Dominate the Super Bowl

Chapter 553: 552 Youthful Years Chapter 553: 552 Youthful Years When you’re young, happiness is just happiness, sadness is just sadness, and disgust is just disgust; all emotions seem simple and straightforward.

Until one day, you start to comprehend the complex feelings that are bittersweet, that make you laugh through tears, that overwhelm and can’t be controlled, and then you grow up.

Only then do you understand the adult world, where emotions are complicated and entangled, where joy and sorrow can occur at the same time, and liking and disliking too.

Mahomes had been looking forward to this day, eager and ready to go, even the slightest possibility of becoming the starting quarterback set his blood boiling.

He trained harder and more devotedly during this time, surprisingly keeping up with the pace of the drills, wholeheartedly awaiting the official announcement of Smith’s successful transfer.

However, when the day finally arrived, Mahomes thought he would be ecstatic, but he suddenly found that he wasn’t as happy as he had imagined.

Bitterness.

Loss.

Reluctance.

Guilt.

A series of strange emotions swarmed over him.

Mahomes took a deep breath, turned his head, and looked earnestly at Li Wei, “So, can I be happy?”

“Of course,” Li Wei didn’t hesitate.

Still, Mahomes didn’t celebrate immediately but instead looked up at the sky—

“The captain mentioned it, before the divisional game, you said we’d count the stars together after the game.

He still hasn’t understood what you meant by that.”

Li Wei was startled, not expecting that Smith had shared this little episode with Mahomes.

It was apparent their private relationship was also good.

A smile crept onto his lips, “It’s just a song.”

“It says that we gradually get blinded by money, work, and glory, to the point that we forget why we started; when we had nothing, we would lie outdoors counting the stars, an affordable leisure even in poverty.”

“So, I hope he doesn’t look back in doubt but returns to his initial intention, to really enjoy the game, the battle, and to have no regrets.”

Mahomes didn’t speak, silently watching the stars in a long silence.

Li Wei didn’t disturb Mahomes either.

He wasn’t in Mahomes’s position and could hardly imagine what Mahomes was feeling now.

Phew.

After a while, Mahomes let out a heavy sigh, “Defend the title?

That must be tough, right?”

Li Wei blinked, “Are you sure I’m the right person to ask that question?”

“Haha.” Mahomes laughed out loud, “Yes, defending the title is hard.

Only the New England Patriots have accomplished it once since the new century began.”

“But…”

“Rookie, it’s finally happening, I’m about to represent the Chiefs on the field, I’m about to truly become the team’s starting quarterback.

Although I’ve been in the league for a year, it now feels like a dream is finally becoming reality.”

“Rookie, what if we fail to defend the title?”

Before even stepping onto the field, the pressure came pouring down with anticipation.

The higher the expectation, the more unsettled and anxious he became, with the unknown future unfolding beneath his feet.

Without waiting for Li Wei to answer, Mahomes spoke again, more urgently.

“What if we’re one and done in the playoffs?

What if we don’t even make the playoffs?

What if I mess everything up?”

Li Wei, “Sherlock…”

But Mahomes just couldn’t stop.

“These things have happened before, after the New England Patriots won the championship in the 2001 season, they didn’t make the playoffs in the 2002 season.”

“What if I’m not ready, what if I step off on the wrong foot from the start and lead the team down the wrong path?”

He spit it all out in a rush.

Seeing that he couldn’t stop him, Li Wei let it happen.

Mahomes must have had countless thoughts swirling in his head for a while now, sometimes reaching for the peaks, other times tumbling into the valleys.

The roller coaster in his mental world had been roaring back and forth, so letting it all out now was probably a good thing.

Not until Mahomes had said everything, with worry and confusion written all over his eyes, did he turn to look at Li Wei.

It was then that Li Wei spoke, “Then let’s focus on the present, take one step at a time, let’s not think about defending our title or the playoffs, just focus on ourselves, play one game at a time, fight one battle at a time, leave no regrets, don’t wait until the end of the season to say ‘if only this, if only that’, let’s start now.”

“Sherlock, do you remember?”

“Counting stars.”

“Back to basics, return to the beginning, start from zero.

Keep it simple, keep it pure, and start exploring with both feet on the ground.”

“Now, the Chieftains are your team.

If you don’t want to regret it, perhaps we should start right now, while the training camp is still going on.”

Mahomes calmed down.

Li Wei seemed to have this ability to inspire trust with his casual remarks, no difficulty, no danger could shake him in the slightest, he always faced all challenges calmly and resolutely.

Of course, that’s not to say Li Wei was Superman, invincible and indestructible; he could fail, he could feel sad, depressed, angry, but he would not regret—

Because, with every battle, he gave it his all.

More importantly, they always fought side by side.

Mahomes had been looking forward to fighting alongside Li Wei on the field.

They had briefly teamed up for a short time last season; was it finally about to become reality now?

At the thought, Mahomes could feel a flame quietly kindling inside him.

If he didn’t want to regret, then all the more should he grip every moment tightly.

They shouldn’t look back but should seize the present firmly, using the nows to change that future filled with endless possibilities.

“Training!”

Mahomes clenched his fist.

“Rookie, I want to see last season’s defensive groups of both the Minnesota Vikings and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Ah, and our division game against the New England Patriots, how Belichick managed to repeatedly take down the quarterback, that’s unusual.”

“After the season starts, I will need to dedicate myself completely to learning the offensive tactics, so now is the time to analyze the defensive teams’ tactics.”

A new season, a new playbook.

Every year, teams update their playbooks, discarding the tactics of the previous season.

The main thing is that all the tactical signals are changed.

The main reason is to prevent leaks that could come with player transfers.

So, all thirty-two teams change their playbooks; this is a task for the coaching staff during the offseason.

Besides, this year the Kansas City Chiefs are about to change their starting quarterback.

Different quarterbacks mean different tactical systems.

It’s not just the quarterback; the strategic tactics of the entire offensive group will have to be adjusted, a vast and intricate task.

Most importantly, even though both Smith and Mahomes are pocket quarterbacks, Smith is more traditional, with limited mobility outside the pocket; Mahomes is younger, relying on his excellent physical fitness, he can still be productive outside the pocket.

As you can imagine, the Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive playbook needs a complete overhaul.

Therefore, it can be anticipated that when the team’s spring training camp kicks off, the entire offensive group will be quite busy.