Dominate the Super Bowl-Chapter 1668 - 1667: Demons and Monsters

"Breaking: Li Wei injured, season may end early."

"Exclusive: Since the season opener, Li Wei has been playing while injured. He suffered an unexpected major injury during the offseason preparations, severely disrupting the Kansas City Chiefs’ season plans, and now the injury is worsening."

"Breaking: Li Wei’s participation in the next game is doubtful, undergoing specialized, detailed examination."

This is how rumors start.

In the age of social media, a baseless rumor can dance between half-truth and serious discourse through shares, likes, and replies, growing larger like a snowball before traditional authoritative professional media even have the chance to verify.

Then it gets out of control, becoming more ridiculous and lively, with evidence, sources, and confident claims nailed down.

Though, no one has ever seen the evidence.

To be precise, no one has actually confirmed the facts, not even asked the person involved—

The absurd thing is, most of the time, rumors spread like wildfire before the person involved even knows what’s going on, subjected to false information and harm.

This is one characteristic of news in the network era. It requires professional journalists to calmly untangle the threads and seek clues, but the reality often lacks the sufficient time and space, as rumors dominate the scene.

However, by the time a follow-up news piece clarifying the truth finally emerges, the news cycle has moved on, leaving nobody interested in that truth.

The same is happening here.

No one knows exactly how the rumor about Li Wei being injured started, but now everyone is speaking with certainty, as if they’ve personally witnessed Li Wei wrapped like a mummy. Surprisingly, no one can clarify it—

Wait, exactly where has Li Wei been injured?

Ankle? Knee? Arm? Abs? Thigh? Torn? Strained? Sprained?

Or something else?

No, it’s all vague; however, the rumor has spiraled out of control, and social media quickly moves on to the next step, akin to grieving the deceased.

Some lament the never-failing "Madden Curse," some gloat that running backs are just consumable like youth, some play hindsight analyst, claiming they predicted this day, some rationally discuss what the Kansas City Chiefs should do after Li Wei’s season ends, some clap in delight.

Others have even started to select substitute running backs for the Kansas City Chiefs, with Le’Veon Bell topping the list.

This former Pittsburgh Steelers running back struggled last season with the New York Jets, and now, recovering from a quad tendon strain he suffered in the first week of this season, rumors suggest that the Jets’ patience is running thin, potentially cutting Bell mid-season.

"Well, Li Wei favored Bell, so now Bell can take over Li Wei’s role, making it all quite fitting."

The malicious glee and adding insult to injury in these statements show no awareness of their own evil and bias, seeing the world through hate-tinted glasses.

Fortunately in misfortune, this is just a small part.

The prevalent initial reaction among social media and league insiders is the "Madden Curse."

Ultimately, Li Wei couldn’t escape, falling under the shadow of this ultimate curse, plagued by injuries as the season barely begins.

People know there are only two possibilities with injuries: never or countless times.

You may never get injured, but once it starts, the entire career becomes an endless battle with injuries until life’s end, unable to fully escape even after retiring from professional sports. This is a professional athlete’s fate.

Loud and overwhelming.

So much so that people entirely miss what’s happening in Kansas City that day, like a secret belonging to Kansas City.

Moments that only residents of Kansas City can feel, only Kansas City Chiefs fans can experience, only those living in this city and having weathered these years of challenges can deeply remember.

No one else knows. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Though there’s some videos, text, photos on social media platforms, they didn’t stir much response. Algorithms and traffic were all directed toward the "Madden Curse," so those scattered messages briefly emerged only to be submerged under the sea of information again.

Perhaps this is the magic of social media, seemingly transparent and open to all information. With enough effort, everything can be uncovered; but in reality, everyone is trapped in their own algorithmic cocoon, key extracts from the vast ocean of information becoming increasingly narrow and scarce, blindfolding themselves.

In and out of Kansas City, virtual worlds and real life present entirely different facades, the same world divided into two spaces.

Finally, ESPN remembers they should verify with the person involved.

Veach laughs, casually remarks, "Our offensive group leader got injured? Well, I didn’t know about it, ha, I’ll verify later."

Leisurely, playful language flows, those who listened to the audio could sense Veach’s ease, completely unworried about Li Wei.

Yet, those stubborn netizens refuse to believe him, convinced Veach is covering up the truth, refusing to respond, thereby even more validating their assumptions—

Li Wei is injured, possibly more seriously than anticipated.

Secret! Big secret! They’ve inadvertently uncovered a bombshell!

Boom! Boom boom boom!

Instantly, collective uproar among netizens with endless conspiracy theories, as "Madden Curse" keyword climbs to the top of trending again, maintaining high heat and relentless traffic.

The list of "Madden Curse" victims lengthens, with Li Wei neither the first nor the last.

What about the person involved?

ESPN connects with Li Wei during a live program, straightforwardly tossing the question, hearing Li Wei’s quiet laughter from the other end.

"Ha, I’ll check back later."

A light-hearted joke, playfully dismissing the miscommunication. If professionals still couldn’t discern the blunder, they might collectively hit the wall.

ESPN feels slightly awkward, yet must thank Li Wei—

Had Li Wei seriously explained or denied, treating it with a somber attitude, all those hasty media would’ve been utterly embarrassed, potentially needing to publicly apologize, or else Li Wei could accuse them of defamation leading to reputational damage.

These media and journalists would have almost no room to retaliate, thoroughly humiliating themselves.

Yet Li Wei didn’t.

With a joke casually he

mbled out, the tension dispersed, even prompting gratitude from ESPN’s higher-ups.

Of course, those social media trolls still cover their ears, "Not listening, not listening," convinced Li Wei is throwing a smoke bomb, proving the injury’s severity, believing "Madden Curse" unfailingly hits, although even Li Wei can’t escape.

Next is the Buffalo Bills defeating the Kansas City Chiefs, a chance to win the hearts of the entire North American continent—

Josh Allen, the opportunity to become a superstar lies ahead, if only he could seize it.