In America, the winner takes all.

Chapter 276: Tough guy training camp; don’t give in (8K)

"What's your opinion?" Ethan looked at the white quarterback who was slightly shorter than himself.

"Yes, you must be curious about why I suggest this. I can see your future potential from your performance. Although you were injured last season and missed the entire season, you have to know that early injuries will always It’s better than getting injured at a critical moment.”

"For example, let's say I...you must have seen the movie about Tommy Lee Jones and that black actor...what's it called?"

"Will Smith. "Men in Black"" Ethan said.

At this time, the emperor of history and the creator of the biggest live broadcast incident in Oscar history was not famous.

"Yes, it's like a prop used by the man in black. Well, after a flash of white light, you won't remember anything. This happened to me more than once."

"concussion?"

"That's right." Troy Aikman nodded.

"In addition, I have steel nails here, here, and here, including here. The doctor said my elbow joint and shoulder are like an eighty-year-old man." Troy Aikman pointed Several parts of the body.

"I have two years left on my contract and I am not planning to renew it. It is time to end it. I expressed my thoughts to the boss and he asked me who was the best successor and he read out several name, but I thought of you, and if anyone is the most suitable, it must be you." Troy Aikman raised his hand and tapped Ethan's chest.

Apparently, Troy Aikman's advice was taken on board by Jerry Jones.

Ethan is like the appointed successor, the "Prince" who has high hopes.

"But don't feel lucky, Jerry Jones is not easy to fool. If you can't perform as you should, he will replace you." In order to prevent Ethan from being too relaxed, Troy Aikman did not forget to tap.

Ethan nodded: "I will."

"Good boy, come on, give me a hug." Troy Aikman laughed and opened his arms.

When Ethan hugged him, the team members standing around cheered.

"Don't let the other quarterbacks see this, or they'll be jealous." Daryl Johnston grabbed Ethan's shoulders with both hands.

At this moment, Troy Aikman's cell phone rang.

"Unlucky man, why is it you again?"

"Okay, okay, I know where your car is parked." Troy Aikman put down his phone and then looked up.

"Billy's stupid truck is out of gas. It's parked on the side of the road, outside the school. Larry, go get him."

"What an idiot." Offensive left tackle Larry Allen laughed and shook his head.

After Larry Allen left, Troy turned to chat with other teammates.

During this period, Ethan noticed that players were coming one after another, some old players from last year, some rookies, and newly transferred members... After a cursory glance, the number of players clearly exceeded 53, and even approached 80 people.

You know, the team's roster only has 53 people, and considering the salary cap, the team will not hire additional players outside the roster.

In other words, nearly thirty players will be eliminated or traded after training camp.

Ethan doesn't have much pressure, but it's different for people like Michael Myers.

"I didn't expect that I would face tests after the draft. I'm fed up with tests. I spent the entire last year taking tests, big and small, so that I could get enough credits before the end of the semester." Michael Myers shook his head. Don't want to lose the opportunity to work for the Dallas Cowboys.

"Don't worry, you will get through it smoothly." Ethan felt that Miles was obviously a little too nervous, considering that he was at least a fourth-round pick.

"The biggest surprise this year is that I saw a Porsche 928GT outside the parking lot. That is my dream car! Who bought it? Let me drive it for two days." A man wearing sunglasses and a polo shirt The strong black man shouted at everyone as soon as he came in. Also with him was Larry Allen, who had just left.

Obviously, this black man with a flamboyant personality is Billy Davis, the starting wide receiver who faced off against the team's core offensive player Michael Irving last season.

He asked around, but did not get the result, so he looked at Ethan and Miles.

"Hey, roll tide!" He took the initiative to extend his fist and read the cheering slogan of the University of Alabama.

"Welcome to Texas. The fans here are no worse than those in Alabama. You will know by tomorrow, Ethan, you look so handsome..." He looked at Ethan carefully.

"Your last name is Davis, not Herrington, right?" Ethan joked.

"Of course! A Colt can never compare to a real man, and besides, that car..."

The Pony that Billy Davis is talking about is a very famous magazine in a certain circle. This year, King Billy quickly became famous thanks to this magazine. (I looked it up on the encyclopedia, I really didn’t know it before)

"Sorry, the car cannot be lent." Ethan immediately objected.

Cars and wives are not allowed to be borrowed.

"Come on, Ethan." Billy spread his hands, not angry at all.

At this moment, the new head coach Thomas Chandler Gailey Jr. led the coaching staff to the scene. Including the physical trainer, there are fourteen people.

If you look back many years later, Gailey is neither like his two predecessors who helped the team win the Super Bowl, nor is he like his successor who kept the team's performance stable. He is called "the forgotten one" by fans. Coach", he was dismissed in a hurry after only two years of coaching.

But at this moment, Gailey, who is serving as the head coach of an NFL team for the first time, is full of confidence.

“Three years ago, we were the Super Bowl champions. Two years ago, we shared the NFC East championship with the Philadelphia Eagles. But last year, we were second to last in the NFC East. There are many people here who hold three Super Bowl trophies. Super players, I saw Troy Aikman, I saw Michael Irving, this is a Hall of Fame player, I think you are always thinking about a question."

"What happened to us?"

"When Old Jones came to me with this problem, I told him that it was just because we had internal problems, all kinds of problems, internal strife, quarrels, drunk driving, drug abuse... It was like a Disaster, no team in the NFL has ever been as scandal-ridden as the Dallas Cowboys today."

"I told Jones Sr. the Cowboys had to make changes immediately."

"So, I stand here. This is the goal of the Dallas Cowboys this year. We have to treat our own diseases! Say after me...heal." Gailey twisted his fingers and lengthened the ending sound, like a Orchestra conductor.

"Healed..." A sparse response came from below.

"He treats this place as a talk show venue?" Ethan covered his mouth with his hand and said to Michael Myers next to him.

Several other veteran players also showed awkward smiles, but Billy Davis shouted very loudly.

After Gailey, other coaches came on stage.

"Do the little things well, a lot of little things well, and you will achieve a lot of great success. Training camp is about to begin, and the only thing that matters is our performance here. There is no way that all of us in this room will end up making the 53-man roster. Because now we have 87 people. But you know, if you go on the court and do your best to perform well, you still have a chance to gain a foothold elsewhere."

"I can't tell you who exactly is one of the 53. Unfortunately, there will be injuries and we will have to get rid of these players. Also, those who think their chances are slim, there is no chance, you To squeeze into the lineup of this team, you have to make this team even better. Now, no matter how you come here, it doesn’t matter. What matters is what you will do after you come here..."

Compared with Gailey, the new head coach, the words of defensive coordinator Dave Campo, who won two Super Bowl championships with the team in 93, are obviously inspiring.

For an entire afternoon, Ethan and other team members were immersed in this "camp opening speech."

In the evening, Ethan had dinner with his teammates in a Dallas Cowboys-themed restaurant at Midwestern University, the training ground.

"Paddle shifters, twelve-cylinder engine, handmade... Wow, what am I fighting for on the football field?" Billy Davis still misses Ethan's GT sports car to this day.

At this time, Ethan was looking at the napkins in the restaurant.

There is a blue five-pointed star team logo on the corner of the napkin. It is said that this kind of "Cowboys napkin" is sold in major supermarkets in Texas, and the sales volume is good, especially among those with red necks.

"Ethan's salary is enough to buy dozens of these sports cars a year. He is a first-round pick, so it's no big deal."

"Big Brother" Daryl Johnston couldn't help but say at this time.

"You were all first-round picks back then, but I was different." Billy shook his head.

"Speaking of the lottery, Ethan, no matter which lottery you win, you and I both know that there is no point in moving the pick now. It's about competition. The guy who plays the best is the one the team wants to play. Only those who stay can stay in the NFL. The journey you are about to embark on is one you have never been exposed to before. Let me tell you, you must show your best performance. We are all adults and can fight hard. Do whatever you can to keep your job.”

"The audience will always think that the training camp is a vacation and a relaxing trip. This is not true. The training ground is a hard work. The end of this road is to integrate into the team and become a member of the team." Offensive. Strikers coach Hudson Houck said to Ethan at this time.

"Where's Troy?" Ethan looked around at this time.

Only then did I realize that Troy was not seen during the dinner.

"He is receiving training from the personal fitness coach provided by the team. He has to do Pilates stretching every night. The female coach is so hot. Maybe the two of them will have strengthened training sessions." Billy Davis laughed said.

He always seemed very relaxed, and every time he opened his mouth, he would always lead the topic in a relaxed direction.

Quarterbacks still get this kind of treatment?

"Ethan, don't tell me that you came to the Cowboys for DCC."

Larry Allen holds up a large drink that actually contains soda water.

"Alabama has the best cheerleading group in the world, doesn't it?" Ethan said at this time.

"No, no, no, college and professional cheerleading teams are not the same thing..." A player immediately told Ethan Cope.

"Other cheerleaders are just cheerleaders, but the Cowboys' cheerleaders are America's Sweethearts."

"It's not fair. Why can't players fall in love with cheerleaders, but team staff can?" Billy looked at the offensive line coach.

Other players also enthusiastically joined in the conversation, especially the single players.

Ethan looked towards the entrance of the theme restaurant. In fact, a DCC (Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders) poster hangs there.

The cheerleading team originated in the late 19th century and was derived from college football. However, at that time, the cheerleading teams were all male members. By World War II, a large number of men enlisted in the military, and the cheerleading team gradually became dominated by female members.

This is a cheerleading team in a general sense. As for the more common performance dancers who perform in the middle of games, such as NBA games, their origins are in DCC.

During halftime of a Cowboys-Atlanta game at the Cotton Bowl in 1967, a group of promotional girls wearing short skirts immediately caused a stir in the crowd. This scene happened to be noticed by Tex Schramm, the team manager at the time. He realized that sports, following television broadcasts, had a tendency to spread towards entertainment. With the purpose of increasing home attendance, he began to create a cheerleading team.

In the 1970s, people saw America's sweethearts wearing shorts and shorts with Stars and Stripes elements on TV performing jazz dances at midfield during games. DCC became an instant hit. Within a few years, seventeen NFL teams followed suit. In recent years, they have established their own exclusive cheerleading teams.

These members are all professional dancers and are more interested in dancing and performing than the campus cheerleading team.

It can be said that the American sweetheart style was born out of DCC. DCC is undoubtedly the most well-known cheerleading team and is the foundation of commercial cheerleading culture.

Of course, after so many years of involution, the cheerleaders of other teams have gradually found their own style. The more representative ones, such as the Seattle Seahawks cheerleaders, who are known as "the beacon that lights up the western United States", always wear very little. The Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders, the passionate Arizona Cardinals cheerleaders dressed in red...

But DCC will always be the most popular in the NFL and even among all competitors. The average salary of its members is three to four times that of other teams.

DCC is also the most commercially developed cheerleading team. It has its own TV movie, participated in the opening ceremony of the 1994 World Cup, and will have its own reality TV show in the future.

"Okay guys, fantasy time is over. I have to state the rules of the night in training camp in advance. Go back to your room at half past ten and have a curfew at eleven. Don't take any chances. Dave Campo and I are here every day. Check the beds one by one in the evening."

During the training camp, the players all live together on the same floor.

·

"Open the door, FBI, and hand over your cigars and beer!"

“And puffed food!”

"Ethan, that's enough. You've used up one minute to put on your pants. Now let the girl come out immediately." Hudson Hawke said impatiently.

Ethan hesitated when opening the door, so there must be something wrong with him.

When Ethan opened the door, he immediately rushed in, only to find that there was no one else in the room except Ethan. Ethan was sitting alone at the end of the bed watching a boring sitcom with canned laughter.

"I fell asleep unknowingly, and I didn't hear your knock on the door at first." Ethan said while rubbing his eyes.

"Go to bed early and get up for a run tomorrow morning," offensive line coach Hudson Houck said.

Although the training of professional players is not as hard as that of college, when Ethan was at Alabama, some teammates would start reading before dawn to review, and then go downstairs and run around the outdoor basketball court. But necessary physical training must also be carried out.

"No problem." Ethan nodded.

Hudson Hawk turned around with satisfaction. At this moment, his nose suddenly twitched twice, and he could clearly smell the scent of women's perfume.

Hudson Hawk turned around again and leaned down to look under Ethan's bed. But he found that the bed was still empty.

"You misunderstood." Ethan pointed to the women's shampoo on the table. “No touching of women during training camp!” Hudson Hawke reiterated.

When Ethan closed the door, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The offensive coach obviously didn't notice that there was an extra women's handbag next to Ethan's luggage.

At this time the closet door opened and Catherine walked out.

Nowadays, she is wearing a business suit, full of the charm of a mature woman. She wears a pair of high heels, a dark gray jacket with a light blue shirt, and a huge diamond necklace hanging on her chest. This was Ethan's previous Birthday gift for Catherine.

"It's so dangerous. If you get caught... it will be terrible." Catherine felt scared. She was not so scared under Mia's nose. After all, it was just Mia. And Ethan has just joined a new team now.

She was purely here to visit Ethan today and was not planning to spend the night here.

Ethan paid attention to the sounds from the outside world and made sure that the two of them had left. Then he was ready to send Catherine out quietly. Before leaving, he was ready to hug Catherine, but she was ruthlessly rejected by Catherine.

"Your coach just said that touching women is strictly prohibited during the training camp. But..."

"He didn't say he wouldn't let women touch me."

Catherine snickered and cuddled with Ethan for a moment before opening the door and leading Catherine to the elevator.

While passing by a certain room, the door suddenly opened.

Billy Davis and Ethan, who were also about to sneak out, almost bumped into Manhuai.

Ethan saw a black woman with an afro standing behind him. She smelled strongly of cheap perfume and looked very coquettish in her appearance. Obviously, Billy's nature was much more serious than Ethan's.

The two of them watched the elevator door close and then breathed a sigh of relief.

"You are so bold Ethan, when I first came here, I never thought of bringing my girlfriend here." Billy said in a low voice.

"Now you are bolder than bold Ethan." Ethan said with a smile.

Billy made a silent gesture: "Don't let anyone know about this, I don't want to get a ticket."

The punishment method within Dallas is simple and brutal, with money deductions.

"Then it depends on what conditions you can give." Ethan smiled.

·

In the early morning, many local police officers suddenly appeared on the campus of Midwestern State University. They wore cowboy hats and black uniforms.

This group of police officers were standing ready on both sides of the road, and at the end of the road was the spectator entrance to the Cowboys training camp.

Soon, you can see a dense flow of people gradually approaching the entrance in a strolling manner. When the crowd gets close enough, you can find that there is no tail of this dense flow of people.

Teenagers, adult men and women, people ranging from 70 to 80 years old, and children as young as five or six years old, most of them are wearing dark blue team uniforms, and most of them have Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irving on their chests. number.

These three people are also called the Cowboys Triplets. In other words, they are the "Golden Triangle" of the Dallas Cowboys. The three of them jointly accounted for 70% of the Cowboys' scoring.

This also explains why the Cowboys suffered a disaster last year.

Running back Emmitt Smith was sidelined due to injury, Michael Irvin missed half the season with a collarbone injury, and quarterback Troy Aikman clashed with the team's head coach, ultimately leaving the Dallas Cowboys in last place in the NFC East. Second, this is a shameful result of being eighth from the bottom in the entire league.

The eighth pick they exchanged for this humiliation only brought the team a quarterback who was unable to start the game. This was somewhat puzzling to Dallas Cowboys fans. In their minds, Marshall University's wide receiver Randy Moss is the best candidate (I wrote it wrong before, Randy Moss is WR)

Of course, there are still a small number of fans in the crowd supporting Ethan. Most of these people are short, fat, bloated, middle-aged white women with local Texas characteristics, commonly known as mom fans. There are also a small number of young female fans, mostly local middle and high school students who don't care about football and only like Ethan.

These people held signs with Ethan's photo and name on them. For them, it was enough for Ethan to come!

It's not because Ethan has a naturally handsome face.

At this time, the walking crowd cheered and applauded.

Training camp is often the clarion call for the new season!

·

In the locker room at this time, Ethan was looking at the scars on his ankles. It was a centipede-shaped surgical scar on the outside of the ankle, about three centimeters long.

Seeing Michael Myers coming over, Ethan put his feet down and then put on the red training uniform.

More than 80 reserve players were divided into blue and white sides, while the quarterback was wearing a red training uniform alone, obviously having a special status.

The first four days of the training camp are the first phase. No protective equipment is worn except for helmets. This phase is mainly about physical fitness and recovery training.

The second stage is one week, the third stage is three weeks, and the fourth stage is preseason.

The amount of exercise and physical contact increases in a step-by-step manner.

When Ethan and Michael Myers came to the training ground, they didn't hear any cheers. This was different from every time Ethan showed up at Alabama's home court.

And when everyone was in place, the trident of the team slowly came to the training ground, and the fans in attendance burst into intensive cheers and whistles.

This is not only Ethan's first training after recovering from injury, but also the reunion of the Big Three. At this time, it was naturally impossible for Ethan to be compared with the three of them.

At this time, Ethan turned his attention elsewhere. He saw the logo of Delta Airlines. Delta Airlines was the largest sponsor of this training camp.

This is one of the business strategies of the Dallas Cowboys, allowing the logos of many sponsors to appear in every corner that fans can see.

Then Ethan saw three other quarterbacks wearing red jerseys around him.

Including himself and Troy, there are five quarterbacks in total.

On the 53-man roster, only three personnel will be given to the quarterback at most.

In other words, two people will be eliminated at the end of this training camp.

As the second highest-paid quarterback in the team, Ethan naturally knows that he will definitely be selected for the roster, but if he does not open up a gap with the quarterbacks except Troy in the training camp, or even performs worse than other quarterbacks, , I am afraid that the time of my official debut will be postponed again...

Finally, Ethan looked at the second floor of the stands. Compared with the crowded first-floor stands, the second-floor stands seemed deserted. There were only a few people, but these people were all executives of the Cowboys.

Ethan noticed that the person sitting in the middle wearing sunglasses was none other than the team owner, Jerry Jones (the translation is Jerry is the correct translation, and it can be distinguished from Lakers owner Jerry Buss).

There are two most special existences in the NFL.

One is the Green Bay Packers, collectively owned by fans.

The other one is the Dallas Cowboys. The owner will participate in almost every decision of the team, big or small, even in personnel selection. It can be said that he is the "coach of coaches". He has veto power on the final roster members. .

"In fact, the boss is the final decision-maker on the roster, and our head coach only has the right to make suggestions." Billy Davis whispered as he passed by Ethan.

·

While Ethan was observing his surroundings, several other quarterbacks were also observing Ethan.

Troy's current substitute is Jason Garrett. His father is a member of the Dallas scouting department. Under his father's operation, Jason Garrett was able to move to the Cowboys in 92.

As for the third-line quarterback candidate, there is no fixed choice. Mike Quinn, who was just given up by the Colts last season, joined as a free agent. He has not even signed a contract yet. If he is unable to make the roster, he will lose his source of income.

He would not let go of such a life and death battle.

What about Ethan O'Connor? He has been away from the competition for more than half a year, and now that he has just recovered from his injury, he may not be able to compete.

Mike Quinn cheered himself up in his mind.

"As usual, before the start of each training camp, six rounds of 40-yard sprints will be conducted to test the players' physical condition after the holidays." Gailey stepped forward and said.

Although this test is very simple, it is interesting.

After all, the three core elements of rugby are strength, speed, and tactics, with speed ranking ahead of tactics.

"Ethan, come here!" Emmett Smith, one of the Big Three, waved to Ethan at this time.

"You and I have just returned from injury, so it's only fair that you and I will be in the same group." Emmitt Smith invited Ethan.

Who is Emmitt Smith? The NFL's historical running yards leader will run 14 yards in his career in the next 18000 years. It can be said that he is an unprecedentedly powerful running back at this position. As for latecomers, with the status of running backs gradually declining, his record will not change unless the NFL changes it again. Rules otherwise would remain forever.

The teammates standing around immediately fell into whispers.

There's no doubt that Ethan is on Emmitt Smith's radar.

Next, several running backs also came out one by one.

Except for Ethan, this group is actually all running backs.

Ethan was extremely relaxed. After all, competing with the running back for speed, the quarterback was already at a disadvantage. If he really ran in front of everyone, Jerry Jones waved his hand and directly let him take over from Emmitt Smith. That’s when the real situation becomes difficult to get off.

As the offensive line coach blew his whistle, everyone rushed forward.

Compared with professional track and field athletes, the running postures of this group of running backs appear to be different. After all, they are not just running. They often have to dodge and stop. Naturally, they can do whatever they feel comfortable with.

Fullback Darryl Johnston immediately exposed his speed disadvantage. He is tall and slow. He relies on flexible movement to catch the ball in the game. In addition, he is already at the end of his career due to his age. The first Being pulled away.

Next up is second fullback Nikki Surua.

Next is kickoff returner (KR) Chris Warren.

In the final ten yards, Emmitt Smith's replacement Sherman Williams was gradually stretched out of position.

At this moment, the person rushing to the front was Ethan.

He actually ran faster than Emmitt Smith.

Troy Aikman's eyes widened as he stood near the finish line.

He knows that Ethan O'Connor is much faster than the average quarterback, but even if he is faster, it is not exaggerated to this extent, right?

Another quarterback, Mike Quinn, looked horrified when he saw this scene.

Jerry Jones, who was originally talking to the team operations director, also noticed the details here and immediately took off his sunglasses.

However, at the last moment, Emmitt Smith completed the overtake and ran 40 yards ahead of Ethan by half a body.

"I lost." Ethan said immediately.

"No, I lost. You deliberately slowed down in the end." Emmett Smith shook his head.

He saw that Ethan deliberately let go at the last moment.

"You will always be the fastest one in my heart." Ethan said.

Can he really beat Emmitt Smith? It's obviously impossible.

Emmett Smith grinned, thinking this young man was quite interesting.

"Okay, let's count it as my victory this time, but don't let your guard down on the court."

In fact, including Troy and the team owner, they all saw what was going on, and they understood why Ethan did this.

As for the fans who were present, they mostly just watched the excitement. When they saw Emmett, who had returned from injury, once again showing his amazing speed, they couldn't help but start cheering.

"Ethan O'Connor is good. He has team spirit, rather than just thinking about himself." The team owner said to the operations director next to him.

For a player like Emmett, winning is a small matter, but losing is a big deal. It also coincides with his first show back from injury. Losing will affect the fans' expectations of the team. It became a loss to the team over time, but it's different now.

Such young people are rare nowadays.

Jerry Jones vaguely felt that he might have made the right decision in bringing Ethan to Texas.

　The high-definition family photos of the four cheerleaders are posted in this chapter.

(End of this chapter)