You can only be 24 once, so when it came time for C.J. Anderson to turn 25, he had a party a few days early. After all, he was about 70 miles away from his hometown of Vallejo with his family and friends.
Not to mention the additional 71,088 watching his every move live and the 167 million watching at home.
Yep, turns out Anderson’s big gift he opened early was also a big gift for the city he grew up in.
He became the first Vallejoan to win a Super Bowl.
Cruising “Radio Row” — the name given for the numerous media outlets in the week leading up to the Super Bowl — Anderson was asked what some of his first memories of football were.
“I started telling everyone that I remembered Ray Lewis and his Baltimore Ravens dominating the Super Bowl against the New York Giants,” Anderson said. “I talked about how I remembered Ty Law and his interception in 2002, Rich Gannon throwing five interceptions against Tampa Bay in the 2003 Super Bowl, Santonio Holmes and his big catch in the 2009 Super Bowl, and James Harrison and his pick-six in the same game. I even talked about Desmond Howard’s touchdown for Green Bay when I was around 6 years old. I remember all of them being the guy in those big games.”
However, for one day on Feb. 7, 2016, Anderson was that guy.
Learning from his first Super Bowl
When Anderson played in Super Bowl 50, it was his second time playing in the championship tilt. Two years earlier, he played in the Denver Broncos’ loss to the Seattle Seahawks, but all three of his carries for nine yards came in the fourth quarter of the 43-8 loss.
“That Super Bowl was my first ever trip to New York,” Anderson said. “So the first few nights I stayed out late. I wasn’t up too late, but I did walk around and see all the sights like the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. I wasn’t playing that much at that time, so I could have some later nights the first few days the team arrived in town. I learned that week how to handle the media circus.”
Bethel High graduate C.J. Anderson of the Denver Broncos carries the ball on Sunday for an overtime touchdown to defeat the New England Patriots 30-24. – Dustin Bradford — Getty Images
Things were different for his next Super Bowl — in Santa Clara at Levi’s Stadium.
“We got into the Bay Area, and there were teammates who wanted to know where to go, where the big restaurants, clubs, and lounges were,” Anderson said. “I asked if they wanted seafood or steak, and most of the players wanted steak, so as a team we went to Crustacean (in the Financial District of San Francisco). But after that, I went home. I spent the nights hanging out with my family, my mom, and my grandma. I didn’t really need to see the town like I had in New York. For me, that week felt normal. It felt like being home.”
Anderson said that week he got a haircut, went to Momo’s Cafe, visited his elementary school (Elsa Widenmann), and his former head football coach at Laney, the late John Beam.
That season, Anderson was more involved in the offense. He shared the running back duties with the late Ronnie Hillman and finished with 720 rushing yards and five touchdowns, to go with his 183 receiving yards in 15 games. He scored a game-winning touchdown in the snow against the New England Patriots in a big Sunday Night game on national television. Anderson entered Super Bowl 50 against the Carolina Panthers having already gained 144 yards in two contests during the playoffs.
So when Anderson woke up that Sunday morning, he was confident, and he knew what to expect.
Arriving at Levi’s Stadium
Since Anderson was playing in basically a home game, he could treat himself to his normal routine. On this day that once again meant a breakfast of waffles, eggs, and bacon.
“I was in the lobby for about two hours, maybe from 8:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. just watching NFL Countdown on ESPN,” Anderson said. “By that time, you have had all your difficult practices, and you’re prepared. The day before, we had team photos on the field, and we all knew what we had to do. I had breakfast with my mom and my grandma, but they knew my routine by then as well. They knew by then when to talk me up and when to leave me alone.”
Anderson said he always liked to take the second-to-last bus to the stadium or arena, and that meant showing up about two and a half hours before game time.
“That week I hadn’t really thought of the moment and how big it was,” Anderson said. “But when I showed up at the stadium, I saw a big banner with a photo of me on it outside the stadium? That’s when it hit me. All the cameras were on me as I walked in, and I’m just watching myself, doing my best to smile.
“But make no mistake. I was locked in at that point,” Anderson continued. “I was so prepared. I had been taught to never get too high, never get too low. But there was never a doubt in my mind. As a team, we were ready, and we were confident we were going to play well and win that game.”
C.J. Anderson is shown at Vallejo High’s Corbus Field during one of his free football camps he’s hosted. Anderson will be hosting a free event at Jesse Bethel High on Wednesday for parents to discuss upcoming projects and events for Vallejo’s youth. (Thomas Gase — Times-Herald file)
Anderson’s friends and family were ready too. The Vallejo native said in 2016 that he had left it up to his mom and his grandma, Barbara Gaddies, to handle who gets tickets to the game at Levi’s Stadium.
“My mom is taking care of that,” Anderson said in 2016 with a laugh. “I’ve cut it down to about five people. Five people get to go to the Super Bowl, but I think that’s it.”
Hundreds of Anderson’s fans in Vallejo, however, watched the game and rooted him on from other venues.
The Empress Theatre held an event and had his name up on the marquee. Jeff Turner, Anderson’s former head coach at Bethel, happily watched the game from his home.
“You know, as an athletic director, I don’t get enough time to spend with my family, so I’ll be watching from home,” Turner said, in 2016. “I’m looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to building new memories with him. My son and I will be yelling at C.J. on the television. ‘Good run, C.J.! Good catch, C.J.! Hold on to the ball, l C.J.!
The game and a special first-time play call
Anderson didn’t waste time making noise in Super Bowl 50. His first carry with 13:22 left in the first quarter went for eight yards. On the next play, he ran through the right tackle for another 12 and a first down. He finished with 22 yards rushing plus a catch for a yard in the first quarter.
Anderson got going in the second quarter. His first three carries of the second period only gained four yards, but with 6:28 left in the first half, he gained 34 yards for a first down.
Denver Broncos running back and Bethel High grad C.J. Anderson holds the Lombardi Trophy at a rally following a parade through downtown Tuesday in Denver. Fans crowded into Denver’s downtown to salute the Broncos for the team’s victory over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. Anderson will be inducted into the Vallejo Sports Hall of Fame on March 5. – David Zalubowski — ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Bethel and Cal graduate was given the ball several more times, gaining 13 yards on a carry in the third quarter, but never gained more than two yards the rest of the night. However, his two-yard run with 3:13 was just perfect.
It was also unusual.
“We had first and goal after a Carolina penalty. I ran to the sideline and yelled at Coach (Gary) Kubiak and basically told him, ‘Give me the f-ing ball,’” Anderson said, with a laugh. “So what does he do? He calls a play we referred to as 32-punch.
“So the entire year it seemed we never had a first and goal play from inside the 2-yard line, and we call 32-punch? One of my teammates actually said out loud, ’32-punch, why are we calling that?’” Anderson said, with a laugh. “I mean, we were all thinking that, but he actually said it out loud, and I couldn’t believe Carolina didn’t hear him. I mean, we practiced that play for eight months but never used it during the season.”
The play was ran and after a block was missed, Anderson was still able to make a defender miss. Then all he saw was the end zone and six points, making the contest a two-score game (22-10 before the two-point conversion was added).
Anderson said he knew how lucky he was to score in the Super Bowl. After all, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, and LaDainian Tomlinson had never scored a touchdown in the title game.
“I definitely flashed back a little when I scored that touchdown, and it was a little bit of a release,” Anderson said in 2016. “But mostly I thought, ‘This game is over. We have the best defense on the planet, and everything we set out for as a team, we were about to accomplish.’”
Remembering how you got there
Reflecting 10 years later on his big score and the win that would come just a few minutes later, Anderson said that when the confetti fell on him, he thought of his mom and grandma, not his 90 yards on 23 carries.
“I thought of them and all the sacrifices they made for me,” Anderson said. “I thought of them driving me to the bus stop at Curtola so I could take the 5:59 a.m. bus to catch BART to El Cerrito. So I thought of my family. I wanted to celebrate with my family before I eventually celebrated with my teammates.”
Anderson would later play in another Super Bowl with the Rams in 2019 against the other team playing in this year’s game — the New England Patriots. It’s that year’s game, Anderson said, that the players he coaches at Benicia High say they remember the most.
“That one was just seven years ago, so they were growing to love the game at that point,” Anderson said. “In 2016, most of the players with Benicia were around 5 to 8 years old, so they don’t remember that one as much.”
As for advice for this year’s Super Bowl participants, he doesn’t hesitate.
“Suck up the moment in the days leading up to the game. By Friday night and Saturday, the practices will likely be lighter,” Anderson said. “Spend time with your family and take in the moment. Spend it with your family and give them thanks.”