The King of Bay Area

Chapter 618: Making History


"They're crazy, crazy, crazy! My God! Ahhh, this is just too crazy!"

"Jesus Christ, '50-46'? This offensive battle broke countless records, didn't it? Is this the highest-scoring Divisional Playoff game in history?"

"The explosive power that both quarterbacks showed in the final moments truly showed the powerful charm of the quarterback position! The last four minutes alone were worth the price of admission! But what's scary is that the whole game maintained such a high level of efficiency! It was truly magnificent!"

"Ahhh, I think I'm in love with Lu Ke! What do I do? The play-calling on that last pass was so cool!"

"He's a god after one game! This is the best of the season! If anyone still doubts why this Chinese quarterback was able to lead the San Francisco 49ers back to the playoffs after eight years, then maybe they should clean their eyes and then clean their minds."

"Bambi! Bambi! Bambi! Am I the only one who has fallen in love with the 49ers because of this game? This team is so awesome! The entire game is worth keeping! I want to watch the replay right now! A hundred times, a hundred times!"

"Lu Ke! My God, where did this guy come from? He wasn't intimidated by Drew Brees at all during the game, and his calmness and wisdom at the final moment were spectacular! Are you sure this is a rookie player? And an undrafted rookie? My God, the San Francisco 49ers really found a treasure!"

"New Orleans Saints, you played beautifully! San Francisco 49ers, you played even more beautifully! Drew Brees, a brilliant performance! Lu Ke, an even more brilliant performance! My deepest respect to both sides. Thank you for bringing us such a wonderful game! It was so passionate! I still can't calm down!"

"Thank you, my beloved Saints. Although our journey has come to an end, this is not the most perfect ending, but the old soldiers never die. Drew Brees is still the best quarterback in the league, and I believe we can make a comeback next season. Finally, congratulations to the San Francisco 49ers, and congratulations to Lu Ke. You played a perfect game! See you next season!"

"We are the 49ers! We are warriors! We never stop fighting!"

"NFC Championship Game, here we come! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"

"Today, we are all 49ers! This is the pride of the city of San Francisco!"

"The 49ers are the winners! The 49ers are the winners! The 49ers are the winners!"

The discussions on major social media platforms were buzzing and unstoppable. Just on Twitter alone, after the game ended, an average of 13,000 tweets were posted every minute, easily breaking the new record set by Tim Tebow's incredible win in the Wild Card game. It was, without a doubt, the most discussed game of the season.

"Is this even a debate for the best game of the season?"

This tweet sparked a tsunami of discussion because there were still many games left in the season, including three other Divisional Playoff games, two Conference Championship games, and the Super Bowl. These games that had yet to happen could have even better match-ups. To declare it the "best of the season" now was obviously too presumptuous. Some people agreed, some disagreed, some were disdainful, some were contemptuous, and some were passionate.

But a month later, after the Super Bowl ended, 63% of the viewers voted for the same game as the best of the season, far surpassing the second-place game. It was in a league of its own. And in the official league vote for the best game of the season, 86% of the experts and journalists voted for the same game. It was a unanimous decision.

"San Francisco 49ers vs. New Orleans Saints."

This game was unanimously selected as the best game of the season by both the viewers and the league, with an undeniable advantage. Because both teams showed an incredibly high level of skill, the high-scoring battle set a record for a Divisional Playoff game, the match-up between the veteran and the rookie quarterback created a lot of hype, the last four minutes were full of ups and downs, the last moment was a nail-biter, and the full-stadium support at Candlestick Park was spectacular.

Every detail, every part, and every aspect was worthy of discussion. Even months later, people were still tirelessly talking about this game, as if they could close their eyes and be back at Candlestick Park that afternoon, once again experiencing the powerful charm of football—especially the charm of the quarterback position.

In this game, Lu Ke and Brees both delivered top-tier performances, truly showing the ultimate essence of a pocket passer.

Drew Brees: 37 of 53 passes completed, 557 yards, 6 touchdowns, 1 interception, 1 fumble, with a QB rating of 133.9, and a PFF grade of 1.7.

Lu Ke: 40 of 51 passes completed, 565 yards, 5 passing touchdowns, 1 rushing touchdown, 0 interceptions, with a QB rating of 152.8, and a PFF grade of 1.9.

Both quarterbacks' performances set new records for themselves. With their performances, they led their teams to deliver an offensive battle that was worthy of being etched in history. It was exciting and magnificent!

Brees's QB rating and PFF grade were both new postseason highs, even surpassing his Super Bowl-winning season in 2009. His top-tier passing performance once again proved that he was an undeniable elite quarterback in the league. His six touchdowns also tied the postseason touchdown record.

Lu Ke's two ratings both surpassed Brees's, continuing his good performance throughout the regular season. His QB rating was second only to his 152.9 in the first game of the regular season, and his PFF grade set a new season high and was undoubtedly the best performance in the playoffs.

Especially Lu Ke. After the nightmare of the Thursday night game and the comeback of the Monday night game, he now went through another high-scoring showdown in the Divisional Playoff game. On a live national broadcast, viewers finally truly witnessed the strength and ability of this Chinese quarterback, which won him a large number of fans.

In competitive sports, strength is always the best business card. Charisma, demeanor, and other qualities are just extra things that make a star. Now, Lu Ke was taking the most solid step by step, with one game after another, and one victory after another!

With nine seconds left in the game, Lu Ke threw a 35-yard deep pass to tight end Logan Newman, who had cut into the end zone. The connection was made, a touchdown was scored, and they won with a comeback! During the live broadcast, Kirk called this pass and catch "The Catch 3." It quickly spread on Twitter and Facebook and was recognized by countless fans.

In the second week of the regular season, when the San Francisco 49ers played against the Dallas Cowboys at home, Lu Ke threw a pass to Michael Crabtree in the final moments, recreating the glory and magnificence of "The Catch." That pass was affectionately called "The Catch" by many young fans. But in terms of the intensity of the game, the importance of the game, and the difficulty of the pass, it was nowhere near the level of this 35-yard game-winning touchdown pass in the Divisional Playoff game.

It was not only Kirk and the fans, but other sports analysts and people in the league also agreed, calling this nine-second game-winning play "The Catch 3," giving this pass and this offensive play the important historical recognition it deserved. In other words, even if you took away the fact that he was a Chinese quarterback or an undrafted rookie, this "The Catch 3" was still worthy of being etched in history. It truly witnessed the peak moment of this exhilarating game and was successfully written into history. If you took all the extra factors into consideration, they were witnessing the birth of history!

A Divisional Playoff game left a magnificent mark! It belonged to San Francisco, and it belonged to Lu Ke.

The 2011 season, after entering the playoffs, was getting more and more exciting and thrilling. For the fans, the season of celebration had finally arrived.

After the game ended, all the San Francisco 49ers players stayed on the field and celebrated with the 70,000 fans at Candlestick Park. The thunderous clapping continued for almost ten minutes, once again becoming another unforgettable moment at Candlestick Park.

After the clapping ended, the 49ers players were still reluctant to leave the field. They just stood there, quietly admiring the sea of red, enjoying the joy of victory and the madness of the crowd. It was a full thirty minutes later that the players finally went back to the locker room, where they saw the long-awaited journalists.

"Bambi. Bambi. Bambi."

Aldon Smith was the first to start the chant in a strange tone, and then the other players joined in. The players knew that the biggest hero of this game was undoubtedly Lu Ke. He had faced Brees's full-throttle, dominant, and experienced performance. It was Lu Ke who single-handedly brought the team back on track, which led to the final comeback. This rookie player was growing into a team leader, one step at a time.

As for the journalists, maybe it was because of the hype of an undrafted Chinese rookie, or maybe it was because of the incredible victory, but whatever the reason, Lu Ke was clearly their main focus. So, before the journalists could ask any questions, the players started chanting, and the noisy scene made the journalists join in the fun.

Standing in the crowd, Jay Fox watched his friend with a big smile on his face. Even though the game was truly over, the unreal, dreamy feeling still made his feet feel like they weren't on the ground, because it was all just too wonderful, too wonderful to wake up from.

"Bambi, how do you feel right now?" This was Jay's first question. It was a very common question that almost every journalist could ask, but it was also a question that every journalist was truly curious about: How does it feel to be a Chinese quarterback, to have unprecedentedly defeated Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints, and to have won a playoff game? How does it feel to be an undrafted rookie who has unprecedentedly made it to the Conference Championship game in his rookie season and delivered such a magnificent performance?

How does it feel to have successfully made a mark in history after just one season as a player?

🗒️NOTE:

New chapters drop Three times a day, every Monday through Sunday! Plus, you have the power to unlock more: we'll release Three bonus chapters for every 300 votes! Let's get this story moving together.

Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz

Explore up to 30 chapters in advance!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.


Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter