Chapter 688: The Demon Coach
For a team, changing a jersey number after a glorious rookie season is a major decision.
On one hand, fans are already used to Lu Ke's jersey number. If he changes it, it means the team has to produce new jerseys, and fans have to buy new ones. On the other hand, Lu Ke's image, signs, and related products for referees, commentators, and other sponsors must also be changed.
This is not an easy decision.
But the San Francisco 49ers still proactively extended an olive branch.
This also shows that after a year of management and promotion, Leigh's work is beginning to pay off. The league's official stance, represented by Goodell, also played a part. Unless there were enough benefits, there was no way the San Francisco 49ers would make such a big deal for a rookie player.
Don't forget, they even tried to bring in Peyton Manning during the offseason.
However, for Lu Ke, the real feeling was the bittersweet sight of a person's warmth fading away.
It wasn't that he was being sentimental or overly sympathetic.
He had always known that, in the end, a professional league is a commodity based on commercial operations. People always joked that if you wanted to watch real competition and passion, the NCAA was the best choice. It wasn't mixed with profits and was more of a pure competition. Although the four major professional leagues were more intense and exciting, they also lost that purity.
Lu Ke had already known this. But today was different. This was the first time Lu Ke truly felt the core idea of being profit-driven. This was true for both Manning and Alex.
Both of these players were once the darlings of the league and had stood at the peak of their careers, especially Manning.
He had his life, his career, and his family in Indianapolis. He even had his own life. He once thought that he would live in that city for a long, long time until he could no longer play, dedicating his life to this city and this team.
However, Manning's loyalty and sincerity were ultimately defeated by reality.
So what about him?
Would there be a day in the future when he would also become a member of the trade list, or even more, would his career end abruptly in a year or two, just like John Ward and Kevin Price of the Bears? And then he would be drowned in the tide of money and disappear.
The beautiful fairy tale of a rookie season, after entering the offseason, finally welcomed the cruelty and coldness of reality.
"Bambi?" Leigh noticed Lu Ke's slight distraction and was confused. After waiting for a moment, he called out.
Lu Ke came back to his senses, and the smile on his face lifted. Everyone had their own path to walk, and before they walked it themselves, no one knew what kind of scenery and what kind of end awaited them. So, he would run with all his might, fight with all his might, and work tirelessly so he wouldn't have any regrets.
Bathing in the warm sunshine of Los Angeles, his mood was once again uplifted, full of vitality. Lu Ke looked at Leigh. "No need. Fourteen is good. I'm used to it now."
Eleven belonged to the past.
Fourteen belonged to the present, and it also belonged to the future.
Leigh was a little surprised. "Are you sure?"
Lu Ke didn't hesitate at all. "Yes, I'm sure."
This time, Leigh didn't press the matter. He just nodded in agreement. "No problem. I'll let Trent know. Leave this to me."
Agreeing and giving up were both reasonable choices, but the way of relaying the message required skill.
In front of the team, Leigh had to show Lu Ke's generosity and friendliness. To avoid causing more trouble, Lu Ke voluntarily chose to give up changing his jersey number. This wasn't Lu Ke's obligation, but he still chose to cooperate. Although Lu Ke wouldn't ask for any benefits in return, the team still needed to know this.
However, this was a negotiation between an agent and a team manager. Lu Ke didn't need to know or worry about it.
After the business was done, Leigh didn't leave immediately. He put his hands behind his back and continued to walk slowly. "How's the offseason training going? After you rest, are you going to start your physical training?"
There was still a bit of awkwardness in the simple questions. Just as Lu Ke wasn't good at business negotiations and long-term planning, Leigh wasn't good at the tedious and repetitive training.
This made Lu Ke chuckle. "If there's nothing else, you don't need to stay here. After a short rest, I can get back to training. If there's anything, we can keep in touch at any time."
Leigh also laughed awkwardly and let out an exaggerated sigh. "Phew, that's a relief. I can finally get rid of all the boring small talk. You know, calculating numbers and brainstorming are my strong suits. My practical skills are not."
"It seems we've reached another consensus." Lu Ke and Leigh exchanged a look. After that, without saying more or being polite, one walked toward the training field, and the other walked toward the locker room.
Lu Ke didn't immediately get into training. Rest time was rest time. He found the specially prepared energy drink by the side of the field. While adjusting his breathing and relaxing his muscles, his eyes didn't stop watching the field.
Looking at Logan's exaggerated expression, he couldn't help but yell at him. "Hey, hey, that guy's expression is too scary. If you're filming 'Tough Guy Training Camp,' you're going to lose fans."
Logan didn't hold back. His expression became even more exaggerated, and he almost foamed at the mouth.
Suddenly, Logan's expression changed. He sprinted with a sudden burst of speed and raised his unstoppable momentum to the extreme, whooshing past like a torpedo. Just as he was about to reach the finish line, he made a series of quick, small steps and made a ninety-degree turn, starting to run horizontally toward the left sideline. The powerful inertia pushed his body to crash heavily. It looked like he was about to go out of bounds.
His feet stopped. First his left foot, then his right foot. He made a catching motion with both hands at the same time. His entire body was like Michael Jackson's forty-five-degree lean. His upper body had flown out, but his lower body was still within the sideline. He only paused for half a second before he lost his balance. The powerful force of gravity dragged him to the ground, and he rolled clumsily.
Roll, roll, roll.
After rolling a few times, Logan didn't get up. He lay on the grass with his arms and legs spread out, still mumbling, "Crazy! Crazy! Bambi, you're a crazy person! Honestly, did you find Frankenstein's training method and are deliberately using it to torment me? I'm not Frankenstein!"
Logan's training plan also came from the system. It was the "Growth Gift Pack" from a previous mission reward.
Of course, Lu Ke's plan wasn't conjured out of thin air. It was based on the daily training plan of the team's tight end coach, combined with Andrea's physical training plan—Logan didn't hire a private physical trainer. He also asked for the opinions of the Bears' offensive coach, Norm Chow, and finally, he added a lot of his own opinions, subtly integrating them into a new offseason training plan.
The entire training task included physical training and technical training. Of course, there was also the most important part: the training of the running and passing routes between the tight end and the quarterback, which was an extension of the quarterback's tactical system.
Undoubtedly, the weight and quality of Logan's training far exceeded those of other rookie tight ends.
For the usually lazy Logan, this was definitely a severe test, or even torture.
However, Logan was a classic case of all talk and no action. His mouth was full of complaints and criticisms, but he never slacked off in his actual work.
After the regret of the playoffs and the fierce competition of the entire season, Logan finally realized that he had to speed up to play a more important role on the field. So, he never cut corners on his daily training tasks and completed all the requirements honestly.
During this period since the offseason began, in Logan's own words, "I've never worked so hard in my twenty-plus-year career. I probably won't work this hard again in the future. Once, once this year is enough."
As for Logan, Marcus, and Scott, their attitudes changed from envy to complaint, and they all kept their distance. Lu Ke and Watt had been listed as the "crazy duo." Their training intensity was far beyond that of other players, which was admirable but also terrifying. Now, they could add Logan to the list.
Facing Logan's "once a day" routine of complaints, Lu Ke was already used to it. He teased loudly, "Hurry up, hurry up. If you don't complete today's training task, you're not allowed to eat dinner tonight."
"Demon. Demon!" Logan cried out heartbreakingly. He wiped away nonexistent tears and then stood up like a little wife, pretending to cry. "There's still a team training session to come. I'm putting in so much effort just for a piece of bread. Even Jean Valjean didn't work this hard. Come on, bring it on. I'm ready."
The lively clown even spread his arms out as if he was sacrificing himself generously.
"J.J." Lu Ke didn't say much. He just yelled the name. The subtext was something like, "Open the gate and unleash Watt." Then, Logan's expression immediately changed, and he quickly moved. "J.J., it's fine, it's totally fine. You go on!" With a look of panic, Logan quickly got into the next training session.
Lu Ke, Marcus, and the others witnessed all of this and burst into laughter. This was the daily life of the offseason.
Then, Lu Ke also started his next training session, repeating the mechanical movements and looking forward to the day he would break the barrier of quantitative change.
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