Chapter 875: The Niners' Trust
"La la, la la la."
"Ooh la la, ooh la la."
The entire locker room was singing loudly. They were standing side-by-side with their hands on each other's shoulders, forming a large circle. They clumsily but happily started doing the can-can dance. The collective celebration was truly hilarious.
Lu Ke was completely bewildered. Before he could even figure out what was going on, he was dragged into the action. He started dancing with everyone, stupidly watching their moves, and jumped with his left foot and then his right. He couldn't help but laugh out loud.
When Logan entered the locker room, this was the absurd scene he saw.
But unlike Lu Ke, he wasn't stunned. He eagerly asked, even jumping up and down, "What's going on? Hey, what in the world is going on?"
Lu Ke turned his head, widened his eyes, and shrugged his shoulders, showing that he had no idea. Then, he mouthed, "I don't know!"
Logan didn't care. He eagerly squeezed his way in. "Count me in. Hey, hurry up and count me in! I want to join too!" Then, like a third wheel, he cut in and started dancing with everyone, blending in with all his teammates without any awkwardness.
When the coaching staff finally opened the door, they were in for a shock. Jim Harbaugh was the first one to flee, not even bothering to explain why. He ran away as fast as he could, afraid that the players would catch him and force him to join the can-can dance party. It would have been a horrific sight.
Kipp Chrysler and the other coaches were left behind. Confused, they pushed the door open and also retreated, rushing to escape as if they were afraid of being the last one. It was as if a dinosaur was in the locker room, and if they were a little slow, they would become the dinosaur's meal.
The escape was a little bloody.
The locker room didn't notice the coaches' sneaky actions at all. After going around a dozen times, everyone started to stop on their own. With whistles, claps, and cheers, they brought today's celebration to a perfect end.
Facing the boiling atmosphere in front of him, Lu Ke was looking for an opening to speak. Then, David Akers walked up to him. "Bambi?" This interrupted Lu Ke's rhythm, but Lu Ke still gave him a questioning look. Akers then said, "I was thinking, tomorrow is a day off. Maybe we can go to the hospital to visit Ryan together."
To avoid any misunderstanding, Akers immediately explained, "I just feel that I want to meet Ryan in person and tell him face-to-face that I admire his courage very much. I hope you don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to..."
"No, no, no." Lu Ke waved his hands and laughed happily. "No misunderstanding, absolutely no misunderstanding. Ryan is not my boyfriend. He's a Niner. He would definitely welcome every player to visit him."
With that joke, Akers laughed happily. Lu Ke continued, "In fact, I was just thinking about this. Next week, we have a Monday night game again, which means we can make different arrangements on our day off. I was thinking, maybe we can go to the San Francisco General Hospital together to visit Ryan. And not just Ryan. There are many other patients there who need help. We can help them with some rehabilitation or other activities, like reading or painting."
Lu Ke turned to look at the locker room and faced everyone's gazes. "We still need to communicate with the hospital. I don't want our visit to disturb the patients' rest. But if we can, I hope everyone can actively participate."
It wasn't just Akers, but other teammates as well.
In the past, Lu Ke's cooperation with other players was limited to the locker room and the field. They were teammates and colleagues. But this time, it extended beyond the field. It seemed that besides being teammates, they were also friends, just like the event at the bar and the party at Lu Ke's house. This was different after all.
"Of course, of course."
Nodding and affirmative answers came one after another. Aldon Smith even joked, "The practice maniac is willing to sacrifice his practice time to participate in such an event. How can we refuse?"
Then, everyone started to join in, teasing Lu Ke. This was a prank that everyone enjoyed.
Lu Ke turned around and saw a smile in Akers' eyes. "Compared to before the game, your attitude is much better now. This is the team captain we expect."
Akers also joined the ranks of teasing Lu Ke, bringing up the incident before the game again.
Lu Ke didn't mind. He spread his hands and said candidly, "An active and diligent learning attitude is one of my strengths."
Even when he was pranked, he didn't mind too much. Instead, he could laugh at himself and entertain everyone, which was an important reason why Lu Ke could quickly integrate into the locker room.
When they left the locker room, the sky was filled with a beautiful purplish-gold sunset. The burning sunset seemed to be a continuation of the golden ocean from the afternoon, lingering and enveloping Candlestick Park. The entire world was as beautiful as a dreamlike wonderland.
Today, Lu Ke left the locker room exceptionally late. Mario Manningham, Jewel Hampton, and other second-team offensive players were discussing a few plays from the game. They had doubts about the receiving routes and their positions on the field and were arguing about it. Hampton came to ask Lu Ke. Lu Ke gave them some simple guidance to broaden their minds.
One by one, Logan and Lynch had already left the locker room, but they were still there. In the end, the second-team offensive players were still actively discussing. Lu Ke left them some space. It was better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. He should let them study the playbook themselves, find the problems, and then ask questions. This way, they would have a deeper impression.
So, Lu Ke had done his part and was ready to go home.
From a distance, he could see a small group of fans waiting patiently near the parking lot. It had been a few hours since the game ended, and the entire Candlestick Park was quiet, but they were still patient, standing quietly, talking in small groups. From time to time, there were light laughs, showing their good mood.
"Lu Ke!" A loud and clear Chinese name clearly identified who they were. It was the Chinese fans led by Li Mo Nian.
But when Lu Ke looked up, he saw not only Li Mo Nian but also another group of fans, including Jeff Lock and Nate Chandler. Everyone was gathered together. This scene had gradually become a characteristic of the San Francisco 49ers' home games, but it was rare to see after a game.
Lu Ke smiled and walked up to them. "So, is everything okay? Why haven't you gone home yet? Is it to avoid the rush hour?"
"We have enough experience dealing with rush hour. Don't worry." Lu Ke was just making a small joke, but Li Mo Nian answered seriously. The generational gap was immediately apparent. "We stayed behind to wait for you. Uh... Actually, it's... I'm not very good at explaining. Let Noah do it."
Noah Park, the geeky guy, Cliff Hart's friend.
As soon as he finished speaking, Noah stepped forward and pushed up his round glasses. "The thing is, for today's special event, we prepared some gold accessories and hoped that as many fans as possible could participate. We didn't expect the Niners to be so proactive. Everyone wore the gold accessories on their own, and the fans also showed more support for our event."
"Many fans donated money on their own. Although we never mentioned fundraising, they said they hoped to contribute this way." Noah explained the situation in the simplest way possible. "We had an idea that these donations could not only help Ryan but also help more Niners suffering from the same illness."
After a short pause, Noah continued, "If we can set up a foundation in your name, it would be a lot simpler and more convenient. We can help Ryan more efficiently and proactively."
"Me?" Lu Ke had not thought of this at all. He was still learning how to be a leader in the locker room. How could he think of something so long-term? "Why not use the team's name? I think Trent would be more than happy to do this, right?"
"If we use the team's name, it will become a commercial thing. After all, we're not a team like the Packers. At the end of the day, it's the York family's property. If the Yorks want to do charity, they can do it in their own names. But we hope this can be a gesture from the Niners." Noah's explanation was simple and clear but put the heavy burden of trust on Lu Ke's shoulders.
This was the trust from the Niners. They not only trusted Lu Ke's integrity but also trusted that Lu Ke's spirit could truly represent the Niners.
Lu Ke was both flattered and overwhelmed. This was the best description of his feelings now. "But what if I get traded?"
"What!"
"Impossible!"
"Wait, Bambi, were the rumors that you're coaching the second team because the team is unhappy with you true?"
"How could this happen?"
"You're going to be traded?"
A bunch of questions poured in. Lu Ke couldn't help but laugh. "No, no, no, I was just giving an example." But seeing the fans' sad faces, Lu Ke laughed out loud. "I didn't mean that. I just..."
He was just a second-year player.
He was just an ordinary player.
He just wanted to help Ryan.
How did things get to this point?
"Okay, I understand. I'll ask my agent about the details," Lu Ke said with a smile, his voice full of certainty.
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