A gust of cold wind blew, and Lin Shuyuan quickly tightened his jacket. But the biting cold still pierced through his collar, and he involuntarily shivered, muttering a curse under his breath. As soon as he opened his mouth, the cold wind rushed in, causing him to sneeze violently. He felt completely out of sorts.
Sure enough, he knew this business trip would be a pain! Otherwise, how could a rookie who had been with the "World Daily" for less than six months be the one to go?
Indianapolis, the NFL rookie training camp, football... these keywords didn't sound very appealing. Although football is the number one sport in the United States, its commercial promotion abroad is far behind basketball and soccer. The global audience is very limited, not to mention in their home country. Even in the Chinese community in San Francisco, football fans are few and far between.
This time, a Chinese rookie appeared in the rookie training camp. After the news came out, it was heard that there was a lot of excitement in Los Angeles for a while, but it was like a stone sinking into the sea in San Francisco, completely unnoticed.
As the highest-selling and largest Chinese newspaper in the San Francisco area, the "World Daily" naturally received the news as soon as it came out, but they weren't very interested. They only did a routine official report. As for the rookie training camp, they had no intention of following up on it. First, no one was paying attention, and second, the rookie probably wouldn't even be drafted. It wasn't just the "World Daily" that felt this way; their two biggest local competitors, the "Overseas Chinese News" and the "Sing Tao Daily," also had no plans to cover it.
However, recently, the "World Daily" was short on material. Even the news of a new barbershop opening in Chinatown made it to the front page, and the quality of the news was declining badly. So, the editor made a decision on a whim to follow up on the news of this Chinese rookie, and that's how this unlucky guy ended up in Indianapolis.
Indianapolis is probably one of the most boring cities in the United States. If it weren't for this news story, he would probably never have visited this city in his lifetime.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Shuyuan cheered himself up. Since he was already here, he might as well do a good job of reporting. In any case, this was his first official feature report as a journalist. If he did well, he might get more opportunities in the future. Maybe he would even have a chance to jump to a major newspaper like the "San Francisco Chronicle" or the "Los Angeles Times"...
A rookie walked towards him, wearing the official jersey of the rookie training camp, a dark blue sweat-wicking t-shirt with a design on the chest. The top part was the number "16," and the bottom part was the two-letter abbreviation "WR."
Lin Shuyuan knew nothing about football. For this rookie training camp, he had to cram a lot of football knowledge. He knew that "WR" meant wide receiver, so he immediately hurried over. "Good morning. Excuse me, a Chinese rookie has appeared in this year's rookie training camp. What do you think about that?"
"I don't have an opinion." The rookie had a confused expression, as if he didn't understand the question. He shrugged. "Ultimately, this is a stage to showcase ourselves, and it's all about skill. So, we all need to do our best and hope for an excellent performance."
Seeing that the rookie was about to leave, Lin Shuyuan didn't know how to continue the interview. In a panic, he immediately asked, "So, do you think he can be drafted? I mean, this Chinese rookie."
"Obviously, the decision isn't up to me. If I could predict it, I'd be more concerned about which round I'll be selected in," the rookie said with a laugh. He didn't stay any longer, walked around Lin Shuyuan, and headed for the bus parked in front of the hotel—this was the official transportation that would take them directly to Lucas Oil Stadium.
Lin Shuyuan was stunned, and his feet didn't catch up in time. He stood rooted to the spot. Immediately, he realized that his question had been a bit foolish. But before he could further sort out his thoughts, he saw two middle-aged men in suits walking towards him. They were both wearing staff IDs. Judging by Lin Shuyuan's media pass, they looked like team managers or management personnel.
Lin Shuyuan immediately went up to them. "Excuse me, a Chinese rookie has appeared in this year's rookie training camp. Do you have any special thoughts?"
"Who?" The middle-aged man on the left was full of confusion. Just a single question from him left Lin Shuyuan speechless. Luckily, the person on the right helped him out. "From UCLA, a Chinese rookie." The first man suddenly understood, then shook his head. "No, I'm not interested." After saying that, the two men started walking again, heading toward the parking lot on the other side.
In just a short exchange, without even having a chance to confront them, Lin Shuyuan was completely defeated. He didn't even have time to use his journalist's sticky-tape skills before being instantly taken down.
He had originally thought that a Chinese rookie appearing in the football rookie training camp for the second consecutive year, a place where Asian players had barely set foot, would be a good talking point and worthy of a good discussion. But obviously, things didn't go as planned. People simply didn't care.
Thinking about it, it wasn't surprising. On one hand, not just in football but in all major ball sports—soccer, basketball, volleyball—China's performance was underwhelming. The women's volleyball team was the last thing to be proud of. People's expectations were naturally not high. On the other hand, football had not yet opened up the Chinese market and had no commercial value. A Chinese rookie participating in a training camp was not worth paying attention to or hyping up. This was not Yao Ming entering the NBA.
Lin Shuyuan became more and more disheartened, and he felt that this business trip might end with nothing to show for it. But work is work. When another group of people appeared in front of him, Lin Shuyuan still cheered up and went to meet them.
"I think this year might be a great draft year."
"Yes, I agree! Especially for quarterbacks, there are a lot of good prospects this year."
"That's not necessarily true. This year, the defense has a large number of highly anticipated potential stars. I think defensive players might have an even better performance this year."
"Other positions are also good. I've seen several wide receivers and tight ends with excellent qualities."
"Yeah, and running backs. The number of running backs in the training camp this year is the highest."
"It's been a long, long time since we've seen a draft year like this!"
Adam Klein, Blake Simmons, and a large group of scouts left the hotel, chatting and laughing, and prepared to head to the training camp. For them, this period was the moment of reckoning after a season of hard work.
Adam was walking on the right side in front when he saw an Asian-faced journalist rushing over. He quickly stopped, and the journalist asked loudly, "Excuse me, a Chinese rookie has appeared in this year's rookie training camp. What do you guys think?"
"You mean that Chinese quarterback?" Compared to others, scouts had a much deeper understanding of the players. With 332 rookies in the training camp this year, they could clearly remember the name, position, and basic information of every single player. Talking about any one of them was effortless.
Lin Shuyuan immediately became happy and nodded repeatedly. "Yes, him!"
"Asian players already have it tough enough, and this year is a great quarterback year. It's probably going to be a tough road for him."
"There's too little information on that Chinese player. It's not valuable for reference. I don't know how he'll perform in this training camp. I met him yesterday. His height is enough, but he's too thin and doesn't have enough muscle mass. I feel that his explosive power, balance, observation skills, and muscle strength are all lacking."
"Asian players are still too physically weak. I'm not optimistic that any Asian player will appear in the NFL this year."
...
Without Lin Shuyuan even needing to ask, a torrent of chatter came his way. But clearly, this was not good news. Although Lin Shuyuan was mentally prepared—so far, there had not been a single starting Asian player in football, and this was an unchangeable fact—hearing it firsthand at this moment, Lin Shuyuan still felt a little depressed.
"Didn't you guys watch the video? His judgment and passing on the field are commendable," Blake couldn't help but interject. Even today, the last two minutes of the Rose Bowl still left a deep impression on him.
Blake turned to his colleagues and said loudly, "Every year, quarterbacks are the most sought-after players. To be precise, it's more about which team doesn't lack a quarterback than which team needs one. Peyton Manning is injured this year, and now the Colts are in a difficult situation. Maybe they'll also choose a quarterback, so you never know."
"Blake, you're not that naive, are you? That was just a flash of brilliance. To be honest, there are a dozen or twenty players with that kind of instant burst every year, and then they all disappear." The counterarguments came one after another in a flurry of voices. Others chimed in. "Yeah, his physical fitness is really too poor. No team would be willing to take that risk. Not to mention the first six rounds, even if they choose him in the seventh round, I'd think it's too risky. The data doesn't lie, and the scout report doesn't lie."
"That's not necessarily true." This time, it was Adam who spoke. As a veteran scout, his words carried some weight, and everyone looked at him.
"Adam, what's your brilliant insight?" someone asked loudly.
Adam shrugged. "I don't have any insights. I just think that data isn't always accurate. Otherwise, the current elite quarterbacks wouldn't be those four."
After saying that, Adam didn't say anything more. He walked past the journalist and went on his way. The other scouts also chattered and voiced their opinions, discussing heatedly as they followed him. In the blink of an eye, Lin Shuyuan was left standing there alone, flustered in the wind.
What did that last sentence mean? Why couldn't he understand it?
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