Chapter 915: The Strategy of Praising to Kill

Ten wins in a season.

This is the common standard used in the league to measure a strong team and is also the usual benchmark for making the playoffs. The San Francisco 49ers not only became the first team to achieve this in the 2012 season, but they also reached this height for the second consecutive season. Without a doubt, the team had now become the absolute focus of the entire league, truly showing the style of a powerhouse.

What’s more, this week’s game was a win against the Chicago Bears.

Although the Bears had been up and down and unstable in crucial moments in the past few seasons, they were undeniably a strong playoff contender this season, currently the second-ranked defense in the league. Winning this head-to-head matchup with such a clean victory undoubtedly made people look at the 49ers with new eyes.

It’s safe to say that the 49ers were riding high.

"Right, this is your second consecutive season with ten wins. Are you considering an undefeated season this year? Your offense, defense, and special teams are all ranked at the top of the league. Do you think you have a chance to replicate the 2007 New England Patriots’ achievement?"

Normally, with the regular season only in Week 10, there were still six games left. Ten wins and sixteen wins were fundamentally different, and it was too early to talk about an undefeated season. But considering the score and the process of this victory, along with the team’s overall performance this season, the reporters were eager to bring it up. It was a little strange but still within the realm of possibility.

But Lu Ke still felt that something was off.

The reason was simple: the person asking the question was Harry Waynes, the Harry Waynes from Sports Illustrated who would love to eat Lu Ke alive. Since when did Harry start singing the praises of the 49ers and Lu Ke?

"Is it too late for me to start thinking about it now?"

The subtext was that he hadn’t thought about it before. Lu Ke responded in an unconventional, relatively lighthearted, and humorous way, making the question sound less serious.

Then, Lu Ke added, "To be honest, I haven’t thought about it. Even the Patriots admit that an undefeated season requires a bit of luck and opportunity. For us, the most important thing right now is to think about our next opponent. Forget about an undefeated season; we could very well stumble in the next game."

Next week, the 49ers would play on the road against the New Orleans Saints.

"We’re not discussing the possibility of an undefeated season, we’re discussing whether the team has considered the possibility of an undefeated season." Harry persisted, not letting Lu Ke change the subject so easily.

"This season, the team has maintained an excellent performance and has had many brilliant victories. The number of touchdowns and turnovers you’ve created are both at the top of the league. Have you really never considered an undefeated season? Even if it’s not possible, have you never even thought about it? At the very least, have you considered the possibility?"

Something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong.

Lu Ke wasn’t an idiot. As an excellent graduate of a journalism program, Lu Ke’s nose for news was beyond doubt. He could faintly sense Harry’s plan:

Praising to kill.

The so-called "praising to kill" is simple: to overly praise and flatter someone to make them arrogant and conceited, or to make them a target of others.

First, football is a team sport. With excessive praise, the fifty-three-man roster is bound to have a few players who become overconfident. Their mindset in the game could become volatile. Once they face a setback, they might become irritable and lose the team’s original resilience.

Second, football is a league sport. When all the media praises one team, that team is bound to become a thorn in the side of the other thirty-one teams. This was exactly what happened to the 2007 Patriots. It’s no exaggeration to say they became a public enemy. Everyone who played against them went all out, and someone was bound to take them down. If a mature and seasoned team like the Patriots fell for it, what about the young and hot-headed 49ers?

If this was the case, then this was where Harry was truly clever.

Because this was an open conspiracy.

An open conspiracy that could not be refused or easily dealt with, a trap openly set for people to jump into.

Harry was clearly in "praising to kill" mode. Even if Lu Ke saw through his plan, he was still helpless, because the team was winning, and other media would naturally join in. The praise would become more and more overwhelming. What could they do?

Should Lu Ke choose to confront Harry and accuse him of having ulterior motives? The fans and other players would think Lu Ke was inexplicably pouring cold water on their success.

Should the team deliberately lose a game to relieve the pressure? Who could guarantee that one loss wouldn’t cause the team to lose its spirit and never get back on the winning track?

In other words, admitting it was wrong, and denying it was wrong. Undermining their confidence was wrong, and staying confident was wrong. They were truly in a dilemma. The situation was thorny.

By now, Lu Ke had been dealing with Harry for more than a year. All this time, Lu Ke had been able to maintain the upper hand. On one hand, it was because the team kept winning, and on the other, it was Lu Ke’s self-discipline, which prevented Harry from finding loopholes to attack off the field. But now, for the first time, Harry had the upper hand, a real upper hand.

For the first time, Lu Ke’s response was slightly delayed. He didn’t immediately respond as he normally would.

After a quick thought, Lu Ke still didn’t have a good way to deal with this thorny question. What’s more, he was the offensive captain of the team. If he accidentally dampened the team’s morale, it would be a huge loss.

"We’re thinking about the Super Bowl."

Lu Ke gave a brilliant smile and answered. He didn’t directly address the undefeated season but jumped straight to the ultimate goal.

Whether it was a perfect season as the top seed or squeaking into the playoffs as the sixth seed, the Super Bowl was the ultimate goal for every team.

People remembered the Patriots’ perfect season in 2007, but they also remembered the New York Giants’ incredible victory in the Super Bowl that year, breaking the Patriots’ undefeated streak. People remembered the Green Bay Packers’ championship in 2010, but they forgot that the Packers were 10-6 in the regular season, the sixth seed in the NFC, and went on to defeat the first, second, and third seeds to win the championship and create a miracle.

Winning is important, but a championship is more important. Winning is just the path to a championship. Someone once said that the World Cup, which happens once every four years, gets all the attention, but no one remembers who the runner-up was. This statement is cruel, but it’s the reality.

Why would football be any different?

The Super Bowl was the 49ers’ goal. As for an undefeated season, it was just a bonus. It would be great to achieve it, but it wouldn’t be a big deal if they missed it. This response, on one hand, showed the team’s absolute confidence, but on the other hand, it wasn’t limited by the pressure of being "undefeated."

In addition, the Super Bowl was the shared goal of all thirty-two teams in the league, so there was no underlying meaning of arrogance. Instead, it showed the 49ers’ current mindset. From the beginning of the season to the end, the Super Bowl was the team’s highest goal, and there was no doubt about that.

In that short time, this was the most appropriate response Lu Ke could think of.

"More than anything else, the Super Bowl is our goal, or even our only goal," Lu Ke said, meeting Harry’s gaze with a smile. "To achieve this goal, we have to be grounded and take it one game at a time. The road game against Drew Brees is all we’re thinking about right now."

In his words, there was no mention of an undefeated season. All his focus was on the Super Bowl.

Harry stared at Lu Ke with a knowing look but didn’t seem to care. He was even smiling.

The reason the "praising to kill" strategy is so hard to defend against is that whether it’s an undefeated season or a Super Bowl, as long as the 49ers are on a winning streak, there’s always an article to be written. For example, "49ers Are Confident About the Super Bowl," "Lu Ke Aims for the Super Bowl with Full Confidence," "This Season’s Top Contender Has Emerged."

As soon as these topics were published, the pressure would build up little by little.

So, Harry sat back like a fisherman. He had already come up with the headline for his article that day: "After Defeating the League’s Fifth-Ranked Team, the 49ers Are Ready to Win the Championship!"

Harry had already won this battle.

If Lu Ke’s suspicion was just a wild guess based on Harry’s unusual behavior, without any real evidence, then the flood of questions from the other reporters would confirm his guess. This "praising to kill" campaign had only just begun.

Almost all of the reporters’ questions were the same, just with a different spin. The underlying message was the same:

Aiming for victory! 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

The 49ers were now the undisputed top team in the league. They were not just a strong team but an undefeated championship team. The reporters were pushing them, step by step, into a position where they couldn’t lose. It was as if a loss would be the end of the world. After ten consecutive wins, the immense pressure was snowballing, but no one knew if or when the avalanche would come.

Even Lu Ke was struggling to deal with the media now.

Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz

On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!