Jay was staring intently at the entrance tunnel and noticed the movement right away. "They're here, they're here..." Unable to contain his excitement, Jay jumped up, pumped his fists, and yelled wildly. All of his passion and energy erupted at that moment.
He wasn't the only one.
The 60,000 Bruins supporters in the Rose Bowl all stood up. Their home jerseys of blue and gold looked like a vast ocean basking in golden sunlight, grand and magnificent. The surging waves were rising and falling, and the mighty blue was continuously churning. The entire Rose Bowl was on fire!
It wasn't a "shout," but a "roar," earth-shattering. The whole world began to shake, making people wonder if the foundation of the Rose Bowl was starting to tremble. The shocking sound vibrated at a high frequency in their eardrums, causing their blood to surge. In an instant, a geyser of adrenaline erupted!
Lu Zheng-ze and Jiang You-ning stared at the spectacular scene, their reactions half a beat too slow. The world had already been transformed. They slowly stood up, looking at the scene around them in disbelief. The surging waves were like a fire, and the air was bubbling. Standing in it, the temperature of their own blood slowly began to rise toward the boiling point—no, it was sprinting.
Lu Zheng-ze was a little dazed, his eyes wandering aimlessly around the field, searching for Lu Ke.
"Number 11!" Jay seemed to understand Lu Zheng-ze's confusion and shouted excitedly, "Number 11!"
His hoarse voice was so small in the sound waves, like an ant fighting a hurricane, but Lu Zheng-ze still caught a trace of it. He quickly scanned the field. In the middle of the wide field, every player looked to be the size of a hand, as if he had entered a world of little people.
Number 11. Lu Zheng-ze found his target and quickly patted Jiang You-ning's arm, shouting in her ear, "Number 11, Lu Ke is number 11!" Lu Zheng-ze didn't even realize that his voice had started to tremble uncontrollably, and a big smile appeared on his face.
In the surging crowd, Jiang You-ning immediately found number 11. Before her mind could even process it, she covered her mouth, looking at the vibrant figure. Her eyes welled up with warmth for no reason, but she felt so happy and wonderful, as if her whole body had soared into the clouds. So, she raised her right hand high and joined the chorus of cheers from the entire stadium.
"Roar, roar, roar," the shouts shook the heavens. The entire Rose Bowl was caught in a thunderstorm, and every single person in the stadium was a part of it!
Jeff Lock's mind was boiling. He was so excited that he didn't know what to do. He just shook his body wildly and yelled hoarsely at the other fans around him, "Number 11, I know number 11! Just you watch, that's our key to victory, number 11!" No one responded to him because everyone was focused on their own cheering. But Jeff didn't care. He just kept yelling, jumping, and going crazy.
In the midst of the chaotic view, Jeff jumped over Nate next to him and saw a familiar but strange figure—the guy who had left early during the fourth quarter of the last game, which led to a small argument. Today, he was also here.
Jeff proudly raised his chin, making a statement with his stance as if to say, "I told you we would be at the Rose Bowl! I'm not a traitor who chose to leave early!" Then, Jeff deliberately looked away from him and waved his hands high, cheering even more enthusiastically.
Danny Reese felt the burning gaze and understood the message hidden within it. He couldn't help but laugh. Without saying anything more, he looked at the field and whistled. He didn't care about being laughed at. As long as the team could win, he was willing to be laughed at again!
He had missed the last victory, but he wouldn't miss tonight's battle. This was the critical moment, the moment for number 11 to shine again!
"Hello, listeners, and welcome to the live broadcast of the 2011 Rose Bowl." Kirk Charleston was sitting in the commentary box again, but he wasn't alone tonight. There was a colleague sitting next to him.
The annual Rose Bowl was a major event. In addition to local California radio stations, major TV stations like ESPN would also broadcast it live. This was a national stage, and every player had the opportunity to show themselves to the world.
This game was also very memorable for Kirk. This was his last broadcast for the local Los Angeles radio station. Fox had poached him, and next week, he would start broadcasting for Fox TV, beginning a brand new career. So, Kirk also hoped this game would have a perfect ending.
"The two teams playing tonight are the UCLA Bruins and the University of Wisconsin Badgers..." Kirk started introducing the game skillfully. When he noticed the starting lineups, his eyes paused for a moment. "Kevin Prince," was the Bruins' starting quarterback. The Chinese-American quarterback from the last game appeared in Kirk's mind. But this was only a momentary lapse, and Kirk quickly returned to his professional self. "Tonight's showdown can be described as an offensive battle, like the Incredible Hulk versus Iron Man. We can expect a magnificent scoring battle..."
But once the game started, it was anything but.
Both teams seemed a little constrained and nervous. The offense and defense of both teams were making small mistakes. The rhythm of the entire game was not smooth, and the constant fumbles made it impossible to get excited.
First, it was the Badgers' quarterback, Scott Tolzien, who made a mistake. After two consecutive ten-yard advances, a straightforward short pass was intercepted, and he lost possession of the ball at their own 41-yard line. The opponent only needed to advance a little more to get into field goal range.
But the Bruins, who were on the field next, also failed to seize the opportunity. Kevin Prince was very nervous. One running play was stopped, one pass was incomplete, and he was sacked once, almost causing a fumble. Luckily, they avoided the tragedy of a fumble, but unfortunately, they lost eight yards in the process and were pushed out of field goal range. They could only punt.
Nearly half of the first quarter had passed, but neither team's offense had been able to get past the 50-yard line. The boring game made people drowsy. Even the most dedicated fans were looking sluggish.
In the stalemate, the Badgers broke the deadlock first. Their outstanding offensive line opened up a path twice in a row, and their running back made two big runs of 23 and 12 yards. With three successful passes from Scott, he instantly led the offense to the opponent's red zone.
The red zone was the ten-yard area in front of the end zone. In this area, a ten-yard advance would lead to a touchdown, so it was called a red zone offense.
With one successful four-yard pass and one successful running back breakthrough, the Badgers scored the first touchdown of the game. With only six minutes and thirty-three seconds left in the first quarter, the "0:0" score was finally changed. The away fans, who had traveled a long way, immediately started celebrating, and their noisy cheers began to show off. The home fans booed in protest, and the quiet Rose Bowl finally came back to life.
After a successful extra point, the Badgers took a "7:0" lead.
But the Bruins' offense still had no progress. They were out in three downs from their own 20-yard line. They were on the field for less than two minutes without any advancement and went back to the sideline. They then witnessed the Badgers' fluid offensive power that swept through the Big Ten. The offense pushed all the way to the Bruins' 27-yard line, where the Bruins' defense barely managed to stop them.
The Badgers didn't get a touchdown, but they easily kicked a 37-yard field goal, bringing the score to "10:0."
With two minutes and forty-eight seconds left in the first quarter, the passive Bruins finally woke up from their slumber. After several running back rushes by Kevin, he threw a surprise pass, which Logan Newman caught and ran for 43 yards before being tackled at the opponent's 18-yard line.
In the next offensive drive, with two successful short passes, they advanced nine yards. On the third down, they chose a running play. Marcus Lynch not only broke through and ran for one yard, but he also kept pushing forward and successfully ran the remaining eight yards to score a touchdown! The Bruins finally escaped the nightmare of a zero score and brought hope back to the Rose Bowl.
After the extra point, the score became "10:7," with the home team behind.
The entire stadium went crazy, not just the 60,000 home fans, but also the 10,000 neutral fans. Everyone started cheering because the game had finally become exciting. Now, the Rose Bowl was finally starting to look like a big annual event.
The score didn't change for the rest of the first quarter. After switching sides in the second quarter, the game started again. The Badgers scored another field goal, this time a 41-yard one, extending their lead to "13:7." But the Bruins then showed excellent form and responded.
In a continuous offensive drive, the passes and runs achieved a beautiful balance. After about six minutes, the Bruins' offense successfully advanced to the Badgers' red zone. However, they were stopped at the one-yard line, failing to score three times. Kevin could only watch the end zone from the one-yard line, helpless.
The one-yard line was a difficult choice. They could give up the offense and choose a field goal on the fourth down to at least secure three points and bring the score to "13:10." But the end zone was so close. It would be a waste to only get three points after a six-minute offensive drive.
What should Kevin do?
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