Dominate the Super Bowl

Chapter 497: 496 A group of madmen Chapter 497: 496 A group of madmen Li Wei, holding his breath—

In a dizzying whirl, he located the soaring parabola of the football and watched as the playful auburn speck fell into Kelsey’s arms.

The breath that he had been holding in his chest was finally released in a long sigh as he shook off Kendricks without getting up, simply lying on the ground completely exhausted, letting his brain keep firing.

Right now, he didn’t even want to move a finger; his body and soul were completely emptied out, having used tremendous force, fully and satisfyingly unleashed.

The long, bumpy, tortuous, and perilous season had finally come to an end.

Victory.

Champions.

They did it.

They actually did it.

The sense of relief from burning out, along with the pleasure of pushing limits, burst open like fireworks, filling his entire brain as the world started to spin rapidly.

Then—

“We won.”

Smith took off his helmet, and his face, drenched in sweat and red as a beet, appeared above him, beaming with uncontrollable excitement and disbelief, making a sudden stop to avoid crashing onto Li Wei.

Still, he couldn’t contain his surging emotions.

“We won.”

“We won!”

Over and over, happiness and joy packed into the words, his voice shaking slightly, and before he knew it, his eyes filled with tears.

“We won.”

Li Wei pushed himself to stand up, looking at Smith whose face was filled with smiles yet streaming with tears, knowing that words simply couldn’t capture the emotion of the moment.

He raised his hand and thumped Smith’s shoulder, gave his captain a hug, then broke into a grin, confidently saying,

“I said, no confidence, but we would win.”

Smith couldn’t help it and burst into laughter, not expecting at all that his tears would spill over uncontrollably like pearls falling off a string, crying and laughing like a madman.

He kept raising his hand to wipe away the tears, but no matter how much he wiped, he couldn’t clear them all away.

In the end, he just gave up, spread his arms wide in a gesture of surrender, and broke into loud sobs.

This moment, Smith had waited far too long.

Once, he had carefully imagined tasting the flavor of becoming the champions and stood in the bathroom visualizing the scene of lifting the Super Bowl Trophy; but gradually, he even became afraid to indulge the imagination, fearfully and despairingly burying his dream, for without hope there would be no disappointment—

Disappointment was just too painful, too tormenting, and he no longer had the energy to bear it.

However.

They did it, they ultimately reached the summit, inscribing their glory.

Smith thought he would be ecstatic, but bitterness and sorrow dragged him into a hell of tears.

Countless sleepless nights and repeated failures in season after season flashed through his mind like a slideshow, easily breaching all defenses.

Then came a chorus of jeers drawing closer.

“Ah, ah ah ah, Li Wei, Li Wei Li Wei Li Wei!”

“Champions!

We are the champions!”

“You’re a madman!

Madman!”

Face after face twisted with excitement, figure after figure leaping with joy, rushed towards Li Wei like a tidal wave.

One after the other, without a moment to breathe.

Then.

A figure came rushing over, shouting “move, make way” from far away, spotting Li Wei through the surging crowd, leaped forward and chest-bumped Li Wei as if he was some heavy weapon, causing Li Wei’s knees to buckle, stumbling a few steps backward.

Seeing this, Kelsey reacted swiftly, grabbing Li Wei and steadying the situation.

Around them, the teasing began, “Travis almost knocked our championship hero out.”

Kelsey chuckled twice, scratching his head, turning around to find Smith unable to stop his tears, “Ah, Li Wei, what did you do to our captain?”

All eyes crowded toward Smith.

Smith was a bit shy and a bit embarrassed, but he didn’t dodge or flee, and he just openly spread his arms, allowing his disheveled appearance to show.

“Hey, we’re the champions!”

In an instant, everyone raised their hands high and began to dance on the spot.

“Champions!

Champions!

Champions!”

…

Flying, soaring, falling, catching the ball.

The Old Oak Tavern was as silent as the grave; everyone was frozen in place like statues, about to cheer for Kelsey’s catch at that moment but then were struck breathless with shock by Jenkins’s tackle, until Kelsey regained control of the football and stood up—

The volcano erupted.

Ahh, ahh-ahh, ah-ahh-ahh!

West clenched his fists tightly and shouted at the top of his lungs, his mind went blank, devoid of any thoughts, just stands there dazed, crying out.

Ah!

Looking at the TV screen.

Ah!

Looking at Anderson.

With all his strength, burning his soul, completely abandoning reason, he was engulfed in madness.

The whole Old Oak Tavern shook as if in an earthquake, with everyone jumping and cheering and screaming; the overwhelming magma and heat waves made language seem powerlessly pale and weak.

Anderson quietly watched the scene, controlled himself, and controlled himself again, but in the end, he still failed and turned to enter the bar’s kitchen.

Silently lighting a cigarette.

Unintentionally, Anderson recalled the moment from his childhood when he followed his parents and grandparents and witnessed the Kansas City Chiefs win their first championship.

Back then, he didn’t understand a thing and just joined in the cheering mindlessly.

Seeing his grandfather weeping had left him puzzled:

So happy, yet shedding tears, why?

In the blink of an eye, half a century had passed, and he was nearing the age of his grandfather, witnessing a legend in the Old Oak Tavern just the same.

Regrettably, Grandfather was no longer there.

Even Father…

If Father hadn’t been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, he would probably be here in the tavern, fighting alongside them.

But still.

The team finally won the championship.

No matter how hard, no matter how faint the hope, no matter how many obstacles, they never gave up.

They always fought till the end, continuously struggling, showing the tenacity and wildness of a Chieftain once more, igniting a glimmer of dawn in the endless, long, dark night, leading them out of the vast adversity.

Nobody believed in the team, even their die-hard fans had more than once despaired and been on the verge of giving up.

Hope and dreams seemed like sugar-coated bullets in fairy tales used to deceive children and numb their spirits.

But the team didn’t give up.

They were still fighting, they were still striving, they still foolishly and naively believed that dreams ignite hope.

They were still tightly seizing every moment of life to shine.

Because dreams made their lives bearable.

Tomorrow morning when he gets up, he wants to tell his father, who will definitely be very happy.

Even if Alzheimer’s disease is incurable and irreversible, it doesn’t mean they should give up on life and hope.

He, still believes, just like he believes in the Kansas City Chiefs.

Dawn will eventually come, no matter what happens, the Old Oak Tavern is always here.

The last miracle of the Kansas City Chiefs sustained them for half a century, and this legend might last even longer.

He’s not greedy, not at all.

This is already enough.

Deeply, Anderson takes another puff of his cigarette.

Behind him, the revelry and uproar of the tavern continue to surge, while he quietly enjoys this moment of bliss alone.

A purity, and also a fulfillment.