MIAMI – When he goes home to Denmark, heads to a local field and practices by kicking footballs over the soccer goal, the kids in town form an immediate impression of Morten Anderson.
“On several occasions,” Anderson recalled, “they would come up to me and say ‘No, you hit it into the net.’ They would say ‘This guy is terrible.'”
If they only knew.
On Sunday, one of the most prolific and dependable placekickers in NFL history finally arrives at the Super Bowl, after 17 seasons of personal excellence and team futility. Anderson spent his first 13 years with the Saints, where losing was as commonplace as gumbo. After two losing seasons in his first three years in Atlanta, Anderson at long last is surrounded by a team that is deserving of his excellence.
“The longer you play and it’s not happening, you start saying ‘Man, another year’s gone by and it didn’t happen,” Anderson said during a media session. “I never lost faith. This is why you play, this right here, me sitting at a table talking to you is 17 years of faith and hard work.”
If Super Bowl XXXIII is tight and Atlanta needs a field goal to get past the Broncos, there is no one else on the planet the Falcons would prefer on their side. Anderson, 38, holds seven league records and his 401 field goals is second on the career list (behind Gary Anderson’s 420). He has made 11 consecutive field goals in the postseason, including, of course, his first-ever game-winner from 38 yards out to give the Falcons a 30-27 overtime victory in Minnesota in the NFC Championship Game.
“Morten lives for those type of big kicks,” tight end O.J. Santiago said. “If Morten ever misses it will be a kick that didn’t mean anything.”
Anderson is a fascinating blend of physical and mental preparedness. His dream growing up in Struer, Denmark was to play professional soccer. When he was 17, he came to the United State as a foreign exchange student, living with a couple named Lois and Dale Baker in Indianapolis. One day, the Bakers took Anderson to their son’s football practice and a new career was born.
This week, the Bakers are Super Bowl guests of Anderson’s, as is a women who took care of him when he attended Michigan State. “I want to remember people who were good to me when I was living on $150 a month and I barely spoke English,” he said. “It’s payback time.”
This is no ordinary kicker or player. Six years ago, he visited Nepal, hiking through the mountains, watching monks levitate. “Very spiritual … it changed my life completely,” he said.
Fittingly for someone who spends so much time alone while waiting to get on the field, Anderson has developed an internal formula. He calls it “cognitive intervention” and it’s intended to get his body and mind relaxed. “You’ve got to be very clear when you’re on the field,” Anderson explained, “because when you’re clear you can be automatic.”
When Scott Norwood missed the fateful field goal attempt that made losers of the Bills and winners of the Giants in Super Bowl XXV, Anderson was at the game, broadcasting for Danish television. “I remember being stunned and humbled, because it could happen to any of us,” he said.
If the Falcons need a game-winning kick, as they did to get here, Anderson said he would welcome that challenge. “I don’t shy away from that opportunity,” he said. “I am professional enough to be willing and able to meet that task, hopefully successfully.”