Dominate the Super Bowl-Chapter 972 - 971 leads by example

Chris Jones stood still, quietly exhaling, a hint of helplessness flickering between his brows.

He thought he was early enough—

The memories of last year’s spring voluntary training camp remain vivid.

Jones knew that if the team wanted to continue its excellent performance next season, the focus wouldn’t be on the offensive group but on their defensive group.

When Houston and Berry left, they passed the heavy burden onto his shoulders, and he hoped he could become the leader of the defensive group.

Yet, with his current strength, it’s still not enough.

He needs to continue to grow, he desires to continue to grow.

Therefore, the importance of the off-season becomes even more prominent.

Starting from the voluntary training camp.

Unexpectedly, Li Wei got there first. Jones couldn’t help but wonder if Li Wei did it on purpose, calculating all of them early.

No matter how early they arrived, they still couldn’t escape Li Wei’s grasp.

But magically, the corners of Jones’s mouth softly curved into a smile—

This is Li Wei, isn’t it? Even after winning the Super Bowl for two consecutive years, at the start of a new season, he’s still full of confidence and anticipation.

Without saying much more, Jones jogged into the training field.

Who knows, maybe the 2019 season might be even more interesting.

Gradually, the training base began to bustle, with off-season laziness and leisure having to be packed away entirely, starting painful training once again.

Generally speaking, this is also the biggest challenge of the spring training camp.

Even for professional players, two or three months without persistent regular training makes gearing up for a new season after the holiday exceptionally tough, a complete torment.

However, at the Kansas City Chiefs, this is not a problem—

Li Wei.

When players arrived at the training base, they could see Li Wei, drenched in sweat, at a glance. Where was the image of non-stop partying and revelry during the off-season? His bright smile and focused figure instantly awakened memories of the "Training Demon King," leaving no one daring to utter a word.

The newcomers who joined during the off-season were even more frightened by this scene. With the core star players earnestly focused on training, they had no time to take a leisurely walk and chat, one by one, immediately tucking their tails into the training squad.

The training intensity wasn’t great, and as they trained, one by one, they began to relax.

Kelsey, the joker, was somewhere yowling, training without relaxing while babbling nonsense, and on the side, Li Wei laughed heartily, which also brightened the atmosphere of the training base.

The second-floor office.

Reed wasn’t present on the training field but was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, watching from above, his mood as bright as the Caribbean sunshine.

Indeed, he didn’t misjudge Li Wei.

Originally, he had prepared himself mentally that Li Wei might miss the voluntary training camp.

Firstly, this off-season, Li Wei had a packed schedule filled with commercial activities and was even caught up in Hollywood gossip.

A familiar "David Beckham" vibe surged forward.

Reed didn’t mind players taking part in commercial activities because it’s part of the professional league; nor did he oppose players independently choosing some ventures, because the lives of these young men shouldn’t revolve only around football.

However, getting the balance right is the most difficult part.

Secondly, Veach was discussing contract renewal matters with Li Wei.

The team took the initiative first, with Li Wei and his agent in an advantageous position, naturally hoping to negotiate a big contract for Li Wei; but Veach’s intention was to negotiate the numbers in light of the team’s sincerity.

Each has its own calculations.

The negotiation progress is currently slow.

Overall, Li Wei could completely use the excuse of being physically unfit due to a busy off-season to miss the voluntary training camp, and neither Reed nor Veach could say much about it.

Just look at Mahomes—

The obedient child actually missed the voluntary training camp.

Mahomes personally called Reed, stating he had some injuries and was currently training under the supervision of his coach and personal care team.

Mahomes believed his solo training might be more effective than the group training during the voluntary training camp and sent the training plan to Reed.

Reasoned and clear, leaving Reed no room for rejection.

However, Reed could instantly hear Mahomes’s nervousness and awkwardness in his words.

The honest man was still not good at lying, and all these excuses should be entirely fabricated by his agent, possibly with the agent present, guiding Mahomes in his conversation with Reed on the spot.

The reason?

Contract negotiations.

Like Li Wei, Mahomes’s renewal negotiations also weren’t going smoothly, with significant disagreements between the two sides on the contract terms.

As a result, naturally, to gain an upper hand, the agent persuaded Mahomes to skip the voluntary training camp, at least showing their stance and position.

Unfortunately, Mahomes truly isn’t good at lying.

However, Reed didn’t expose Mahomes: he nodded and agreed.

Even though Reed disliked these greedy agents meddling, at least Mahomes and his team didn’t prepare to tear their faces off with the team, crafting an excuse to maintain a superficial peace.

On the surface, the Kansas City Chiefs, with two consecutive championships, are reveling, with their momentum at its peak; but when things reach an extreme, they start to reverse, and the unrest lurking behind the glory is stirring, with the upcoming 2019 season facing endless challenges—

More severe, fiercer, more intense, and more unpredictable.

Reed had mentally prepared for things happening during the off-season; but when truly facing them, it’s inevitably consuming enormous energy.

Unexpectedly, on the first day of the spring training camp, there was a pleasant surprise.

Li Wei showed up.

And not only did he show up, Li Wei was the first to arrive at the training field, setting an example, going all out, and devoting himself to focused training, which was more powerful than any words or motivational stories.

After all, Li Wei now isn’t just a running back.

Whether it’s the regular season and Super Bowl dual MVP, being at the top of the League’s 100 best players, or the feat of breaking a billion in annual salary, all aspects prove that Li Wei has a powerful influence on the league and the market.

Especially within the Kansas City Chiefs.

Other veteran players, young rookies, and seasoned players joining from off-season transfers, regardless of their thoughts or what kind of mindset fluctuations they experienced in the off-season, upon seeing Li Wei at this moment, one by one, they all obediently focused, putting their minds on training.

An invisible ripple hadn’t even had a chance to brew and had already subsided.

Initially, during that nationwide championship game in the NCAA, Reed saw a leadership quality in Li Wei, one truly capable of uniting a team, which is why Reed insisted that they should choose Li Wei.

All the way until now, Reed is finally 100% certain that his intuition was correct.

Perhaps, the Kansas City Chiefs have truly found their team leader for the next decade.