People in America: My Uncle Don Quixote

Chapter 80 League Champion! Rising to Fame! (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Are you nervous?

Li Wei slowly and methodically wrapped the tape around his wrist while glancing at Travis beside him.

Beside him, Travis was hunched over, hands on his knees, his face a sickly pale white. His chest heaved violently, and suppressed gagging sounds came from his throat.

They were in the visiting team's locker room at Yankee Stadium in New York.

Today is the final day of PSAL.

Travis jerked his head up, trying to force a nonchalant smile, but to Levi, the expression looked like a spasm.

"There are 10,000 people outside, and all the media in New York... coaches from all the surrounding universities... I feel like I have a blender running in my stomach right now."

"Then turn off the mixer," Li Wei shrugged. "You just need to get the ball out and hand it to me, and I'll take care of the rest."

Coach Miller slammed his hand on the whiteboard and yelled, "Alright, you bunch of good-for-nothings, it's time to prove who's the best high school in New York! Just like I said—"

He glanced at Li Wei, who nodded at him before putting on his helmet.

"Build your play around your genius quarterback," he yelled. "Damn it, you bunch of idiots made it to the finals. I think there's really nothing left in New York."

"We have Levi!" Craig shouted. "We have King!"

"King! King! King!"

"Alright, if you want to lick his balls, you can line up after we win the game," Coach Miller shouted. "But then you'll have to wait behind me so I can be the first one!"

The entire locker room erupted in laughter, instantly dispelling the tense atmosphere.

"Alright," Coach Miller clapped his hands, "Let's go! Let all of New York see who truly owns this place! Let's go!"

The heavy doors of the players' tunnel swung open to both sides, and the cold air, mixed with the roar of more than 8,000 spectators, rushed in.

Although 8000 people may not be a fraction of the number of people in a regular season game for the NCAA or even the NFL, in the tiered structure of Yankee Stadium, the sound waves are reflected by the stands, creating a tsunami-like vibration.

The school team's dark blue flag fluttered above the stands, while the cheerleaders' colorful pom-poms swayed in the sunlight, reflecting dazzling fragments of light.

The moment Li Wei led his team out of the tunnel, the sound of the commentators' voices instantly rose:

"Now entering is Franklin K. Lane High School's phenomenal quarterback, Brooklyn's King, hailed as the most talented quarterback in American history, Lee...Ve..."

A synchronized thud resounded from the stands—the sound and impact of thousands of students, spectators, and parents stomping their feet simultaneously.

The referee walked to the center of the field, where a red coin flipped and fell in the sunlight.

Franklin High School won the right to choose sides, and Levi chose to attack first. Manu, as the team's first tank and interceptor, stepped in front of Levi.

"It's up to you, buddy," he whispered to Levi. "Winning this league championship is very important to me, whether I can get into a D1 university with a full scholarship."

"Leave it to me," Li Wei said with a smile. "Watch my performance."

The moment the whistle blew to kick off, the center forward passed the ball back to Li Wei.

After receiving the ball, Li Wei did not choose the traditional step-back, but instead chose to dribble and run, crashing into the two linebackers who were closing in on him.

In the commentary booth, the ESPN New York commentator suddenly stood up and shouted into the microphone: "The game has started! Franklin High School's center has made a perfect pass to Levi! Wait... he didn't back down! He didn't back down! He didn't look for any receiving point!"

He's charging forward with the ball!

Even for professional commentators who have covered NFL games, this scene is extremely rare.

Because the quarterback is the core and brain of the team, his position is like that of the commander of an army.

Li Wei's move of charging forward with the ball right from the start was seen by the commentators as akin to two armies clashing, where the commander-in-chief immediately charges ahead towards the enemy commander's camp.

"Bang!"

The two high school linebackers, averaging over 220 pounds each, felt as if they had crashed into a granite wall moving at 40 kilometers per hour the moment they made contact with Levi.

Before the referee could even blow his whistle, the two defenders were seen flying like kites with broken strings. Instead of making a tackle, they were knocked over by the force of the impact and crashed heavily onto the grass.

"My God!" the commentator's voice cracked. "The quarterback knocked down two linebackers! Levi is still accelerating! 20 yards, 10..."

code...

...Unstoppable! Touchdown!!! Less than 10 seconds into the game, Brooklyn's King dominated in an almost humiliating way! He wasn't competing against them; he was humiliating them. What tactics? What game? Get out of my way!

As the referee ran toward the end zone, he deftly gave the signal for a touchdown with both hands raised high and parallel, and the whistle rang out throughout the field.

What did you say? The commander cut through everything in his path, single-handedly charging into the enemy's main camp to capture their generals and flags?

For the next two hours, Yankee Stadium witnessed what was perhaps the most brutal massacre in PSAL history. Even the commentators were saying that this was not the performance of a high school game, but rather an NFL number one draft pick against middle schoolers, a completely one-sided affair.

The spectators in the stands had stopped paying attention to the score, even though it was now 42-0. All they wanted to do was stomp their feet in unison and chant "King! King! King!" every time Li Wei got the ball.

When the final whistle blew, Franklin High School won the championship with a crushing 54-6 score, becoming the most dominant champion in PSAL history, and perhaps one that no one will be able to break in the future.

The reason the opposing team was able to score 6 points in the middle was because when the score was 48-0, Levi gave Craig some opportunities and playing time, allowing the recovered Craig to play. After that, they fought to a standstill, with each side scoring 6 points.

Cheers erupted all around him as Li Wei was lifted high by his teammates who rushed over, as if they were holding up their king.

In fact, Li Wei deserves this title.

"You changed the fate of the vast majority of them," Coach Miller suddenly said as they walked toward the rest area. "The vast majority."

"I guess so," Levi nodded, acknowledging the honor, "Apart from Manu and Craig, the others really fell short."

"They were all teams that would never win a championship, no matter how much they used drugs," Miller said, giving the jubilant team members a complicated look. "But now that you're here, they've won the championship and might be able to get into some second- or third-rate universities, get scholarships, and then go there."

Li Wei wiped the sweat from his brow and looked back.

Those teammates who usually roamed the slums, their future uncertain, were now kissing the trophy wildly, or hugging each other and crying. For most of them, this was perhaps the highlight of their lives, and the only springboard to escape their original social class.

Before Coach Miller could even utter a few more words, the locker room entrance was completely blocked by a dense barrage of cameras and microphones.

"Lee! ESPN! Six touchdowns in a single game, four of which were driving touchdowns. Do you think you've redefined the concept of a 'moving quarterback'?"

"Lee! The New York Post's sports columnist! 247Sports insiders say your physical attributes have surpassed all current NFL rookies. What's your response to that?"

"One at a time! One at a time!" Coach Miller yelled, blocking Levi behind him. "Don't block the way! Move aside!"

That same evening after the interview, hashtags like "#KingofYankees" appeared on many short video platforms such as TikTok and Reels, and quickly climbed to the top of the sports-related trending topics list.

Accompanied by heavy phonic electronic background music, the video shows two defenders being outmaneuvered by Li Wei, who then continues running towards the end zone, earning over 15 likes.

The following day, the sports section of the *New York Post* dedicated an entire page to the story, quoting an ESPN data analyst's comment: "Usually when we talk about 'movable quarterbacks,' we're referring to agility and evasion. But Levi offers a completely new understanding—he doesn't need to evade; his physical attributes are absolutely superior and unparalleled. By creating opportunities for himself through his teammates, he can force his way into the end zone. This might become a new tactical approach and places higher demands on quarterbacks."

For the entire week, Li Wei was constantly signing autographs and taking photos with people, and sometimes even AP course teachers would bring up similar ideas.

After signing for two days, Li Wei got tired of it and refused everyone's autograph requests.

"Shut up, isn't this just acting like a diva?" The Indian girl sitting next to Wang Haoran watched as Li Wei rejected another 10th-grade girl's request for a date. "He hasn't even entered university yet. What will he be like when he does?"

As she adjusted her silk scarf, she muttered to herself, her voice just loud enough for one or two people at the surrounding tables to hear.

After adding Li Wei as a friend, she sent him a message, but he neither read nor replied. This made her feel that her inner dignity had been severely damaged, and she immediately turned from a fan to a hater, resolutely standing on the same side as Wang Haoran.

"And that attitude—it was so rude. That girl just wanted to get to know him, was it really necessary? His personality is bound to cause trouble sooner or later. This kind of 'celebrity syndrome' is the easiest way to ruin a person. I think those news reports are crazy, actually praising him like some future Mbappe, Kobe, Ronaldo, or Messi. In the end, isn't he just a physically stronger—athlete?"

She talked on and on until her throat was dry, but she noticed that Wang Haoran, who usually led the mockery of Li Wei or at least echoed her, was behaving very strangely today.

Wang Haoran kept his head down, looking at the book, the pen in his hand spinning rapidly between his fingers, but he never spoke.

"Hey, Wang Haoran," she frowned and tapped on his desk, "Why are you so quiet today? You usually say things like this first. What's wrong with you today?"

Wang Haoran slowly raised his head, and the sour jealousy that used to linger in his eyes was gone.

Looking at this classmate who had previously opposed him but later joined his side, he suddenly felt that her voice was like a buzzing fly, ignorant and cheap.

"I mainly feel..." Wang Haoran said, "There's no need for us to pay so much attention to other people's lives; it has nothing to do with us."

"What's wrong with you today?" the Indian girl asked Wang Haoran in surprise. "You weren't like this before."

"He might be the one who saved my life," Wang Haoran thought to himself, but he couldn't bring himself to say it aloud.

He simply slammed the book shut, stood up, and walked out of the classroom without looking back.

Besides his widespread reputation among his classmates, November is also the college admissions season, and coaches from some top universities have also set their sights on this promising talent.

Schools that were not particularly prominent on New York's educational landscape suddenly became the base for scouts from top American football schools.

The most obvious change was that by Thursday, the area outside the training field's barbed wire fence was no longer filled with students secretly smoking marijuana, but with a row of middle-aged men wearing polo shirts with the school badge standing in neat rows.

A University of Alabama assistant coach had been stationed here for three days, using a speedometer to record the speed of each of Li Wei's passes.

Ohio State University rented two long-term suites at a nearby hotel, ready to negotiate with Levi at any time.

After observing Li Wei's training for two days, the assistant coaches and scouts present finally confirmed Li Wei's talent and couldn't sit still any longer, all wanting to negotiate with him.

Even Manu, Craig, Travis, and others followed in Li Wei's footsteps and rose to prominence, gaining varying degrees of exposure.

Manu and Craig received full scholarship offers from a D1-type university, while even the mediocre Travis received a conditional full scholarship offer from a D2-type university.

The condition is that he must pass all the basic subject exams and get a GPA of 2.5/4.

When the weekend came, the question of which university Li Wei would contact first even became a topic of discussion on illegal gambling websites.

However, to everyone's surprise, Li Wei did not contact anyone.

"What's going on?" Coach Miller asked privately. "These are already the top sports schools in the country, Ohio State, Alabama, Michigan... They even agreed to build a roster to meet your personal requirements and are willing to give you a seven-figure NIL contract estimate."

However, Li Wei simply shook his head.

"Mr. Wens told me not to sign, and everything is going smoothly," he said, "but I can't say more until the results are in."

However, Coach Miller immediately thought of what happened a month ago, when they had just left training camp.

"Was it that day?" he asked.

Li Wei nodded.

After a weekend, Li Wei declined all university invitations to sign contracts, visit, or make home visits.

Meanwhile, a rumor that appeared out of nowhere quickly swept through the entire rugby community.