"He's here, he's there, he's everywhere, he is the Edgerunner, Li Wei Li Wei Li Wei!"
Bryant Denny Stadium was shaking, the whole world was shaking, and the deafening chants erupted like a volcano, incessantly blasting; one could even clearly feel the boiling heat and fervor of the blood. Being in the midst of it all, one couldn't help but get swept away by the surging tide of hearts.
Donald Yee was no exception.
He knew that Li Wei's outstanding performance as a running back couldn't be separated from his teammates' support; from the snippets of the game sidelines, it was clear that Li Wei had a good relationship with the Defensive group, and today he felt the warmth of the audience's passion on site.
It seemed that in just half a year, Li Wei had also won the hearts of this small town.
Even though Donald Yee had witnessed Tom Brady reach the pinnacle at the Super Bowl stage more than once and had deeply felt the frenzy of North America's top celebrations, he was still brought to his knees by the fervor and splendor present here and now.
But as for cheering and shouting, Donald Yee was ultimately not quite used to it, appearing somewhat restrained, and the enthusiastic faces all around him seemed out of place.
Soon, Donald Yee discovered that he was not alone.
Diagonally in front, one could spot a small phalanx of about twenty to thirty people, sitting right behind the coaching staff of the Crimson Tide Storm.
Usually, a small phalanx of twenty to thirty people in a stadium of a hundred thousand wouldn't be worth mentioning, even if they were sitting right behind the coaching staff; but the key point was, they were all dressed in black jerseys—
Among the sea of red and white jerseys, the color clash immediately caught the eye.
"Men in Black 3" had been out for years, and even if it were a performance art, it seemed out of place at Bryant Denny Stadium.
A closer look revealed that this small phalanx was not wearing suits but jerseys. Could they be fans of another team specifically here to cause trouble?
Because the home and away jerseys of the Mississippi State Bulldogs are not black either.
Making trouble at Bryant Denny Stadium, aren't they worried about their safety?
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Donald finally saw clearly, those were unmistakably the home jerseys of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
No wonder they weren't afraid of getting mobbed, clearly NFL team fans didn't worry about safety in an NCAA stadium; and Jacksonville is not far from Tuscaloosa, 470 miles, about a seven-hour drive, truly a next-door neighbor.
But why were the fans of the Jacksonville Jaguars here?
More importantly, they were organized, disciplined, so showy yet so neat, anyone with clear sight could tell they were openly displaying, as if they feared others might not notice, this must be a declaration to the world.
Involuntarily, Donald recalled a rumor.
Initially, Donald hadn't taken it too seriously, but now it seemed he should pay attention.
His gaze once again turned towards the center of the field, where that figure surrounded by countless cheers and applause was being embraced by all the players of the Crimson Tide Storm.
"Haha, Li Wei's crying."
"Oh, Li Wei, are you very moved?"
"What to do, our rookie's eyes are all red."
"Poor little rookie, too adorable, I must take pictures to cherish."
"Who would have thought you'd have such a day."
One by one, they didn't miss the chance, eagerly kicking a man when he's down.
Li Wei didn't mind, he gracefully took all the jokes in stride, "Laugh then, just laugh, after all there aren't many chances . You're jealous, aren't you? But envy won't help, charm can't be blocked, you can't change anything except by being reborn."
A chorus erupted, everyone collectively burst into laughter.
Clark finally approached with a constrained face, "Sorry, I just..."
Li Wei, seeing Clark continually scratching his head, couldn't help but burst into laughter, "It's alright, I understand. Besides, they can laugh all they want now; they won't be able to when we get back to training."
What's with this chilling feeling, it must be an illusion, right?
Why does Li Wei's smile give off a creepy vibe like a rabbit stepping into a trap? Why do images of Professor Hannibal from "Silence of the Lambs" pop into my mind? Is this normal?
But Li Wei didn't say much more, with a turn, he was ready, his brisk steps full of vigor, clearly unable to wait for the game to start.
Poor Mississippi State University.
The fact also proved it—
Li Wei, in top form and outstanding performance, felt none of the deficiency and fatigue after the fierce game last time. The recovery training this week was very effective, showing an active and energetic attitude from the start.
In the first half, Li Wei had gained 186 yards on the ground, and scored four rushing touchdowns, overwhelmingly crushing Mississippi State University's ground defense with an air of dominance.
If Li Wei had wanted to, he could have easily padded the stats in this game, reaching over two hundred yards on the ground was not a difficult feat, but Crimson Tide Storm didn't.
In the second half, Jacobs and Clark took over as the main force for the ground pushing, but Crimson Tide Storm still dominated the game, killing any suspense early on.
Crimson Tide Storm swept through Mississippi State Bulldogs at home, continuing their season's Undefeated Golden Body.
After the game, the exuberant journalists couldn't wait to interview Li Wei, but found all channels blocked as Saban had issued a no-interview order, starting from this game, Crimson Tide Storm refused any form of interview before and after matches.
The journalists, dumbfounded.
Now, how could they continue to watch the drama unfold?
Nevertheless, there was a journalist who took the opportunity through a gap in the iron railing and shouted a question at Li Wei.
"Li Wei, Jackson says he will beat you, both in the nationwide championship and for the Heisman Trophy."
Li Wei flashed a brilliant smile, "Good luck, Meng Meng."
And then... there was no more…
The journalists watched as Li Wei walked away, powerless to do anything.
At the post-game press conference, the journalists confronted Saban with righteous indignation; however, Saban simply didn't care, stating that the players would not accept any form of interviews, and all interview sessions could only proceed at the official press conferences, where he would respond as a representative.
The journalists were at a loss.
Had it been the NFL, this would have been a violation of League rules, as it's mandatory for players to attend the post-game press conferences, with even specific timing regulations; but here in the NCAA, there are no such rules.
The journalists had no leverage over Saban, so they had to turn their attention to others, particularly Jackson—
He was the leading contender for the Heisman Trophy odds, so naturally, the media targeted Jackson first, leaving Watson more often in the background of disputes this season.
The entire Louisville Cardinals, from top to bottom, united in their hope for a victory to stop their losing streak and return to the championship contention, and not just any victory, but a resounding one, and Jackson needed to prove he could beat the doubts.
Louisville Cardinals, lost the game.