Capítulo 1423: Chapter 1422: A Lofty Summit
2019 season regular-season MVP, Li Wei.
The league’s first player to retain the regular-season MVP in a decade, the second running back in NFL history to achieve this, and the fifth player in the long history to accomplish such a feat—
Jim Brown, Joe Montana, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning.
The previous four players to retain the regular-season MVP were all legends, early inductees into the Hall of Fame, unmatched even in the annals of history; and now, Li Wei joins this rank, writing an insurmountable peak in his third professional season.
Last year, Li Wei won his first regular-season MVP, becoming the first Asian player in the major North American professional leagues and global competitive sports to win such an award, breaking out of his shell, receiving global congratulations.
This year, discarding the label of “Asian,” Li Wei, as a running back and an ordinary player, writes history, leaving a bold and vivid mark for himself, even more incredible than last year.
Later, the league announced the voting results, and Li Wei won a total of forty votes, capturing 80% of the votes; whereas Jackson only received ten votes.
In the one season where Jackson emerged and overturned the league, amidst the bustling chaos, professionals struggled and hesitated until they stood behind Li Wei, expressing their recognition and praise through concrete actions, truly establishing Li Wei’s status in the industry.
“On par with Barry Sanders!”
One sentence, already enough.
Going viral! Breaking the internet! Trending!
The moment Peyton Manning revealed the results, the entire social network went crazy, erupting in a complete frenzy.
The award ceremony was the same.
Amidst the flowering noise, almost no one noticed the despondent and hopeless Jackson—
Loss after loss after loss. In a season where he performed phenomenally, he still could not overcome the mountain that is Li Wei, losing from regular-season head-on clashes to playoff pursuits and then to the regular-season MVP voting, losing thoroughly, almost without any retaliation.
Jackson, heartbroken.
Within the thunderous applause, Kansas City Chiefs’ manager Veach ascended the stage as a representative to receive the trophy from Big Manning.
Then, Veach took out a speech from his pocket, and amidst the laughter of the crowd, Veach laughed along, repeatedly explaining.
“Listen to me explain… Just in case, and to show respect, Li Wei dictated, I transcribed, and together we wrote this acceptance speech.”
“I promise, these are all Li Wei’s words.”
Veach looked down at the speech.
“I don’t believe this year belongs to me, but if it does, wow, that’s a surprise, a hundred percent surprise.”
“It’s my honor and my luck, and I don’t think a thank you could express my feelings, but I’ve decided to say thank you anyway.”
In a mix of laughter and whistles, everyone seemed to hear Li Wei’s signature teasing and sarcasm, and the atmosphere was particularly joyful.
“But, I think such a moment shouldn’t belong to me alone.”
“It should belong to me and my teammates, my coaching staff, we completed this journey together. Believe me, without the offensive group, I might have been repeatedly pummeled by JJ at the line of scrimmage, or intercepted by Stephon Gilmore before breaking through the pocket.”
“Without the defensive group, who knows, I might have been sitting on the sideline with Patrick, growing mold like Travis.”
Laughter erupted throughout the hall.
“As for the special duty group, well, I don’t know what they’re doing, but I always feel they’re indispensable.”
Laughter, it went completely wild.
“So, in such a moment, I want to celebrate with my teammates, I want to be with my coach to embrace the new challenges together.”
“Remember, we face failures together, and then, we embrace the victory together. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
Applause, thunderous.
Roaring and ascending, nearly uncontrollable.
Players, reporters, coaching staff members, all stood up, this time there were no whistles or heckles, just genuine applause from the heart.
Retaining the regular-season MVP, this was supposed to be Li Wei’s shining moment.
So, when Li Wei announced his absence, some thought Li Wei had given up, believing he had no chance, this year should have belonged to Jackson; some thought Li Wei was arrogant, dismissing the award ceremony, unwilling to show up.
Yet, they were all wrong.
Li Wei sent a message with his absence, despite the regular-season MVP being a personal honor, once again Li Wei, as a running back, made his stance clear, sharing the honor with the Kansas City Chiefs.
No wonder people always say, don’t just listen to what a person says, but pay attention to how they act.
When Gilmore eloquently and passionately celebrated winning the regular-season MVP, Li Wei used his actions to awaken the league’s attention.
Who could possibly refuse such a Li Wei?
Undoubtedly, Li Wei’s stature in the league climbed to a new peak, truly showcasing the League’s First Man’s demeanor.
Then.
The bustling gazes, all gathered toward Kansas City.
The next day, the reporters hurried to the Kansas City Chiefs Training Facility at the first opportunity, and indeed, Li Wei was the first to appear in the morning.
After retaining the regular-season MVP, Li Wei continued to diligently and routinely prepare for the Super Bowl domestic battle, persistently resuming daily training, while other Kansas City Chiefs players arrived one after another, cheerfully congratulating Li Wei, warming up while chatting and laughing, the atmosphere joyful.
The scene was a little different from the heavy pressure imagined.
When reporters asked Li Wei for his personal thoughts, Li Wei stated, “Our goal is on the season’s last game.”
“The old league’s ‘regular-season MVP curse’ should now be changed, ‘regular-season MVP blessing,’ what do you think?”
The reporters looked at each other, questioning if Li Wei just issued a championship declaration?
Indeed, as Li Wei said.
In the past twenty years, the curse of the regular-season MVP failing to reach the Super Bowl summit and the curse of the team hosting the Super Bowl failing to win at home were widely known in the league; but with Li Wei leading the Kansas City Chiefs to the summit, things are subtly changing.
So, does the ‘regular-season MVP curse’ still hold?
What’s more, there are more than one or two curses in front of us: no team has completed a Super Bowl three-peat, no team has achieved an undefeated regular season and Super Bowl victory in the era of sixteen games, these curses are far more dreadful than the ‘regular-season MVP curse,’ and all are challenges facing the Kansas City Chiefs.
Who knows, perhaps the Kansas City Chiefs really could use some “regular-season MVP blessing” to reverse the pressure on the Super Bowl stage.
From any angle, the Kansas City Chiefs indeed face tremendous pressure, facing curses, facing history, facing nearly a century of NFL resistance tests, just imagining it can send chills down the spine and make the knees tremble, let alone be truly in it?
Perhaps, this is the real reason Li Wei refused to attend the NFL award ceremony and stayed in Kansas City to train with the team?