Dominate the Super Bowl

Chapter 604: 603 Angel Devil Chapter 604: 603 Angel Devil Media journalists surrounded Li Wei, but was it really because they had an aversion to him?

The answer is no.

In fact, what the media pursued were simply talking points, sensationalism, and topics; thus, Li Wei’s actions were nothing more than a benevolent reminder.

Compared to outsider Li Wei, it was the insiders who were the real focus.

For instance, Tomlin.

From Bell to Brown and the silent, grim-faced Roethlisberger who left the field in anger after the game, was Li Wei implying that the main responsibility for the poor management of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ locker room lay with Tomlin’s assertiveness and despotism?

Before Bell chose to hold out and sit out, wasn’t it the Pittsburgh Steelers’ uniform staff who, for the second year in a row, decided to apply the franchise tag to the League’s number one running back?

So, was this decision something personal, or was it the choice of the team manager or the head coach?

Please, everyone, ponder this.

A simple sentence suddenly seemed to take on an unexpectedly profound meaning—

And so, he used others to accomplish his own ends.

Without making a sound, Li Wei had already managed to divert the trouble elsewhere, skillfully manipulating the reporters’ speculative minds to push Tomlin into the limelight.

Right, rather than making a fuss over Li Wei, they should properly grill Tomlin instead—a debt has its debtor, after all.

It was not just the conflict between Tomlin and Bell but also the internal strife between the Pittsburgh Steelers’ uniform staff and the management.

Who exactly was behind these decisions?

If a scapegoat was needed for a loss, who should the fans blame?

Attention, shifted in an instant.

Just like during the offseason, Li Wei once again quietly managed to transfer the focus, easily extricating himself from the situation.

Tomlin: ???

The subsequent developments turned out to be even more interesting than Li Wei had anticipated.

Latter on, during the media interviews on Wednesday’s training day and the pre-game interviews in the second week of the regular season, the reporters doggedly and persistently went after Tomlin:

From the issue of Bell to locker room conflicts, and whether Tomlin thought the head coach had failed in his duties, the questions got sharper and sharper.

Tomlin, caught in a hail of bullets, endured and endured, until he finally, and quite uncharacteristically, lost his composure.

Without uttering a word and without any warning, he turned and left the press room.

There was no outburst, no rage.

To be precise, there wasn’t even a change in his expression—not a hint of signal—simply turning around and leaving the whole roomful of reporters behind.

And afterward, he refused to make any statement.

Such a tough response was unexpected; but even more surprising was that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ officials did not come forward to resolve the dispute, tacitly supporting all of Tomlin’s actions with their silence, further confirming people’s speculation:

The real decision-maker behind ignoring Bell and cold-shouldering Brown on the field was Tomlin.

At the same time, Tomlin had the support from the team’s upper management.

All the arrows pointed even more fiercely at Tomlin.

The League was very displeased with this.

The League already had a thorn in Lynch, a stinking, hard stone in the cesspit that had come out of retirement and remained just as tough; now there was another in Tomlin, both dark and hard.

The League needed to make an example.

Tomlin faced a fine and a warning from the League.

And Tomlin’s response was to obediently pay the fine and publicly apologize; but with a turn, he closed off the Pittsburgh Steelers’ training grounds and refused all forms of interviews.

The Pittsburgh Steelers issued an official statement, stating that the team needed to focus entirely on preparing for the season, and for the time being would not accept interviews or have fans watching, hoping for support.

Simply put, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tomlin stood on the same front.

For coaches, Tomlin was undoubtedly an object of envy, being able to secure the team’s hundred percent support.

Just like Saban at the University of Alabama, this allowed the head coach to implement iron-fisted management and ensure the team would follow his commands to get on track.

However, others didn’t see it that way.

Suddenly, the Pittsburgh Steelers became the super villains of the entire League, with the team and head coach joining forces to pressure players, establish absolute control in the locker room, and reject all dissenting voices.

These were not good signs, and they faced attacks from journalists, fans, and other players alike.

The situation completely flipped.

To the point that Antonio Brown was also full of question marks—

Wait, wasn’t the focus supposed to be on me being left out in the cold with no chances to catch passes?

How did the spotlight inexplicably shift to Tomlin?

Brown, who had been worried about becoming the whipping boy of the media and fans, had a narrow escape, but the point was, he was completely ignored.

Just like in the season opener, he was present but no one cared; it felt like standing at the center of a party, screaming one’s head off but not being heard at all.

Brown himself was stunned, unclear whether he should breathe a sigh of relief or maintain his anger?

A total mess!

From beginning to end, Tomlin offered no explanation for the reason, leaving endless speculation.

Perhaps the best explanation was, faced with those attacks, those pressures, that attention, that buzz:

He had had enough.

Meanwhile, the very person who indirectly helped fuel the situation stayed perfectly invisible.

At the press conference, this Devil hid his sharp teeth and horns, looking at the reporters with an innocent face, as if he were an angel who had just come down from heaven to frolic.

In fact, not a single reporter in the room could see through Li Wei’s real face, they fell for the deception hook, line, and sinker, and were even ready to continue being fooled.

“A new season, a new start, the expectations and attention from the entire League this year are completely different, and the pressure faced on the field has changed; but, in the first game, your performance was impressive, with a rushing touchdown, a reception touchdown, and a passing touchdown, both rushing and receiving yards broke the century mark.”

“Without a doubt, you remain one of the running backs to watch out for in the League, are you satisfied with your performance?

What efforts did you make during the off-season to improve yourself?”

A standard question, and everyone was ready to heap praise on Li Wei.

But unexpectedly, Li Wei didn’t intend to accept the praise, only focused on selling crutches.

“Oh, is this prying into secrets?

May I ask which media you are from?”

The room burst into laughter with his teasing remark.

“I personally think that it’s not me who deserves attention in today’s game.

My teammates fought a wonderful battle; they are the true heroes.”

“Fuller, Jones, Regland, and so on, and of course, Maho…

cough cough…”

Li Wei accidentally choked, not fully pronouncing Mahomes’s name, only uttering the first two syllables, but unexpectedly, this became Mahomes’s nickname among Hua Xia fans—

Neither Li Wei nor Mahomes had anticipated this.

At the scene, Li Wei reacted quickly.

“See, his performance is so red-hot that even his name is too hot to handle.”

A cold joke, truly unbearably cold.

The reporters looked at Li Wei with faces full of disbelief.

Li Wei shrugged lightly.

“What I mean is, Mahomes put on a splendid performance, proving himself even under pressure.”

“Personally, I think he deserves to be the American League’s Offensive Player of the Week, his performance has shown enough maturity and wisdom to prove he has the potential to become an elite quarterback, in fact, I am already looking forward to his upcoming performances.”@@novelbin@@