Chapter 153: 152 Let loose and revel to the fullest
"Roar, Crimson Tide!"
Bit by bit, what started as a spark of starlight spread like a wildfire until it transformed into an overwhelming force that burst down like a torrential downpour, causing the entire Richmond James Stadium to tremble slightly amidst the cheers.
Whoosh.
As Saban raised the 2016 Season's Nationwide Championship trophy high, the sky above the stadium exploded, a sea of red confetti symbolizing the triumph of Alabama Crimson Tide Storm filling the air, and the entire world surged with a brilliant and scorching wave of heat, witnessing together the moment history was written.
Before the season kicked off, whether the Crimson Tide Storm could defend their title was the biggest question, with both doubters and supporters, but even the most die-hard and loyal fans of Crimson Tide Storm never imagined that the University of Alabama would defend their title in such a gut-wrenching manner, reaching the pinnacle of the season.
"We are witnessing history!"
"This is the moment of the Crimson Tide Storm's defense, completing a fifteen-point comeback in the final moments to claim the championship, capping off a perfect season."
"The '52:51' scoreline also set a new historic high for the Nationwide Championship game, with both teams displaying unparalleled form, but the Crimson Tide Storm, led by Saban, proved to be the superior team, clinching the ultimate victory."
"Up until the two-minute official timeout before the end of the game, no one could predict the outcome, not even when the Crimson Tide Storm was about to tie the score with consecutive touchdowns, which was once again thrown into suspense by Saban's choice for a two-point conversion."
"However!"
"The Crimson Tide Storm ultimately did it."
"Two years in a row, the same stage, the same opponent, a similar process, and the same result, the Alabama Crimson Tide Storm defeat the Clemson Tigers and ascend to the championship!"
According to post-game statistics, ESPN broadcasted the match and attracted a whopping thirty-five million viewers across North America. It created a mythical viewership rating of 16.2, easily dominating all other professional events and beating out the NFL playoffs' first week, taking an absolute lead as the champion of both viewership numbers and ratings in North America this week.
Peak topic.
During the two-minute official timeout, ESPN conducted two polls.
First, who would win the final championship?
In a poll with over eight hundred thousand voters, 81% chose the Clemson Tigers.
Yet, this time, the truth was in the minority's hands.
Second, the most exciting Nationwide Championship game since the 2006 reform.
In a massive poll of one million three hundred thousand people, this game led the way with 52% of the votes, claiming the top spot without question.
Compared to the result, the fact that ESPN's social media poll attracted so much participation in the mere forty seconds of the two-minute official time stoppage speaks volumes about the game's popularity; effortlessly making history, drawing the attention of the entire North American continent.
"But more importantly, this is NCAA history's first Nationwide Championship claimed by a player of Chinese descent, Li Wei, this young junior student. Just a year ago, he was a mixed martial artist, and now he has become an instrumental figure in the Crimson Tide Storm's championship victory.
With his mind-boggling performance, he broke the record set by Derrick Henry last year and once again elevated the importance of the running back position to a whole new level."
"Incredible!"
"Unbelievable!"
Inside Richmond James Stadium, the on-site host announced the MVP of the game:
Offensive group MVP was claimed by Li Wei, outperforming Watson, while the Defensive group MVP was won by Allen, with both MVP trophies belonging to the Alabama Crimson Tide Storm.
When Li Wei and Allen each lifted their MVP trophies high, the fans on site fell into a frenzy once more.
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
It was not a shriek, but a bass rumble that, when settled in the air, sent waves of heat rolling through the crowd, sending a tingling sensation from the soles of their feet to the crown of their head.
"History has been made once again."
"The first Asian MVP in the history of the NCAA championship game! But clearly, this is not the end, the upcoming Heisman Trophy selection will undoubtedly be the center of attention."
"If—just a hypothesis—if Li Wei were to announce his entry into the draft now, the NFL would probably experience an earthquake, no one should miss this moment."
"But that's not important for now, let's just enjoy this victorious moment. We are so fortunate, to have witnessed this legendary confrontation firsthand."
"The Alabama Crimson Tide Storm, 2016 national champions!"
Noise and heat, deeply engraved into the annals of time, becoming the most unique frame in the corridor of memories, its lingering reverberations enduring for a long time.
Until the next day.
After a night of revelry, waking up from sleep, still somewhat dazed, it was hard to differentiate between reality and dreams for a moment, the echoes of those stirring roars still resonated on the eardrum, leaving energy that made steps unsteady, as if walking on cotton.
Even so, Li Wei still got up on time as his biological clock suggested and started his morning warm-up exercises.
Li Wei knew that it was especially at times like this that he needed to maintain his training routine—
Training is often most effective when one touches their limits, and it's exactly at the most painful, difficult, unbearable moments when one wants to give up that a watershed is drawn. The choice between giving up and persisting dictates two completely different outcomes; persistence is the path of a champion.
Of course, after a game as intense as yesterday's, training needed to be moderate to avoid injury, with some basic and recovery training; but precisely because of yesterday's strenuous exertion, today's training can challenge the limits of spirit and body.
The existence of the system also validated this theory—
One could visibly see the growth of the progress bar.
So even though every cell in his body resisted training, Li Wei still clenched his teeth, got up according to his biological clock, and dived back into training.
What's more, he had just received a system reward, which was the best motivation.
It was still a flip card opportunity, but this time it wasn't an enhancement card, but a template card.
The third template card he had received up to now, and it was in a completely different style than Peterson and McCoy—
Template: Marshawn Lynch (A-rank).
Like McCoy's, it was an A-rank template, but the style was completely different—Lynch was a typical power running back.
5.9 feet (180 cm), 215 pounds (98 kg).
Height and weight-wise, he was quite similar to Li Wei, but a bit shorter, with a weight similar to Li Wei's—this weight was all muscle; moreover, while Lynch possessed explosive power and absolute strength, he was not cumbersome. Maybe his speed wasn't outstanding, but it was definitely not a weakness.
This running back attended the traditional football powerhouse, University of California, Berkeley, and in 2007, he was selected in the first round, twelfth overall, by the Buffalo Bills to enter the League.
However, during his time with the Buffalo Bills, his performance was not very distinguished until he was transferred to the Seattle Seahawks in the 2010 season. Only then did he find a system that suited him and grew into one of the most dominant running backs in the professional arena.
Lynch, amidst the plethora of NFL talent, bore an intimidating nickname, "Beast Mode."