginning and ending, farewell and rebirth, were all part of a professional league. In college, he said goodbye to John Ward and most of the players on the Bruins team, and they went their separate ways. Now, with the San Francisco 49ers, they had to face the same problem after the season ended. This wasn't a fairy tale where everyone could love each other and fight side by side for a lifetime.
Lu Ke just didn't expect the farewell to come so soon, and that the first person to say goodbye would be Alex. But when he thought about it seriously, it wasn't surprising at all. Alex was only 27 years old this year, just entering the golden period of a quarterback's career. Since he couldn't find an opportunity in the San Francisco 49ers, it was a very normal decision for him to choose another team as a way out. If he were in the same position, Lu Ke might also choose to leave. So, the prelude to farewell had begun.
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