"When the world has opened its arms, some people still choose to stand still.
—Why is football only the number one sport in North America?"
This was a special report from the Los Angeles Times, written by intern reporter Jay Fox. It was surprisingly published on the front page of the sports section and also had a spot on the bottom of the front page, making it the most eye-catching focus of this issue. It instantly attracted everyone's attention.
In the report, Jay brought up the ugly scene that occurred during the Week 14 game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals. The home fans launched a personal attack against the visiting team, and went even further by attacking the opposing starting quarterback, Lu Ke, for his Asian heritage. Not only were there a large number of clearly discriminatory statements in the stands, but many spectators also imitated monkeys to mock their opponents. Jay stated that this was an absolutely intolerable and vicious phenomenon.
"It is now the 21st century. The world has become a global village. Airplanes connect every corner of the earth, and the internet connects six billion people face-to-face. Learning to accept new things, learning to embrace different cultures, and learning to broaden one's horizons is an inevitable trend. Not just racism, but discrimination against minorities and vulnerable groups is already far behind the times."
In the article, Jay did not explain the problem from a social or political perspective. Instead, he returned to the world of competitive sports itself.
"Football, as a wonderful sport, has encountered many difficulties in its promotion. Of course, there are multiple factors such as venues, equipment, and technology. But it's undeniable that this sport has always been a self-serving spectacle. It has always refused to integrate with other communities, and even refused to accept different forms of football like British, Australian, and Canadian football. It has firmly confined itself to the area of the American mainland, which is definitely one of the important reasons that cannot be ignored."
Through the article, Jay explained an interesting point of view. While major professional leagues like soccer, basketball, baseball, and even ice hockey have eagerly opened their arms, Asian players have proven themselves. In these arenas, they still have their own talents and advantages and have the ability to influence the outcome of the game. The so-called racial barriers are far less severe than people imagine, and they can also have a place.
Football, on the other hand, is still standing still and sticking to old ways. It refuses to keep up with the times and arrogantly thinks that it is the world's number one sport. After Commissioner Roger Goodell took office, his plans for the London Bowl, the Mexico Bowl, and the China Bowl were met with a lot of doubts and opposition from within the league. However, the objective facts show that worldwide, the market share of soccer and basketball far exceeds that of football. Although the annual Super Bowl has become a global event, it is more because the halftime show is known as the "American Spring Festival Gala" and not because the Super Bowl represents the ultimate showdown between the champions of the two football conferences.
"On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson, wearing a number 42 jersey, took the field as the starting first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He became not only the first African American player to play in Major League Baseball history but also the first African American player to play in any of the four major American sports leagues. After that, the wheels of history have been rolling forward. Now, half a century later, people of different races, different classes, and even different genders have proven their value on the field. Now, the NBA has become dominated by African Americans, while the MLB and NHL are dominated by White people. In addition, minorities like Latinos and Asians have also become a strong force in these two arenas. And what about the NFL? According to official statistics, the NFL has the most balanced racial composition of the four major American sports leagues. The ratio of African Americans to White people is almost one-to-one, and the addition of Latinos, Europeans, Native Americans, and native Hawaiians has further created a rich and diverse racial melting pot.
But on this field, if we don't count mixed-race players, there are only two Asian players: Kailee Wong and Lu Ke. Just as all the leagues have opened their arms and accepted changes from around the world, and just as the NFL has become the most successful league in racial integration in North America... now, extreme and serious racist remarks have appeared on the field again. This is not just standing still, but a clear step backward. This also raises a series of questions: Is the NFL really the most successful league in racial integration? Is the NFL really America's number one sport? Is the NFL really keeping up with the times? And, does the NFL really want to go beyond North America and into the world?
Furthermore, does the so-called discrimination only exist among fans? In the rookie training camp, the excellent Lu Ke became an undrafted free agent. He didn't even get a spot after seven rounds of the draft. Have the NFL coaches and team managers really broken down racial prejudice and barriers? "
Like Lu Ke, Jay didn't limit his focus to the Arizona Cardinals' fans. Instead, he took a broader approach, analyzing and explaining the rights of every citizen, the changes of the entire era, and the current situation of the professional league, and expressing a true political demand. In other words, this was not a personal feud. It broke away from the conflict and controversy between the players and the conflict between the players and the fans. It focused more on a bigger and broader picture, forcing the other 31 teams and the league to look a little further ahead. They were being told not to sacrifice the interests of one player, Lu Ke, because of the protests and mediations of one team, the Arizona Cardinals.
"Why is football only the number one sport in North America? It's clearly not because the sport isn't exciting enough."
At the end of the article, Jay didn't provide an answer or even discuss it in depth. Instead, he used a semi-open-ended guiding statement to leave the space for thought to the readers and to the league's executives.
As one of the most influential newspapers on the West Coast of the United States, the Los Angeles Times was almost a monopoly. It was also one of the few newspapers in North America that could compete with the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. Every article they published was watched by a lot of people, not to mention such a sharp special report. After this issue was released, it caused a huge uproar throughout North America!
First, the Los Angeles Times also uploaded this special report to their official website. In just 12 hours, a huge number of people flocked to it. The number of views per hour exploded from 100,000 to 300,000, and the clicks on this special report alone broke the 10-million mark! What's more, the article was retweeted more than 6,600 times. In just half a day, it spread all over the internet, at least in North America, becoming the undisputed number one hot topic.
Second, on social media, this special report was everywhere. There were opponents who thought the Los Angeles Times was making a mountain out of a molehill, twisting the facts, and blowing a trivial matter out of proportion with malicious intent. There were also supporters who strongly condemned the Cardinals' fans' despicable behavior and hoped that such ridiculous and ugly discriminatory remarks would be stopped for good.
On Twitter, the number of retweets from other media outlets alone exceeded 1,000 in 12 hours, which also made media from other fields, such as entertainment, society, and politics, start to focus on this incident. The characteristics of the internet age and fast-food culture were fully displayed at this moment. Let alone Jay, even the Los Angeles Times themselves didn't expect it. It was clear that after the game, the city of San Francisco had all their eyes on the incident and strongly expressed their dissatisfaction by supporting the Los Angeles Times.
According to official data from Facebook and Twitter, in the first three hours after the Los Angeles Times published the report online, the activity of San Francisco users was off the charts, accounting for almost 70% of the total data. The trend then quickly spread like wildfire and fueled the subsequent public opinion frenzy. The San Francisco 49ers' fans stood shoulder-to-shoulder behind their starting quarterback, firmly stating their position. This once again proved that the major cities on the coast were far more developed than the inland cities. At the same time, San Francisco, as a city of cultural integration and one of the cities with the largest Chinese-American population, also became the perfect stage for Lu Ke to enter the league.
Third, after the Los Angeles Times was officially published, all 1.8 million copies of the newspaper sold out in just half a day, and the demand was not met. In the age of the internet, all paper media were facing a severe decline in sales. Right now, the best-selling newspaper in North America was the Wall Street Journal, and its sales were only between 2 million and 2.3 million copies. The sales of USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times were all similar, generally between 1.5 million and 1.8 million. The sales of all paper media had been declining for five consecutive years. But today, the Los Angeles Times actually sold out completely. This was an unprecedented event that even caught the newspaper's staff by surprise, and they had to rush to do a second printing.
Why? Why did a special report about a Chinese-American quarterback being discriminated against cause such a huge ripple? It was unexpected, but it also made perfect sense. At the beginning of the season, from the very first day Lu Ke entered the league, he was surrounded by controversy. He had repeatedly broken through the controversy, gone against the current, conquered fans with one victory after another, and proven himself with one excellent performance after another. "Lu Ke Skywalker" had become the hottest topic in the NFL this season, even surpassing the incredible Aaron Rodgers, and was leading the league's hot topics list. Now, controversy has once again arrived. After two major points of interest collided, it wasn't just a tenfold increase in energy, but a hundredfold increase, attracting everyone's attention!
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