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Show Page B6 THE DAILY HFRA1 D. Pnwp, Utah, SunO,). January 24. SUPER BOWL XXXIII Former Ute star has date with destiny C- '- By PAl'L NEWBERRY V' :. AP Sport;. Writer SUWAXEE, Ga- .- While all the other kids in the neighborhood camped in front of the TV on Saturday mornings to watch Bugs Bunny, Jamal Anderson was mesmerized by "NFL Films." He soaked in the booming voice of John Facenda and was awestruck by the sight of this running back wearing a plain orange helmet, a figure who seemed as unreal as any cartoon character. Superman deflected bullets, hut whole men bounced off Jim Brown. "This is it," Anderson thought to himself, a youngster idolizing a man who retired seven years before he was born. "This is who I want to be." Anderson had worn No. 70 during his first season of Pop Warner football, but the following year he switched to 32 ft. Jk& JOHN BAZKMOKK JOHN BAZKMOKK The Associated Press Might as well Jump: Jamal Anderson (32) of the Atlana Falcons leaps to a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts Dec. 6. Anderson, who finished second in the NFL in rushing, will lead his team into Super Bowl XXXIII in Miami against the Denver Broncos. Don't expect him to get a case of stage fright once he gets to Miami, either. This guy grew up around some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment, from Mike Tyson to Richard Pryor, from Muhammad Ali to the Jacksons. "The biggest thing about this game that's disturbing me is what I'm going to wear to the stadium," Anderson said, always walking the line between seriousness and farce. "I don't know if I'll wear a about it." But Brown never played in a Super Bowl, walking away from the game a year before the first one was plaved. Next Sunday, Anderson and the Atlanta Falcons will take part in an improbable title game against the Denver Broncos at Miami's Pro Player Stadium. It's a moment Anderson has pondered and plotted since those days in front of the TV. He's oozing confidence and ready to embrace the spotlight. "This is my element," he said. '.'This is my destiny." double-b- light-colore- d began to flourish. "Mike knew how to get the best out of him," Reeves said. "There was just a respect there and it's obviously still there." In 1986, '87 and '89, thanks greatly to Elway's magic, Denver went to the Super Bowl but lost each time. Elway began to feel shackled. He wondered why his coach didn't 1 give him d quarterback, EI way ere-- Instead, ! T Reeves turned conservative in i Elway believed Shanahan to open up the And he rode Elway for his mistakes, even though the offense. Why, in Elway's words, was Reeves "so quarterback inflexible." Reeves, in was a rookie. When Reeves benched Elway for a playoff game 31-- more input. Shanahan was rehired in 1990, but Reeves didn't allow play-callin- loss) in favor of n suit. From the outset, the top overall pick in the '83 draft wanted Denver to run a gam attack. bling. In Reeves, who masterminded much of the Dallas Cowboys' innovative offense with Roger Staubach at against Seattle (a five-butto- "And what color to wear? It's Miami, so I can get away with a suit. I'm getting one Continued from Bl his or maybe a reasted FEUD seemed to have a philosophical ally. turn, said he felt "blind-sided- 1XI 7 JANET REEVES The Associated Press Not the best of friends: The dysfunctional relationship between Mike Shanahan, left, and Dan Reeves, " by Elway's pub- lic com- plaints. The feud soon turned Steve nasty after DeBerg, which included quarterback John Reeves fired even Elway Bowl story. Elway, is a big told his wife Shanahan, saying it was that he apparent to him his assistant and might not go back. his quarterback worked out what Then Reeves hired as receivers first plays to call before games. That, Shanahan, to Reeves, was a direct challenge coach in 1984, then as offento the head coach's authority. sive coordinator in '85. Elway pre-Sup- er Visit I he Associated Press smiles: Atlanta Falcons running back Jamal Anderson smiles as he speaks to reporters after a closed practice in Suwanee, Ga., earlier this week. Anderson, who played his college ball at the University of Utah, is one of the more personable players in the NFL and is in high demand for interviews prior to the Super Bowl. All Jim Brown's number and never let it go. Through high school, college and into the NFL, he kept chasing his hero's mystique, hoping that number would bring him some of Brown's power, some of Brown's speed, some of Brown's style. "He's my favorite player," Anderson said. "No doubt pass-oriente- J- - us online ivwv.heraldextra.com made just for the Super Bowl, I'll have some from my closet, too. I haven't decided." but Anderson's father, James, runs a security agency in Southern California, so Jamal didn't exactly have a normal childhood. Sugar Ray Leonard invited the youngster into the locker room after fights. Former Lakers guard Byron Scott would come over to the Anderson home to cut Jamais hair. "Uncle Muhammad" used to entertain the kids with magic tricks when he visited. Nervous about the Super high-profil- e Bowl? Hardly. "I've been around," Anderson "I certainly knew at the time it wasn't going to help the relationship," Reeves said. "I knew they were really, really good friends, arid still are. But if I was going to do what I thought was best, I had to go ahead and make that deci- sion." Said Shanahan: "Dan wanted to run the offense, and he wanted complete control. He didn't want somebody with my type of personality around." Elway, who argued with Reeves for much of 1991 on who should have play-callin- g duties, again began thinking of leaving after Shanahan was fired. "I've got to enjoy playing football," Elway said. "I get beat up too much, so I need to enjoy it. I get tired of getting caught up in the controversy, because I don't look at myself as a controversial guy. That wears on me. "You get mad and you get upset, and everything flashes through your mind. Then I think you step back and get a good view of everything and try to put all the ducks in a pond. I think it was a natural reaction." He returned for the 1992 season, and Denver fell apart after he was injured in the 11th game. The Broncos wound and owner Pat Bowlen up said. "I've seen this. I guess it really, really helps when you've been around the people I've been around, all their experiences. ... I've been around the fanfare, I've seen around the ups and downs. All along, I've known these people on a personal level, and they've always remained the same people. "Nothing about Jamal Anderson is going to change because of the Super Bowl. I'm the same person you met four or five years ago: cocky, talkative, friendly." He's the same person who arrived at the Falcons' training camp in 1994 bitterly disappointed that he wasn't drafted the player had no input in the decision. But such claims looked suspicious when Elway criticized his former coach at training camp in 1993. "I would not have been back here if Dan Reeves had been here," Elway said. "It wasn't worth it to me. I didn't enjoy it. It wasn't any fun, and I got tired of working with him. "The first six years, seven years w ere OK. ... The last three years have been hell. I felt like they never did anything offensively to make us better." Reeves, who was hired to coach the New York Giants after leaving Denver, said, "Let's just say it wasn't heaven for me either. I hope maybe one of these days he'll grow up and mature a little." Shanahan, meanwhile, won a Super Bowl as San Francisco's offensive coordinator in 1994, then was hired to succeed Wade Phillips as Broncos coach. Elway was thrilled. In the past three years, the Broncos have been the AFC's best team. Last year, Elway and Shanahan crossed paths with Reeves when Denver went to Atlanta and beat the until the final round, wary of going to a perennially losing team like Atlanta and saw his name listed at the bottom of a blackboard depth chart. He drew a line from his name to the top of the list, and he didn't waver when the running back coach told him the names were merely listed in order of experience. "He explained what it was," Anderson recalled, "and I explained where I was going to be." This season, he rushed for a 1,846 yards and for the first was an time. He set an NFL record by carrying the ball 410 times, putting his body through a staggering 25 carries per game. His ego keeps growing and growing. "I'm going to save the planet in about two years like Will Smith," said Anderson, referring to the actor who starred in the movie "Independence Day." "Maybe it won't be career-hig- All-Pr- o Falcons. All three have tried to downplay the bitterness, but talk of the feud is inevitable as the teams prepare for the Super Bowl. Reeves, in fact, bared his soul about it at a news conference Wednesday. "I don't know that I will ever get over the full situation," Reeves said. "That changed a lot of people's lives. I don't know that Mike will ever get over that, what it caused his wife and children. Same thing with me. It caused a lot of pain for my wife and children. It's something that won't ever go away." Elway, however, doesn't seem to be as deeply affected. 'Time cures a lot of problems," he said. "Some things don't seem so important or as big a deal as they did at the time. Time moves on." Said Shanahan: "Dan was probably one of my closest friends at one time. Any time you end the way we did, AT Glass Act will up of your Insurance Deductible. Free Mobile Service A Free State Safety Inspection. Call for Details. Glass Act OgdenArea 392-107- 2 373-872- 6 4 it." They'll all be a big part of each other's lives for the next week. Expect cordiality, not venom. Don't Put Your Baby's Health On The Line. 'IutSSjUS' Tic forc So Vim (j YnflvK Can Tak Cure 0 Your Bufv E 4 BYU. Women's Gymnastics BYU vs. U of U 9 BON LOSEE 375-889- 9 2230 N. University Pkwy, Bldg. 4B, Provo, UT 84604 HAIR RESTORATION The thinking man's alternative. m Wooden 4x4 8' Lon S5 gal, plastic dru: For t FREE Private ecD Consultation call today send in the coupon below for our brochure Sire SpHnsvi.:?, l4tc 250 : South Call or write for a free brochure. H Name I' Address City Silt Lake 533-884- there's always a little on the inside of you that rubs each of us the wrong way. But we're both mature enough to handle Much more than hair replacement: ALL SIZED Save up to $125.00 to $125.00 waive g week. "I've got to save some stuff for the game," Anderson said with a wink. "I'm just thinking about getting down to Miami and blowing open the scene." SYSTEMS GOOD S ELECT. C: 'iJst I hard-workin- REPLACEMENT 0 fired Reeves. Bowlen and Elway insisted liMIJ I 8-- 8 40 h independence Day II,' but I'll think of something." Anderson's teammates chuckle at his antics and look deeper into his soul, beyond the braggadocio to the psyche of a truly athlete who yearns to win a championship for Atlanta. "I think a lot of that is for effect," quarterback Chris Chandler said. "That's not his true personality. It's funny to laugh at him, I think it's great, and that's as far as it goes. "This is a guy who really cares about winning football games. You wouldn't carry the ball as much as he did without caring about winning. That's the bottom line with Jamal. He wants this team to win, and all the rest of the stuff is funny." Just wait till Super Bowl - yi (State . Zip 'inrrtiTtniBrtninii Friday, Jan. 29, 7 pm Marriott Center ; |
