America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 235, Section 234: A Grand Battle

Houston, the largest city in Texas, is named after Sam Houston, the former president of the Republic of Texas, and is also known as Rocket City.

The nickname doesn't come from the NBA's Houston Rockets, but from the fact that this is one of the US space centers, where the headquarters of NASA is located. The team actually borrowed the city's popularity to get the name.

Thanks to Yao Ming being drafted first overall by the Rockets in 2002, and his performance proving many skeptics wrong, especially Barkley who kissed a donkey's rear end, a documentary about Yao Ming is currently being filmed this year.

Yao Ming's outstanding performance has made Houston a more and more well-known city among Chinese people.

However, Yao Ming was both the reason for the team's rise and its downfall. After Yao Ming retired, coupled with the NBA's inherent political leanings, not only the Rockets but the NBA as a whole entered a period of decline in China.

Houston is an important port city and a wealthy, first-class city on a global scale, standing out among the poorer cities in the South.

Ryland Stadium, Houston’s largest sports arena, can accommodate more than 50,000 spectators.

Today, the 2003 NFL season finals will be held here, with the AFC champions, the New England Patriots, facing off against the NFC champions, the Carolina Panthers. Fans from hundreds of cities across the United States have come to watch the game.

Not only are the tickets for the games expensive, but the costs of flights and local hotels have also increased several times over.

At Houston Airport, a medium-sized plane slowly landed, and Eric and Michael stepped out.

After MGM went public, Eric bought the plane for work.

For someone like him, flying around is as frequent as going to school and coming home. In the future, he will be flying all over the world, and taking public flights would be too slow. Therefore, buying a private jet has become the most cost-effective option.

The items weren't expensive, around $4500 million, but with the cost of various renovations and equipment, it came to $4800 million.

The flight can carry 20 people, excluding crew, and takes just over two hours to fly from Los Angeles to Houston, which is very convenient.

Carroll made phone calls as he walked, and soon three Lincoln vans carrying them and their bodyguards headed toward Reilant Stadium.

"Boss, there's still over an hour before the competition starts, we'll make it in no time."

Eric nodded: "Michael, besides Jenny and Justin Din Black, which other celebrities did you invite to the halftime show?"

Michael shook his head slightly: "I'm not too sure. I've been busy recording The Voice and my concert this year, so I haven't paid much attention to this."

"Boss, and Jessica Simpson, Puff Daddy, Nelly, and Rock Kid," Carroll said, tilting her head.

Her large white rabbit was so eye-catching that even if Eric didn't want to look, he would still catch a glimpse of it unintentionally.

"They hired six people this year! It seems the NFL is placing more and more emphasis on the halftime show." Michael was somewhat surprised.

"Michael, I remember you were in the halftime show too, right?" Eric said suddenly with interest.

Michael covered his face shyly: "Yes, I participated in it in 1993. Back then, the halftime show wasn't as popular as it is now; it was more of an embellishment to the game."

"But you made it a hit, and now everyone acknowledges that you were the one who started the halftime show. It's a pity you only got halfway there."

"What? Why is it only half?" Michael looked at Eric in confusion.

"The attention has increased, but the appearance fee has decreased. There is still some remuneration now, but if this trend continues, it will probably become a charity performance in ten years."

Carroll laughed and said, "Boss, the current situation is really awkward. Even if many celebrities are willing to perform for free, the NFL is not willing to hire them because their status is too low."

"At least you need to have a certain level of fame, like Rock Kid, otherwise even if you kneel down at the league's gates, they won't even give you a second glance!"

Compared to Chen Xing, Carol is clearly better at socializing; she can talk but doesn't say anything inappropriate, which is a good quality.

Her description of the current situation reminded Eric of the TV show "Sisters Who Make Waves" from before the show aired on Hunan TV. He Jie, who had a lot of negative press, recommended herself every year, but no one paid any attention to her.

It's not that I dislike her because of her bad reputation. After all, what reputation does a TV station like "Toilet" need? Does a TV station that can be called a toilet have any reputation to speak of?

The real reason is that it was decided in advance. The so-called self-recommendation method is just a cover-up to create a good image, which is known to many people in the industry.

They arrived at the stadium and went through a special passage to the stands.

There are no fancy VIP boxes for you to use; they're all just stands. Even if you're the president or a prince, you'll still get a stand ticket.

The difference is that you can buy all the seats around you, whether you create a vacuum area or have your bodyguards fill the seats, as long as you have the money.

There's no need for makeup on this occasion, because it serves no purpose whatsoever.

When you're trying to get tickets, the organizers already know. They keep an eye on the big stars, have cameramen on standby, and keep the cameras constantly on their side.

With tens of thousands of people present, you'd still be recognized even if you turned to ashes, let alone with makeup.

Instead of hiding it, why not watch the game openly? Once the final starts, not many people will care about you, the big star.

"McClover! McClover!"

"OMG! Michael! It really is him!"

"Hey Mike, you're here too! I see you!"

"Oh my god! My eyes seem to have lost their focus; they seem to be drawn in, and I see Michael Jackson."

"Look over there, Chandler. That's Jackson. He's here to watch the game too. He must be here to cheer for his sister. Wait, that guy next to him looks familiar too."

"Joey, are you out of your mind? You're an actor, how come you don't know him? The Oscars, the Oscars from a few days ago! You've forgotten already?"

"OMG! OMG! Eric Cooper! It's Eric Cooper! The president of MGM! I have to go check this out."

"Wait, don't run around! What are you trying to do? Can't you see he's surrounded by burly bodyguards in plainclothes?"

"Ross, don't stop me! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I need to show off. What if he gives me a role? He's known as the director who's best at promoting new talent."

"No, don't be impulsive. What are you planning to show?"

"Chandler, of course, it'll be my signature fart-smelling performance; he'll be absolutely shocked."

Of course, once the game starts, fewer people will be paying attention to the stars, but the problem is that it hasn't started yet.

The two were immediately greeted by a large number of fans asking for photos and autographs.

It wasn't until Beyoncé performed a song that the audience's attention was drawn away.

The players then took to the field, and the match officially began, drawing the audience's attention back to the intense collisions.

Oh!

Europe!

Yeah!

As one burly man after another tumbled and crashed to the ground, the audience roared with excitement, as if they had been injected with adrenaline.

"Boss, don't you like rugby?"

But seeing Eric's expressionless face, Carole asked curiously, in her mind, almost all American men were crazy about football.

Eric shrugged: "I still prefer football to rugby."

"Soccer? That's quite an unexpected answer. When my husband was alive, he often said that soccer was too boring, the movements were too soft, and it was like a girl's sport compared to rugby."

"Haha. It's normal for him to think that way, after all, most American men think that way. But I still think football is too barbaric, even though my brother also plays football, I would still say that."

Carroll smiled slightly: "I understand. For upper-class people like you, perhaps elegant golf is your first choice."

"No, actually, bra cups are my first choice."

"Hahaha. Then you should be in Los Angeles, where 26 sexy lingerie models are battling it out. If you're lucky, you might see their clothes rip off, at least that's what the promotional material says."

The bra bowl is a new thing that Major League Baseball came up with this year.

The competition featured 26 sexy models, including Playboy models and other contestants with a certain level of fame and fan base.

These girls will be divided into two teams to compete, and they will only wear bikinis during the competition.

They will tear, bump, run, and jump around, and who knows, something covering them might fall to the ground, revealing things that shouldn't be there.

Moreover, compared to the exorbitant ticket prices of the Super Bowl, which can easily reach thousands of dollars, the Underwear Bowl is only $20, which is incredibly affordable, although the game only lasts for about twenty minutes.

When the major leagues announced the competition, men all over America went crazy, eagerly awaiting the results!

Many die-hard fans are torn: should I watch the Super Bowl or the Underwear Bowl?

This question is no less difficult than your wife and mother falling into the water at the same time.

Eric chuckled: "The league should really stagger the timing of the Underwear Bowl and the Super Bowl, so that they can be held at the same time and make many people face Sophie's choice."

"But it doesn't matter to me. I'm not interested in the Super Bowl anyway, but I'll definitely go to the Underwear Bowl next year to watch and learn."

As he spoke, Eric glanced at her large breasts again, thinking to himself that those 26 models were probably no match for her.

With these two big guys carrying you, I don't know if you can even run?

During the match, Eric also spotted CCTV, Sina, Sohu, and other Chinese media outlets. CCTV was broadcasting the game live, while Sina and Sohu were providing their usual text and image coverage.

Since last year, the NFL has been hoping to expand into the market across the ocean, a market that is said to have a staggering 13 billion people.

Once it expands like basketball, it could elevate rugby's influence to a whole new level, making it the world's second most popular sport in no time.

Unfortunately, no Yao Ming has emerged in the world of rugby, nor has a book like "Rugby Master" become popular among Chinese teenagers.

China doesn't have land to build sports fields, and parents are even less likely to allow their children to participate in such a dangerous sport.

If all these conditions are met, and the leadership is also interested, this plan might actually be possible.

Watching the game in a daze, Eric didn't even understand the rules and was completely oblivious to the frenzied atmosphere.

Even when the camera focused specifically on him and Michael, he only waved symbolically, showing no excitement whatsoever.

During halftime, as both teams replenished their energy, the highly anticipated halftime show began.

Eric and Michael exchanged a glance, their attention immediately focused.

The performances by the various stars were interspersed, with each person having a short time until Jenny took the stage.

The song she sang today was "Someone To Call My Lover," a very sexy song that matched the lively atmosphere of the event.

The addition of dazzling stage effects and a sexy, half-naked male and female dancer troupe in leather outfits immediately drew cheers from the audience.

However, one thing was different from Eric's memory: he remembered that Jenny should have worn a black outfit for the show, but it was red that appeared on stage.

"Jenny's clothes seem different. What's she up to?"

Eric thought to himself, "I can only pray that nothing goes wrong."

"Jenny is in great shape, I can tell she's very excited, but this has caused a slight imbalance in the power of her dance," Mike commented quietly as he watched.

"Unbalanced? Where is it unbalanced? I can't see it at all."

"It might not have any impact on the average viewer; it's just my personal feeling."

"Uh Mike, you can't hold everyone to your standards, even if they're your sister."

Then, to the sound of military drums, Justin Timberlake, the scoundrel, made his appearance, and Eric's attention became even more focused.

On stage, the two began to sing "Rock Your Body" together, performing dance moves as they sang, with Jenny mainly doing the dancing.

She made some provocative movements in accordance with the lyrics, but she did not engage in a close dance with Jia Renzha, instead maintaining a certain distance at all times.

In contrast, Jia, the scumbag, showed a momentary look of surprise on his face, but then continued rapping and tried to get closer to Jenny.

The two walked and sang, one step forward and one step back.

They seem to be working together very well, but it feels like they're trying to catch up.

As the song progressed further, Eric's heart pounded with increasing anxiety.

profound.

哇奥

Amidst the deafening cheers from the crowd, Jia Renzha suddenly caught up with Jenny and sang the last few lines of the song.

The moment the last word was uttered, he suddenly reached out and grabbed Jenny's breast, then yanked her off in front of tens of thousands of people.

That was powerful; anyone could tell that the force behind that blow was considerable.

but!

The bra didn't budge an inch!

The expected thing didn't happen. Jia Renzha's expression clearly froze for a moment, and then he pulled hard again.

At this point, not only did the song end, but even the background music stopped.

But Jenny's microphone was stuck in her collar, which allowed her to clearly hear the tugging sound.

scoff!

This time, the clothes finally couldn't withstand the force and were torn in half instantly.

but!

There was no breast exposure!

The black bras provided excellent protection for the girls inside, revealing less than the backup dancers.

It may not be the best way to put it, but there's really nothing to see here. Even photo albums are much better than this scene.

Jenny hurriedly covered her chest and took a step back, looking at Jia the scumbag with a face full of astonishment.

Snapped!

Another loud, resounding slap echoed throughout the room as Jenny slapped Justin Din Black across the face.

(End of this chapter)