Chapter 570: New and old grudges
In the 2018 season, the regular season schedule was announced early.
The season opener still follows tradition, with the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers, which instantly aroused countless discussions.
The collision between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 6 of the regular season last season was undoubtedly one of the most exciting and exciting games of the season.
The grievances in this game continued all the way into the playoffs, causing off-field disturbances and pushing the tension between the two teams to a new level both inside and outside the field.
As you can imagine, when the league announced the opening game, social networks ushered in a commotion, with all kinds of memes flying all over the place.
However!
The league also did not expect that Bell's contract renewal issue would actually get worse and worse, even get out of control, and finally evolve into an unmanageable situation.
In an instant, the running backs were all swept into the storm.
The two Kansas Chiefs running backs Levi and Hunter are the first to bear the brunt.
Now, the old and new hatreds are all superimposed together, and the atmosphere is full of gunpowder.
Without words, the tension of the opening game has been pushed to a new level——
Goodell, tall, really tall!
People thought that last year's "Goat vs. Rookie" opening game showdown was exaggerated and exciting enough, but they didn't expect that it could be renovated this year.
This time, it is no longer a decisive battle between two players or a group of players, but a strong collision of attitudes, concepts and values.
To be fair, the running back can be used and replaced at any time. No one is irreplaceable. Representative, Pittsburgh Steelers.
On the flip side, running backs have special value, and top players are ultimately unique. Representative, Kansas Chief.
Currently, this is also one of the focus topics of fierce debate throughout the alliance, or it can be expressed in a more popular and simple way:
In an excellent ground attack, does the team's tactics contribute more, or does the top running back contribute more?
The latter recognizes the clear difference between excellent running backs and ordinary running backs; the former does not.
Although the positive side has the upper hand in the debate, and its advantage is gradually expanding, there is still no shortage of supporters of the negative side.
Now, the league has triggered a comprehensive discussion in the form of a game.
The heat soars into the sky.
Goodell: No, no, no, no, this time, I am really innocent. I'm not, I don't know, I don't.
Goodell failed to predict that the negotiations between Bell and the Pittsburgh Steelers actually collapsed and broke up. Bell expressed his position in the most decisive manner; he also failed to predict that Levi and Hunter would support Bell in different ways. It even got the Pittsburgh Steelers involved.
Then……
That's it.
Goodell was also stunned.
This time, he was really wronged; but that's what a sheepherder is like. He shouted "Wolf is coming" and people no longer believed his words.
However, unexpectedly, a rumor quickly spread:
Perhaps, Goodell is ready to vindicate the running back.
After all, Levi is the running back.
Coming out of nowhere last season, Levi has undoubtedly become a new attraction in the league, strongly promoting the rugby market. It may take some time to expand and deepen the Asian market, but the response from the Asian market in North America is immediate. In his own The base camp further expanded its lead.
Compared with the reclamation in other markets, the alliance can actually open up the situation in the local market where the market development has reached a bottleneck, which makes the alliance particularly happy——
The league expands its influence, advertisers increase investment, teams increase dividends, team owners have bulging pockets, the team's hard salary cap continues to rise, and players are able to compete for higher contracts.
Hello, hello, hello to everyone, everyone is happy. In this case, pushing the running back's league status doesn't seem like a bad thing.
However, this could impact the passing attack's push and could impact ratings.
Therefore, the alliance still needs to test and see——
Levi is a pilot, and "Kansas Chiefs VS Pittsburgh Steelers" is a test of the waters.
If the Kansas City Chiefs win and the ratings can still perform well, it can also give the league more confidence and promote the running back's status.
This kind of rumor spread on social networks with lightning speed, and became more and more intense, and the running back actually became the focus of heated discussion.
Goodell:?
On a rare occasion, Goodell also had difficulty defending his words, but in the end he did not speak out to clarify.
Donald Yu was not surprised by this, and everything was under his control.
He knows that Goodell will not deny that even if the situation of running backs, safeties and linebackers is indeed becoming more and more marginalized, and all football programs are discussing it, Goodell's official position will not respond or admit it. He will not deny that he absolutely does not want to become the public enemy of the players.
Therefore, Goodell will follow the trend and look at the direction and changes of public opinion, and then look at the general public's attitude towards running backs.
Who knows, maybe, this could actually be the turning point that turns the running back's woes around?
Donald's judgment is correct.
Then.
The atmosphere heated up little by little, and amid the commotion, the entire league focused its attention on Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
By accident, coincidence, or fate, the Kansas City Chiefs are involved in the season opener for the second consecutive year.
Exactly a year ago, the humble Kansas Chiefs defeated the defending champion New England Patriots in the opening game, kicking off a miracle season.
Exactly one year later, the Kansas City Chiefs are in a completely different position, and they are about to face a difficult challenge at home.
This year's offseason, both the Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers experienced varying degrees of ups and downs and turbulence, and the team lineups experienced varying degrees of changes.
For the Pittsburgh Steelers, although Bell did not announce his absence from the regular season until the last moment when negotiations broke down, catching the team off guard; Tomlin had been prepared in advance and started to adjust from the preseason.
The head coach's excellent performance gave the team's front office reassurance that even without the ace running back, the Pittsburgh Steelers are still a strong team.
In the preseason, they had three wins and one loss, sweeping the Philadelphia Eagles, narrowly losing to the Green Bay Packers, and easily defeating the Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers.
The performance is convincing.
After a little panic, the Pittsburgh Steelers arrived in Kansas City with confidence and were ready for the start of the new season.
In fact, because of Bell's sudden move, under the instigation of Tomlin, the locker room was not only not depressed, but also high-spirited and united to target the Kansas City Chiefs, ready to vent all their grievances and anger on this opponent.
It's not easy for the Kansas City Chiefs either, with a new quarterback and a new tactical system, and this quarterback is still a sophomore who lacks experience.
In the preseason, the team has been working hard, and the game has been stumbling. They defeated two strong teams, the Atlanta Falcons and the Green Bay Packers, but lost when facing two weak teams, the Houston Texans and the Chicago Bears. It is very unstable, with ups and downs, and still has not found its center of gravity.
When the season begins, the pressure all falls on the shoulders of "Rookie No. 2" Mahomes; at the same time, Levi also needs to face his own new test. The defending champion, who is still young and green, stumbles to usher in a united effort. opponent.
Perhaps the biggest good news of all is that it happens at Arrowhead Stadium.
(End of chapter)