In America, the winner takes all.

Chapter 375 Higher mountains, longer rivers (3)

As he walked through the hall, he was surrounded by performers dressed in a mix of Mesoamerican and African costumes. Ethan even spotted a performer donning a furry Mickey Mouse suit.

The inspiration for this halftime performance came from the Millennium Parade at Disneyland in Florida, and most of the extras on stage were brought directly from Disneyland.

Although the Super Bowl halftime show a few years ago became popular due to Michael Jackson, the NFL's business strategy for the halftime show has not changed. It is sold as a whole advertising space. The previous Indiana Jones is an example. Instead of It's more of a performance than a large-scale advertisement.

And Disney is undoubtedly a generous buyer.

Walking through the messy venue, Ethan found the director in charge of this performance-Gary Papen.

"Welcome." Gary just put down the walkie-talkie, and when he saw Ethan walking towards him, he opened his arms warmly.

"How does the effect look? This is the standard for the opening of the Olympic Games. We hired a whole symphony orchestra." He smiled warmly at Ethan.

"But without key elements, fans will feel like they're at Disneyland instead of the Super Bowl, with a football element to the show."

"You mean the cheerleading team, right? Of course you can join in, but you have to put on the costumes we prepared and match the style of the performance." Gary Pabon continued.

It was as if these words had not been said, and they were obviously used to prevaricate Ethan.

"I'll tell you what I have to say." Ethan shrugged.

"I know you don't like the Angels, let alone the owner of the Angels. But this is what the league means. The cheerleaders need to show up and need cameras. You also want to continue working together next year, don't you?"

"How could we not like the Angels? Michael Ovitz has been the CEO of Disney for over a year, and for his sake we have to help the Angels. Even though they copied the baseball theme and... We have a team name, but we are different from you. We are not as unscrupulous as you. Unless we change the director, the cheerleading team will definitely not be able to play." Gary Papen shrugged and completely rejected Ethan's proposal.

Obviously, this time it's really for the Angels.

Even if Paul came to do this in person, I'm afraid the result would be the same.

The other party deliberately stumbled, and Ethan really had no good solution.

Ethan nodded: "Then I wish you a smooth performance."

Gary Papen responded with a smile on his face: "You too, don't lose too badly."

"Thank you." Ethan seemed not to have heard and stretched out his hand before leaving.

Gary Paben smiled and stretched out his hand. His facial expression became tense for the next second. Ethan opposite him exerted a little force. To him, it felt as if his hand was being pressed by tons of machines. His face turned pale in an instant and his back arched. rise.

Ethan let go of the other party's hand the moment before he could no longer support him, turned around and left.

"This bastard." Gary Paben threw his hands away in pain, looking at Ethan's leaving back, he couldn't help cursing.

Ethan was passively involved in Disney's feud with the Angels. Michael Ovitz had a complete breakup with Disney before, and it was obviously impossible for Disney to cooperate with the Angels. In addition, Ethan's choice of team name was a completely provocative behavior in Disney's eyes. New and old grudges overlapped, of course. Won't give anyone a good look.

Although the negotiations failed and the cheerleading team was completely kicked out during the halftime performance, the pre-game performance still belonged to them, and they were still the absolute protagonists, so they were not completely excluded from the competition.

·
In the remaining days, Ethan declined all pre-game interviews and concentrated on preparing for the Super Bowl. Although the chance of winning was slim, Ethan did not give up completely.

The opponent Rams' choice is surprisingly consistent with Ethan. As this year's biggest dark horse, the Rams have become the favorites to win the championship. They also don't want to give the Angels any chance.

On Super Bowl day, Atlanta finally had good weather.

Los Angeles, inside a mansion in Beverly Hills.

Including Lisa, Catherine, Grace, Susan, and Mia, everyone was looking at the TV screen that was so huge that it almost occupied the entire wall.

They were sitting here an hour before the game started. Like last year, they watched the Super Bowl from home in Los Angeles.

Of course they wanted to come to the scene in person, but Ethan refused.

At the same time, in London, England, Gisele Bundchen and Patricia were lying on the bed, staring at the TV screen.

Alexandra opened the door at this moment.

"What are you two doing hiding in the room?" She looked at her carefully.

"Ethan's final battle of the season, do you want to watch it together?" Giselle said without raising her head.

When she heard that it was about Ethan's competition, Alexandra's face turned pale and she swallowed.

"Forget it, I want to take a nap." Alexandra left with a stiff smile.

As the most important annual event in the United States, pre-game performances are of course indispensable.

The first program was themed "Great American Music of the 20th Century", with representative musicians from gospel songs, big band (jazz), classical, country, rock and other music styles taking the stage.

Then came the regular singing of "The Star-Spangled Banner". This year the well-known country singer Faith Hill sang the Star-Spangled Banner.

Then came the mixed formation of the Angels Cheerleaders and DCC, both cheerleaders wearing iconic uniforms.

During the dance movements, they kept changing their formations. In the triangular formation, Kelsey stood in the first place without hesitation. Her lower abdomen was flat and her slender waist did not show that she had given birth.

The cheerleaders swayed to the music, and their sexy, sunny, enthusiastic and contagious movements attracted cheers from tens of thousands of spectators at the scene.

"Thank you to the performers for their wonderful performance. As one of the biggest surprises this year, two prestigious cheerleading teams have decorated this upcoming great competition in their own way." The host said.

Today's Super Bowl commentary booth is also a golden lineup.

In addition to ABC TV's two top commentators Al Michaels and Boomer Esiason, it also includes Chris Berman, the host of Disney's ESPN, and this year's ESPN commentator Stephen Young.

As a recently retired top quarterback, he now works for ESPN.

After the four commentators introduced themselves, the two teams immediately began to enter the field. The Rams, who were drawn as the away team, entered first.

"Kurt Warner has brought a brand new tactical system to the NFL. This season, I often think about whether I should retire later." Stephen Young said somewhat self-deprecatingly while sitting in the commentary box.

"Indeed, Kurt Warner is the biggest surprise in the NFL this year. He heralds a new era."

"Kurt Warner is indeed refreshing, but don't forget that the next era may not belong to him, but may belong to his opponents today!" Stephen Young continued.

As soon as I finished speaking, I saw the Angels taking the field wearing their home white uniforms.

The scene immediately erupted into even louder cheers.

“The passionate Southeastern fans turned the Skydome into Eason’s home court today.”

"Yes, Ethan has captured a large number of fans in two seasons, and I am one of them." A commentator said. As the first Super Bowl in the new century, even the coin tossing guests are particularly bright.

The legendary coach Bud Grant, who once led the team to the CFL and NFL finals, was the first to appear.

Then there is the current owner of the Chiefs, team owner Lamar Hunt, who is quite vocal within the league.

Hall of Famers Bobby Bell, Paul Krause, Willie Lanier, Ellen Page and Jane Sternerud followed.

The Rams got first down in a ceremonial coin toss.

"Watch the Rams catching the ball at two or three, and block everyone on the field who can catch the ball!"

When Ethan walked off the court, he heard Rhodes beside him speaking into the microphone.

Starting from the pre-game training, all coaches and players worked hard, and the three main coaches studied the Rams all night long.

The game officially started. The Rams offense continued its past style. After Kurt Warner received the ball, he first passed the ball to running back Marshall Faulk. The latter did not choose to run the ball, but made a second pass. ball.

The football went straight to Isaac Bruce, who had the most yards on the Rams this year.

At the critical moment, Roland Bailey appeared next to Isaac Bruce and successfully destroyed the pass.

On the second play, Kurt Warner once again tried to pass to another wide receiver, but was also perfectly defended by the Angels defense.

"Very good, this is the level that the Angels' defense should reach." Rhodes was a little nervous just before the game started, but when the defensive team completed the first two defenses excellently, he finally felt more at ease.

On the Rams' third possession, they immediately changed the lineup, replacing a wide receiver with a fullback.

"It seems to be trying to stabilize the pocket." Andy said thoughtfully.

"Could he be trying to run the ball?" Ethan said subconsciously.

"It's highly unlikely. Kurt Warner is not good at running the ball." Holmgren also joined in the discussion.

But Kurt on the field seemed to be deliberately antagonizing the Angels' coach. Kurt Warner immediately opened his legs after receiving the pass from the center and chose to run the ball.

As the centerpiece of this year's high-altitude bombing scheme, Kurt Warner has run the ball himself only a handful of times.

But even so, the Angels' defensive team was also prepared. The defensive team's coverage immediately began to switch with Kurt Warner's movements. Immediately, linebackers and defensive ends came to block, and the defensive players in the backcourt also began to move further. Press forward.

The next second, I saw Kurt Warner make a hook, and without observing, pass the football directly to the blind area of ​​the field of vision.

And his good partner, Marshall Faulk, was already waiting there.

Kurt Warner used a fake run to help Marshall Faulk attract attention. At this moment, there was no player in front of the running back.

This gear will get at least five yards... Ethan made a judgment instantly.

The choice of the Rams players on the field in the next second was once again beyond Ethan's expectation.

Even though there was no defender in front of him, Marshall Faulk still did not run the ball, but passed the ball out again.

Continuous fake moves have completely disrupted the Angels' arrangement in the backfield, and the football was easily picked up by the slot receiver...

In the end, the result of this attack was not the five yards that Ethan expected, but a full twenty-five yards.

"If Peyton Manning of the Colts pursues ultimate speed, and Ethan O'Connor of the Angels pursues ultimate impact, then what the Rams pursue is ultimate efficiency."

"We cannot use traditional thinking to look at the Rams' tactics. In this high-altitude offensive system, in addition to Kurt Warner, there are many players who have the ability to play the ball independently. In other words, everyone's skills The position is both a receiver and a playmaker.”

"In this case, the Rams' tactical choices have undergone exponential fission. The ordinary back-to-back defense simply cannot work in front of this offensive system. This is also the reason why the Rams' offense has shined this season. "

On the commentary stage, Stephen Young analyzed calmly.

Although he said "it's too early to retire," he actually knew that if he stayed on the court this year, he would probably be slapped in the face by the Rams in the same division. That is the real late-night guarantee.

Stephen Young also sums up the Rams' strengths well as a top quarterback.

In the subsequent offense, even though the Angels defensive team had made sufficient considerations, the offensive team was still "full of loopholes". These offensive players could always find the omissions in the defensive coverage with frequent pulls, and then Complete the pass with ease.

This ultimately led to the Rams' front rushing down the field.

Less than four minutes later, the Rams scored their first touchdown of this year's Super Bowl.

This is just average for the Rams.

But Rhodes already felt desperate off the court. If the previous games were just looking for touch in the first quarter, then in this Super Bowl game, the Angels defensive team showed 120% of its strength from the beginning.

A period of time after the start of the game is when this group of players has the most energy and is the most active in running.

In this state, they were easily penetrated by the Rams, which is enough to show how huge the strength gap between the two sides is...

Then it was the Angels' offense's turn to take the field.

In the first offense of the Angels, Ethan unexpectedly chose a tactic that shocked the audience. As soon as he received the pass from the center, Ethan rounded his arms, and all the strength of his body was concentrated in his palms. The football in his hands was like a ball. It flew out like a cannonball.

The football flew across the field at a furious speed.

At the same time, Donald, who was known for his speed, immediately started running wildly.

It was the "eighty-yard rush" that the Angels had used a few times before.

Donald looked up at the landing point of the football while rushing forward. He could feel that the cornerback he was marking was not following him. As long as he caught the ball, it was a sure-fire touchdown.

Before he could be happy, he looked ahead and felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

The cornerback did fail to follow Donald, but the Rams safety was already standing in the Rams' zone.

Under normal defense, the safety guard should be positioned earlier, but the Rams obviously noticed that the Angels used 80-yard raids, so they deliberately positioned the safety guard further back.

Maybe this kind of defense will only work once a hundred times, but this one time is enough to give the opponent a fatal blow.

The safety catches the ball easily where the football lands.

"Interception! The Angels lost the first offensive possession!" the commentator exclaimed.

(End of this chapter)