People in America: My Uncle Don Quixote

On the night the three parties jointly announced the news, the amount of discussion on the internet exceeded an astonishing number.

On Twitter, the hashtag #LiWei×LV# rose to the top of the trending topics in the United States in less than 6 hours, with over 100 million views.

Some people marveled at how fast Levi's business empire was expanding, even faster than the number of yards he advanced on the field. Others questioned how a rookie player who hadn't even won a Super Bowl could collaborate with a top luxury brand. Still others were simply there to join the fun.

But regardless of the opinions expressed, everyone has to admit one fact—Li Wei is no longer just an athlete.

He is transforming himself into a cross-industry business icon at an unprecedented speed.

What truly amplified the impact of this event from the sports world to the financial world was another piece of news.

The day after the official announcement of the collaboration with LV, an anonymous user claiming to be a "senior product manager within Coca-Cola" posted a thread on Reddit.

The post title is only one sentence long:

"Li Wei is preparing his own sports drink brand, with Coca-Cola as the OEM, and the product has entered the mass production stage."

Although the specific figures were not detailed, the glimpse of the bottle's material proved that the whistleblower's claims were true.

"Did you leak this on purpose?" Li Wei asked Kim Ha-eun after seeing it.

"Hmm," Kim Ha-eun replied to a message while applying a face mask in the dorm, "After all, the Super Bowl is in a month, so we're warming up a bit in advance."

"Just as I expected," she said excitedly, spinning around in her chair, "this wave of public opinion will save us millions of dollars in public relations costs."

No one doubted the authenticity of the post. Soon, it was reprinted and cited by major media outlets.

Because no one needs to verify its authenticity.

Everyone had seen the mysterious dark frosted bottle that Li Wei was drinking from during the previous game broadcasts. In addition, the fact that he had a manufacturing relationship with Coca-Cola was not a big secret—Coca-Cola itself is one of the world's largest beverage manufacturing giants. With these two pieces of information put together, the truth would be clear.

Public opinion instantly erupted.

Financial analysts, sports commentators, online influencers, and even some Wall Street hedge fund managers are all expressing their opinions on social media, vying to ride on Li Wei's popularity.

A financial blogger with millions of followers posted a 17-minute video on YouTube with the title:

Levi's Sports Drinks: The Next Billion-Dollar Empire?

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's do some math," the blogger said, adjusting his glasses. "Kobe's BodyArmor sports drink brand was acquired by Coca-Cola last year for $56 billion, while Kobe's initial investment was only $600 million."

"600 million turned into 56 billion, a return of nearly 1000 times."

"Now, Levi's influence and exposure are no longer limited to the world of football. He is trying to cross over into sports, fashion, and even various other fields. His commercial appeal is no less than that of Kobe Bryant at the beginning of his career."

"More importantly, before his beverage even hit the market, it had already achieved a textbook example of product placement in front of 4500 million people—you all saw him drinking it during the competition, right?"

"Therefore, my judgment is that if Levi's sports drink can successfully go public and maintain growth, its valuation ceiling is far more than 56 billion, and may even be higher."

The video garnered over 800 million views within 24 hours of its release, and the most liked comment was "shut up and take my money."

No one doubted the feasibility of this, because in the United States, athletes running beverage brands is a proven and lucrative business opportunity.

From Michael Jordan to LeBron James, from Tom Brady to Kobe Bryant, from Tyson to Conor McGregor, whether it's sports drinks or alcoholic beverages, almost every super athlete at the top of the pyramid has dabbled in the beverage market to some extent.

Levi's advantage lies not only in his backing of the huge East Asian market and his conquest of North America, but also in the aura of a "secret formula" that no one can ignore—4500 million people watched him drink it during halftime.

If he really risked giving up his 17-game winning streak and becoming a legend just to control the score, then he was being incredibly audacious.

The dark bottle he drank from has planted a seed of curiosity in the hearts of all the fans.

The seed is growing wildly.

Some people are happy but others are sad.

To be precise, it's not an individual, but a brand.

Gatorade.

As the NFL's sole official beverage sponsor, Gatorade pays the NFL hundreds of millions of dollars annually to ensure its brand appears on the sidelines of every stadium, on every bench table, and in the bucket of ice water poured over players' heads during every victory celebration.

This exclusivity agreement is one of the cornerstones of Gatorade's business empire.

However, Li Wei's actions were essentially a huge hole dug in this foundation.

Although, in terms of the rules, Li Wei did not violate any regulations because he was drinking "his own personal beverage," not "a product from a competitor's sponsor."

But the problem is, when 4500 million people are watching a quarterback who created a 17-game winning streak drink something that isn't Gatorade during a game, and that thing is about to become a publicly traded sports drink brand...

Gatorade's brand value has already suffered a major blow.

Consumers' logic is simple: Levi doesn't drink Gatorade—Levi is the world's strongest athlete—so Gatorade isn't the best sports drink.

Within six hours of the news breaking, Gatorade's public relations team had already held two emergency internal crisis meetings, and then issued three official statements in the following six hours.

The first statement was mildly worded, emphasizing that Gatorade "remains the NFL's only official beverage partner, a strong and long-standing partnership."

The second section begins by showcasing the muscles, listing a long string of efficacy data certified by the "International Society of Sports Nutrition," which they sponsor.

The third item is a promotional video featuring several current and retired NFL stars, explaining how Gatorade helps them maintain peak performance on the field.

The result was a failed attempt to imitate a tiger, and the three statements, instead of being issued, only made things worse.

A screenshot comparison was posted on Twitter, jokingly saying: "Gatorade issued a total of 8 statements in the past year, but now Levi Strauss alone has made them issue 3 in one day."

Even more critically, Wall Street's reaction was far more brutal than that of social media.

On the first trading day after the news of Levi's sports drink was confirmed, the stock price of PepsiCo, the parent company of Gatorade, fell significantly within two hours of the market opening.

PepsiCo's stock price fell 1.02% by the close of trading.

It may seem like a negligible percentage, but it's important to remember that PepsiCo is a behemoth with a market capitalization exceeding $2200 billion.

This means that just one 19-year-old quarterback drinking a beverage that wasn't Gatorade during a game directly caused PepsiCo's market value to evaporate by $22 billion in a single day.

...

It's mid-July now.

After finishing the regular season with a perfect 17-game winning streak, the New York Giants, as the No. 1 seed, not only secured home-court advantage, but more importantly, they can get a two-week bye, skipping the wildcard round.

这意味着巨人队在1月11日的外卡轮和1月18日的分区半决赛中都不需要上场，他们可以在家安心养精蓄锐，直到1月25日的分区决赛才正式踏上季后赛的战场。

For Li Wei, this nearly two-week break is the longest period of downtime he has had since the start of the season.

Of course, training will not stop, but the intensity can indeed be appropriately reduced.

So, on a sunny but still chilly Wednesday noon in January, Levi changed into casual clothes and drove with Don Quixote and Dr. Harrison, the head of the Special Surgery Hospital, to a private golf club in Southampton, Long Island.

In January, Southampton had already shed its summer vibrancy, with a thin layer of withered yellow grass covering the pitch, and the distant Atlantic Ocean gleaming with a cold gray luster under the gloomy winter sun.

The air was cold, but dry and crisp. Far from the pollution of the city, you could feel your lungs being cleansed with just one deep breath.

"How's Alexander doing lately?"

Li Wei and Director Harrison chatted casually as they walked slowly along the fairway, followed by an electric golf cart loaded with golf bags and drinks.

“Very motivated,” Harrison said with a smile. “He’s recently had Miss Elizabeth and Timothy take charge of different business areas, preparing to attract more wealthy individuals and invest their money in the port of Delaware.”

Li Wei nodded. Elizabeth had been so busy lately that he hadn't spoken to her much for over a week.

As the three were playing the 7th hole, they suddenly heard the sound of an electric golf cart coming from behind.

At first, Li Wei thought it was a course marshal coming over to remind them to slow down—Harrison was a serious addict, taking extra strokes on each hole and showing off his collection of golf clubs, which slowed their progress considerably.

However, when he turned around, he saw a man he had never seen before sitting on the golf cart.

He was around forty years old, of medium build, with a slightly receding hairline. He was shrewd and capable, looking just like Mark and Julian, clearly someone from Wall Street.

"Excuse me, gentlemen," he said, jumping out of the car and extending his right hand. "My name is Mason Reed, the founder of a private equity fund."

PE, or private equity fund, is simply a way for investors to use other people's money to acquire or invest in companies with potential, and then sell them to make a profit after the companies appreciate in value.

The most astute and ruthless group of vultures on Wall Street.

"Mr. Reed," Levi shook his hand.

"Mr. Levi, let me get straight to the point," Mason said enthusiastically, putting his hands in his vest pockets and exhaling a puff of white breath. "I'm very interested in the sports drink brand you're developing."