The stormy waves belonging to the alliance have just begun, with the press conference as the center, one stone stirs up a thousand waves, and there is no sign of calming down in a short time, and the impact on all aspects has only just begun; At the same time, Lu Ke's behind-the-scenes work is still not over, just like climbing to the top of the pyramid of power, continuing to climb up layer by layer.

After leaving the press conference in front of the stage, under the guidance of the staff, Lu Ke came to the VIP room of Staples Stadium.

The VIP room is like a high-rise office, with a condescending view of the entire stadium, showing dignity and exclusivity, and grasping the situation from a global perspective. Everyone is trying to climb up, but not everyone is able to reach the highest point of the pyramid.

Pushing open the door of the VIP room, Lu Ke noticed Lech Steinberg's figure at first sight, obviously, on such an important occasion, Lech, as an agent, will naturally not be absent, he needs to escort Lu Ke, which also made Lu Ke feel a little relieved, and then saw Kobe Bryant standing not far away.

To be honest, in the limited space of the VIP room, it is not easy to even deliberately ignore Kobe.

With Kobe's height and physique, among a group of senior managers, and a large group of old men, they completely stand out from the crowd, and they easily come into view, attracting all the attention of Lu Ke at the first time.

Lu Ke couldn't suppress his surprise and astonishment, and then he gave up covering up, sincerely and calmly showing his joy and surprise, "Roger, I'm sorry, according to politeness, I should have greeted you first, but please forgive my faux pas, God, Kobe Bryant?" I couldn't believe my eyes. ”

At this moment, Lu Ke does not have the ease at the press conference, nor the calm and domineering on the court, he is completely a loyal fanatical fan.

Roger Goodale didn't mind, chuckling and teasing, "Payton is going to be lost now, his most loyal fans have actually defected like this." ”

Everyone knows that Lu Ke's idol is Peyton Manning, and he has always aimed for Big Manning, persevering in working the court, looking forward to one day becoming the league's top quarterback; But few people know that before immigrating, Lu Ke was on the school's basketball team.

Of course, it was elementary school. For the elementary school basketball team, the significance of physical fitness is greater than competitive sports, and there is no comparison with professional football after that; However, the first NBA team that Lu Ke came into contact with in China was the Los Angeles Lakers.

In 1996, Bryant entered the league through the draft and was immediately traded to the Los Angeles Lakers; The following year, Lu Ke followed his parents to San Francisco, and soon after, he witnessed the Los Angeles Lakers' first three-game winning dynasty.

For Lu Ke, Big Manning is an idol and a target, while Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal are memories of their youth. An indelible and irreplaceable memory. Before he threw himself into football, the Los Angeles Lakers were still his favorite basketball team as a teenager.

In the face of Lu Ke's candid reaction, Kobe Bryant also gave a positive response, saying in an exaggerated tone, "Oh, God, Lu Ke? But he only said three words, then waved his hand and laughed happily, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I can't do it." ”

The cheerful and funny appearance seemed a little rusty, even if it was to imitate Lu Ke, it didn't seem to be in place, but a little restrained, which once caused the scene to be very embarrassing.

But Kobe Bryant didn't mind, and after putting down his hands, he took the initiative to step forward, opened his arms, and gave Lu Ke a big hug in a Californian way, and then stretched out his right hand and played a small trick of punching in the way of street greetings-

Surprisingly, Lu Ke actually followed, without being at a loss. The whole action is very skillful and sophisticated, and it does not look like the jerkiness and restraint of Asian players at all.

Kobe Bryant's eyes widened, a look of surprise was revealed, and after completing all the moves, he said meaningfully, "I finally know now why the players of the 49ers like you so much." ”

Truly integrate into the local culture, take the initiative to open your heart, only after accepting the local culture, can you also convey your own culture to others, communication should be a two-way process. Not to mention Asian immigrants, many times, even white people have limited understanding of black street culture, and this kind of fist banging is like a signal, a signal that "I belong to this tribe".

The fist slamming between blacks and black "tribes" is different, and it is one of the means by which they identify each other. Kobe Bryant just chose the most basic and simplest one, not too fancy, but even so, Lu Ke can completely keep up, which is also rare.

Therefore, Kobe Bryant will have this sigh.

Lu Ke spread his hands and asked rhetorically, "Isn't it because of my personal charm?" ”

Kobe pursed his mouth, puffed out his cheeks, shook his head again and again, and said with disgust and complaint, "This kind of humor is not popular in Los Angeles anymore, you need to update your joke notebook quickly." ”

Lu Ke didn't panic, he deliberately frowned exaggeratedly, and said with disgust, "Shouldn't something like a joke notebook be burned in the last century?" ”

Kobe's expression suddenly stiffened, and the words stuck in his throat-

After all, he is not the kind of player with a particularly sharp mouth, and occasionally some small jokes and cold humor are harmless, so there is no problem; But when you really come and go, his response is relatively limited. This is true for journalists, but it is also true for friends.

Seeing this, Roger Goodale stepped in just right, "Thank God, this boring talk show can finally be over." A joke made the atmosphere laugh, "Lech told me before that your favorite player in childhood was Kobe, and I thought it was incredible; But now I have to rejoice that David's loss is my gain. ”

The "David" here, if nothing else, should be the current commissioner of the NBA, David Stern.

Sure enough, Goodale coped with such a scene with complete ease, and pulled the topic over with understatement, and without the slightest sense of disobedience, going back and forth between the two topics of the NBA and the NFL, with ease, and taking the initiative in the palm of his own hand.

At this time, Lu Ke had the opportunity to notice the other people in the VIP box, and this was also the first time that Lu Ke really came into contact with the so-called top authority of the pyramid.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodall, NFL media operations director Petra-Hamilton, and a bunch of other league executives with incredibly long titles.

Los Angeles Lakers manager Mitch-Kupchak, San Francisco 49ers manager Trent Balke, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, and a few assistants and the like.

Most surprisingly, senior personnel including NBC, Fox and NFLN's official network platform were also in attendance.

In addition, there are the representatives of the Rolex Ambassador, four-time Grammy Trophy winner Michael-Buble, one of the most successful skiers in history, Lindsey-Vonn, Swiss equestrian show jumping champion Steve-Guerdat and many more.

There are also Hollywood people who seem to have nothing to do with each other, the actor with the most Oscar nominations in history, Jack Nicholson, the first post-80s Oscar actress of all time, Natalie-Portman (Natalie-Portman), and several top producers and screenwriters, etc., there are too many names.

Finally, there are some upstarts, most of whom are from Silicon Valley. Although Lu Ke didn't know why they appeared here, it was obvious that Lehe was very active in introducing Lu Ke.

And, of course, Kobe Bryant.

This is an extremely lively and incomparably noble occasion, between the staggered and staggered, the polite greetings and the greetings you come and go make people completely immersed in it, in a trance, as if entering another world, a world completely different from sports and society, just like Alice in Wonderland.

Under Lehe's guidance, Lu Ke made friends with a large group of people, and it was really difficult to memorize the other party's job title and ability to further improve the entire network tree.

The "journalist talent" that Lu Ke was once proud of has also encountered some challenges today, with a huge amount of information coming to his face, and he must always pay attention to his words and deeds, which is definitely not an easy task.

When he first saw Kobe, Lu Ke was undoubtedly excited, and the excitement of the little fan seeing the big idol surged in his chest.

But gradually, the mind began to become numb, and those figures that can only be seen on the TV or movie screens, those names that can only be seen in the news and reports, appear in front of them in rotation like a Ferris wheel-

Even if I was a little unaccustomed to it at first, after an hour, I was forced to get used to it.

Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows facing the stadium in the VIP box, overlooking the panoramic view of the entire Staples Stadium, the reporters have all left, leaving only the staff to dismantle the stage of the press conference and clean up the equipment in the stadium, and the lively and noisy scene is precipitating little by little.

"A lot of people don't like moments like this. Because after the noise becomes quiet, the huge gap can create a sense of loneliness, which in my opinion is an illusion of people. An illusion that is not necessary. There was a calm and sophisticated voice in his ears, faintly with some hoarseness, like a glass of wine precipitated by time, a little bitter, but mellow enough.

Turning his head, Lu Ke saw Jerry Jones' wrinkled face.