Dominate the Super Bowl

Chapter 322 321 Grasping at shadows

"Skipping practice, going AWOL to hotels, living it up—is the Kansas City Chiefs' number twenty-three rookie off the rails again?"

"Just won a do-or-die game, and Rookie Running Back Li Wei can't wait to head to the hotel for some cozy relaxation."

"This season's League Rookie of the Year secretly meets with a supermodel at a hotel, alone for four hours!"

"The do-or-die game isn't over yet, but Kansas City's top rookie is already eager to party, sparking intense dissatisfaction among teammates, with the locker room a ticking time bomb."

"Li Wei ditches his teammates to meet at the hotel alone, and who is waiting in the room...?"

Indeed, this once again proves an age-old truth—

With fame comes trouble.

No sooner had Li Wei left the Marriott Hotel than all sorts of speculative photos and rumors started wildly trending on social media.

And one more outrageous than the next.@@@@

Really, you don't need to be very observant or smart, and certainly not Holmes, to glance at the photos and see that there's only Li Wei alone in them—not even a fly, let alone a model. There's absolutely nothing amiss, the accompanying text is pure nonsense.

But with hot topics and gimmicks come the traffic.

Besides, when the story's main character is Li Wei, the League's most discussed and controversial player, it's easy to send social media into a frenzy.

This was just the prelude.

The reporters Li Wei had left behind at the training base's doorstep finally showed their professional chops, promptly finding a breakthrough—

Coca-Cola.

After the first lead emerged, the connections and competencies of professional journalists played a crucial role. One by one, they started sifting through top-tier brand sponsors, and then it was everyone for themselves, skills at the ready.

Some brands were tight-lipped, saying they were unaware of any dealings with Li Wei; others were evasive, acknowledging that they'd heard Li Wei's name mentioned within their companies, but were still in the preliminary discussion phase; some seized the opportunity to hype things up, claiming they were indeed in contact with Li Wei and hoped to collaborate.

This week, the Kansas City Chiefs were about to enter their second consecutive division rival's showdown, with the victors keeping their playoff hopes alive and the losers possibly falling out of contention completely.

Therefore, despite ending a losing streak with an exhilarating victory, the continuous flashing of the red warning lights was still blaring.

Now that the media had an opportunity, they naturally clung to Li Wei's tail stubbornly.

Moreover, worth noting is that since week three of the regular season, when the Kansas City Chiefs easily defeated the Los Angeles Chargers away, the latter's season had fallen into confusion, with quarterback Philip Rivers's performance being noticeably inconsistent and the offense performing poorly; to everyone's surprise, the team's Defensive group stepped up, carrying the Los Angeles Chargers all the way to this point, still preserving their playoff hopes.

Currently, the Los Angeles Chargers' Defensive group ranks third overall in the league, with their pass defense ranked number one, while their ground defense sits at thirty-first, second to last in the league.

The stark contrast between the extremes has led to highly inconsistent gameplay for the Chargers.

Luckily, as the league now emphasizes the passing game, there are hardly any teams that truly focus on the ground offense, providing a breathing space for the Los Angeles Chargers.

This time, as the Los Angeles Chargers visit the Kansas City Chiefs, the odds are fifty-fifty, with both teams having a shot, but whether the Kansas City Chiefs' transformed ground offense can gain enough advantage over the completely extinguished ground defense of the Los Angeles Chargers to bring victory to Arrowhead Stadium remains an important point of interest.

It's precisely for this reason that the controversy surrounding Li Wei has intensified.

At such a critical match, at such a crucial moment, could Li Wei be completely overlooking the team's situation for personal gain? When Li Wei's commercial activities and the team's interests clashed, this rookie star clearly made the wrong choice.

Without careful attention, this could become a destabilizing factor in the Kansas City Chiefs' locker room.

And with that, the media exploded.

Even the die-hard Kansas City Chiefs fans couldn't help starting to worry; against the Los Angeles Chargers, it was Li Wei who carried a huge responsibility!

But what about reality?

In the locker room, the atmosphere was harmonious.

Kelsey shook his head with a face full of regret, looking at the messages on his phone screen, "Sigh, these media folks are still too young, too naive. They should try coming here themselves and then they'd know whether the rookie's been slacking in training or not, it's all hot air."

"Get flattened by a rookie on suicide sprints a couple of times, and you'll get the picture," Houston said leisurely.

Ha ha ha, the locker room erupted with laughter.