Dominate the Super Bowl

Chapter 684: 683 Home away from home
 

“Heads or tails?”

The head referee, holding the coin ready to toss, turned to Li Wei.

Li Wei’s eyes widened. “Sir, I’m the home team.”

The head referee: …

“Ah, sorry, sorry,” the head referee also realized his own confusion and turned to Saggs, “Heads or tails?”

Saggs’s face looked like the bottom of a pan, glaring fiercely at the head referee, expressing strong dissatisfaction—

According to the rules, the visiting team chooses first in the overtime coin toss.

Clearly, the head referee had just been confused.

Li Wei didn’t mind; he flashed Saggs a radiant smile, displaying the polite welcome of the Eastern nation, and made an inviting gesture.

Saggs felt a surge in his chest, instantly making it seem like he couldn’t afford to lose, being petty, which nearly caused Saggs to bite his teeth in half. But he ultimately controlled himself, looked at the referee, took a deep breath, and announced his choice, “Heads.”

After speaking, Saggs looked again at Li Wei, showing an evil smile, and pointed to his own head with his index finger, as if to hint to Li Wei:

Beware of a concussion.

The head referee didn’t notice Saggs’s small gesture and simply tossed the coin, then spread his arms wide, waiting for the coin to land on the ground to prevent cheating—

All eyes were fixed on the coin, rising, flipping, falling.

The initiative of the start of overtime, even to some extent the victory of the entire game, might also rest on this single coin.

It hit the ground, rolled.

Everyone stepped away, avoiding touching the coin which would possibly require a re-toss.

The coin came to a stop, and immediately everyone could feel the scorching gazes focusing on it.

The voice of the head referee echoed throughout Arrowhead Stadium through the microphone.

“Tails.”

“Kansas City Chiefs win the coin toss for the first possession of overtime…”

Boom.

Arrowhead Stadium erupted like a volcano, releasing unbelievable energy all at once. Despite such a tense and thrilling knife-edge match, the stadium and the city still cheered and jumped without reservations; the roaring waves of heat made the cold retreat.

For a moment, it seemed as if even the setting sun’s descent hesitated.

Li Wei raised his head, just in time to see Saggs’s dark expression. He smiled, spread his hands, and shook his head gently, a helpless gesture.

Saggs felt the breath caught in his chest, almost about to explode.

But this time, Saggs kept his cool, “Just you wait.”

Without lingering, Saggs turned and left—

Next up, “Kansas City Chiefs Offense vs Baltimore Ravens Defense.” In other words, Saggs and Li Wei would soon have it out.

Saggs intended to show the rookie that possession for the overtime didn’t mean much; even if Lady Luck was on the side of the Kansas City Chiefs today, the Baltimore Ravens could still snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and retreat from Kansas City unscathed.

If you call for the storm, then you shall receive it.

After all, the Baltimore Ravens Defense had made the Kansas City Chiefs Offense struggle throughout the game. Now, they could still keep Mahomes and Li Wei feeling repressed.

Secretly, Saggs was sharpening his knives too.

“Whew, we all need to take a deep breath.”

“Overtime will begin with Kansas City Chiefs on offense, perfect for ‘Kansas City Chiefs Offense vs Baltimore Ravens Defense’—a matchup of powerhouses, and also one of the main themes throughout the entire game.”

“In fact, with only 4:04 left before the end of the game, it was the Kansas City Chiefs Offense, once again showing their number one league energy, relying on Li Wei’s spectacular performance to snatch the touch down from the jaws of the Baltimore Ravens Defense, tying the score at the last moment.”

That’s why we have come to this point.”

“Now, with this matchup kicking off overtime, it’s really something to look forward to; you can’t help but anticipate it.”

“Tony, what do you think?”

Nantz was still excited, and after spouting a bunch of words, he turned parched and, turning around, finally handed the microphone to his partner.

Romo felt the same.

As a former player, Romo well understood the difficulty and excitement of overtime.

“In overtime, the offensive group needs to be wary of a key issue: how to balance the tension between avoiding errors and taking bold risks at just the right moment.”

In the commentary box, Romo and Nantz were busy creating an atmosphere.

On the sideline, Li Wei was drinking water and at the same time, cracking… jokes.

“…no, no, no, Travis, you really should update your dance moves, or you might just reveal that you belong to the Baby Boomer generation.”

Li Wei said seriously, then imitated Kelsey doing the Crayon Shin-chan elephant dance.

Kelsey had a face full of grievance, “Me? A Baby Boomer?”

The so-called ‘Baby Boomer’ generation refers specifically to those born after World War II; even the youngest among them have turned over fifty this year.

Kelsey puffed up his chest, “Others say I look younger than you.”

Boo, boo boo.

Surrounding him was a chorus of boos, even Mahomes, who was slightly nervous and somewhat distracted, couldn’t help but jeer at Kelsey.

Mahomes quipped, “Travis, maybe shave the beard first.”

Kelsey didn’t mind, and began to do the horse-riding dance, “How about this? ‘Gangnam style’?”

Ha ha ha.

Everyone burst out laughing, and Li Wei quietly stepped back, wearing an “I don’t know you” expression, smoothly distancing himself, with the other players following suit one after another.

As a result, Kelsey suddenly found himself alone, spreading his arms, “Hey, are you guys discriminating against Justin?”

Houston: ??? What kind of disaster is this?

Seeing Houston’s innocent expression, even Reed couldn’t help but let a smile creep up his face.

Assistant Coach Childres quietly approached Burns, looking at Burns who was all smiles and seemingly at ease, “Rookie… has it always been like this from before?”

Burns thought hard, “It’s been like this since the first time he played.”

Childres lightly lifted his chin, “Indeed, a born leader.”

It was their first overtime game, and from the players to the coaches, the Kansas City Chiefs were indeed a bit tense—all without exception—even though Reed maintained his composure, like a calming anchor, Childres was aware of Reed’s pressure.

The uncertainty of the overtime was one aspect, but the impact and pressure brought on by the Baltimore Ravens’ was another.

The Chiefs had indeed struggled in this game.

At least unlike the games against the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams, the Chiefs had won the chance for overtime; yet the issue was precisely there because no one could predict overtime. The same game, a different atmosphere, and sheer youthful zeal isn’t enough to solve all problems.

Some issues, like lack of experience, are simply intractable.

Such games, such dilemmas, such challenges were indeed a necessary path for growth for the Kansas City Chiefs, mainly composed of sophomores and juniors.

But what if—one lost the overtime?

Unimaginable.

Just the thought of it sent shivers down one’s spine.

Uncontrollably, the team’s mood was still inevitably tense, and even winning the offensive right didn’t relax them—

What if, the offense didn’t score?

Comparable to a penalty shootout in soccer, NFL overtime plays with your heartbeat.

However, Li Wei sensed it; within a few words, the tight nerves slowly relaxed, more effective than any motivational pep talk.