Chapter 794: 793 Guilt-free
The brain, operating at high speed.
Reed was thinking about tactical layout, he needed to make these youngsters believe on a tactical level:
Though they were behind in the score, they were on the right track, as long as they kept faith, as long as they remained patient, as long as they persevered, they could turn the tide.
Despite how ridiculous the current situation might seem, Reed thought this game was not much different from that collision in the sixth week of the regular season.
Turning defeat into victory was, in fact, a matter of an instant.
Reed stood in front of the strategy board, started bustling about, becoming immersed—
However, somewhat unexpectedly, a voice rang out.
“Sorry to interrupt, coach, may I borrow sixty seconds?”
Dripping wet, like a drowned rat, steam rising and shivering uncontrollably, unable to restrain the light tremors of his body, a staff member handed Li Wei a towel and hot soup, hoping Li Wei could deal with it immediately.
In such weather, such confrontation, setting aside the outcome of the game, a slight lack of attention might lead to injury, they had to be extra cautious.
Li Wei took the towel, but there wasn’t time to take care of himself, he stood up.
On the side, Veach had a serious look on his face, “rookie…”
He was worried that Li Wei would catch a cold or get injured, and right now his physical well-being was most important.
However, Li Wei didn’t respond to Veach’s comment, he was just staring at Reed’s back.
Reed turned around, silently looking at Li Wei, the air in the locker room stiffening slightly.
Veach exclaimed, “Coach?”
Reed’s chubby, pale cheeks were expressionless, he ignored Veach’s call and just nodded slightly to give permission.
Li Wei held his breath, enduring and suppressing, but in the end, he couldn’t hold it back.
“Please forgive my language, but—”
“Dammit! This feels terrible! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!”
Houston was the first one who couldn’t hold back, “Sorry, I am a bad example, rookie, you’ve picked up bad habits.”
Sparse laughter surged, finally easing the tension in the locker room a little.
Li Wei and Houston exchanged a glance, silently coordinating.
Then, Li Wei motioned for everyone to calm down, drew all attention to himself, took a deep breath, the entire locker room fell silent, and all gazes were concentrated on Li Wei alone—
Bedraggled and covered in mud, Li Wei still stood tall with pride, his head held high.
“I know, not everyone has special feelings for this city, it’s not Los Angeles or New York, it’s not Foxborough or Green Bay, it’s just… Kansas City, a city that’s not so wonderful yet not so terrible, a city built by hard-working blue-collar workers.”
“I know you think this is the Professional League, a cold-blooded league where interests come first and even the Super Bowl’s starting quarterback might leave next season, so who is safe?”
Veach cleared his throat, “It’s okay.”
The locker room erupted into laughter once again.
Li Wei didn’t pause, he kept speaking.
“So, any of us might leave at any time, including me, including Sherlock, including the coach, we’re all the same, this might just be a stop in our professional careers.”
“But for them, it’s not.”
“We are a part of their lives, they suffer and get excited with us, when they need encouragement they think of us, we’re what they can cling to at the end of despair, then they tell their kids to be as good as we are.”
“Annie Galas, an ordinary child, she has no talent, no ability, she can’t even go to school to make friends her age, but she looks up to us, we’re her faith, her strength to keep fighting, to battle with death, she makes our work worthwhile.”
Taking a deep breath carefully, Li Wei tried to mask the tremble in his voice.
Then, he continued to raise his voice.
“As the captain, I need each of you to shoulder this heavy responsibility, which is insignificant compared to the millions of US dollars in your pockets; but it is the lifeblood and hope of this city.”
“When we step onto the field, we need to give it our all, not just for ourselves, not just for victory, but also for this city, for the people living in this city who fill Arrowhead Stadium and cheer for us every Sunday.”
“This is the only way we can repay them.”
Li Wei struck his chest heavily.
“Touch your hearts and promise yourself that you’ve given your all, that you have no reservations, that when you leave Arrowhead Stadium, you can hold your head high, without shame, and say ‘I have no regrets’?”
“Get out of here right now, because you don’t belong here!”
Kelsey and Mahomes fiercely pounded their chests, leaping to their feet, roaring out loud.
“If you choose to stay, then good, because you’re not alone.”
“When we stand on Arrowhead Stadium, we’re not fighting alone!”
Houston, Hill, and Berry all stood up, responding with a roar.
“They have seen our worst, our most vulnerable side, but they haven’t seen our best yet, and that’s what we owe them.”
The entire locker room was bustling as everyone stood up, without exception.
Not even one, even Burns, Clark, and the coaching staff joined in the cheering, as rolling waves of heat surged through the air.
“In the first half, we fought, and although the score looks very bad, in fact, we didn’t perform badly, and the gap between us and our opponents isn’t as bad as the score suggests.”
“In the second half, we will continue to fight, not because we refuse to surrender, but because we are ready to fight to the last moment.”
“Let me tell you, we will win.”
All eyes in the room looked toward Li Wei, filled with incredulity—
Li Wei, different from last year, even different from the last sectional match.
So, does Li Wei have confidence now?
No, Li Wei still has no confidence, because he knows how strong the opponent is, how dire the situation is.
Li Wei took a deep breath.
“For no other reason, we will win, it’s as simple as that.”
No grandiose words, no resounding rhetoric, but that casually uttered sentence was so powerful, echoing in the locker room for a long time.
Calmly, serenely, Li Wei looked around, meeting everyone’s gaze.
Then, Li Wei turned his head to look at Reed.
The always calm and composed Reed, under Li Wei’s gaze, couldn’t help but become passionately agitated.
Reed nodded, “We will.”
The atmosphere in the entire locker room completely solidified.
Reed knew the opportunity had come—
“In the first half, everything was fine, our tactics were not the problem. The main reason we are behind now is due to mistakes, we need to be more focused, to make fewer errors.”
“Additionally, the rain is not letting up and will probably not stop anytime soon, which means there is an even greater chance for mistakes, implying we need to be even more focused.”
“Sometimes, in a real top-notch contest, what determines the outcome is not who performs better or who plays more impressively, but who makes fewer mistakes.”
“Next, in the second half, we will not make major adjustments to our tactics, but in terms of details, we need to…”