Dominate the Super Bowl

Chapter 640

Chapter 640: Kick someone while they’re down Chapter 640: Kick someone while they’re down “`

Controversy.

Uproar.

Gossip.

The entire league was abuzz, with the aftermath of the Gillette Stadium incident just beginning, and Li Wei found himself once again at the center of the storm.

Clearly, not everyone was used to Li Wei’s—

In the end, as a professional athlete, you should speak through your performance on the field; the hustle and bustle off the field might bring attention, but it could also lead to ostracism.

Back in the day, Beckham experienced just that, to the extent that people never truly recognized his performance on the field.

Now, Li Wei was facing a similar situation, whether the off-field news was positive or negative, constructive or destructive, it was all just tabloid fodder, creating an image of someone who was troublesome and not focused on his profession, an image that was beginning to take root in people’s minds and gradually drawing sideways glances from his peers in the league.

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There were those who were envious, those who were jealous, those who were nitpicking, and those who wanted to push him out, or those who simply couldn’t stand the sight of him.

The gaze surrounding Li Wei was becoming sharper bit by bit.

Provocation was inevitable.

In the end, it all came back to the same saying: in the world of competitive sports, everything is cruel and bloody, but also straightforward.

Victory can cover up all contradictions, while defeat breeds endless conflict.

Nothing can’t be solved by a victory, and if one isn’t enough, then two or three, until everyone is silenced.

So, after going around in circles, the focus came back to the main track—

The Kansas City Chiefs lost to the New England Patriots.

A loss!

In the eyes of a few, the truth behind the Gillette Stadium incident was a different matter entirely.

All that talk about Li Wei trying to defend Mahomes was nonsense, they reasoned.

From the 2011 to the 2015 seasons, the Cincinnati Bengals made the playoffs five years in a row, evidently becoming a new generation representative of the league.

However, for five consecutive years, the Cincinnati Bengals were knocked out in their first playoff game.

After 1990, a full twenty-eight years without a playoff victory, they led the historical record for this unfortunate track—

Does this sound at all familiar?

The Kansas City Chiefs, Reed, Smith.

The two teams were like brothers in adversity, each having returned to the playoffs only to find themselves unable to break through the first round; for a time, it was unclear which was more frustrating: the perpetual absence from the playoffs or the consistent one-and-done exits.

It wasn’t until the 2015 season that the Kansas City Chiefs broke the curse, finally winning a playoff game and leaving the Cincinnati Bengals alone at the top of the rankings for teams without a postseason win.

At this point, one could only imagine Lewis’s frustration.

Yet, that wasn’t all.

In the 2016 and 2017 seasons, the Cincinnati Bengals were ravaged by injuries and missed the playoffs two years in a row, silencing fans who had complained that “a first-round playoff exit was worse than not making it at all.” Only after truly missing out did they realize that making the playoffs and then losing was still a happier prospect, as at least they could hold on to hope for another week.

Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Bengals had to watch as their little followers, the Kansas City Chiefs who used to trail behind them, surpassed them after ending their postseason curse, and then soared to Super Bowl glory, while the earlier rebuilders remained stuck in place.

Now, Lewis and his Cincinnati Bengals were collectively plunged into depression.

Understandably, when the Cincinnati Bengals finally got the chance to face the Kansas City Chiefs and prove themselves, their ambition was fully ignited.

In Lewis’s view, the Kansas City Chiefs’ season of highlights was just fluke; their foundation was unstable, fluctuating wildly, and with a little pressure, they would collapse—not just Li Wei, but from Reed to the offensive group and then to the defensive group, all of them.

Now, the opportunity couldn’t be more perfect.

From a five-game winning streak at the start of the season to a close defeat by the New England Patriots, from being united and confident to facing tough battles that sparked self-doubt, the rookie’s off-field scandals only served to distract the team.

All signs pointed to the Kansas City Chiefs being at their weakest and most vulnerable, fully exposing their shortcomings.

Lewis would use a victory to prove to the league—

A single season of success meant nothing; they should take a long, hard look at the bigger picture, as it was the Cincinnati Bengals that truly deserved to reach the pinnacle of the Super Bowl.

Not just a victory, but a resoundingly joyful one.