And you thought he'd get there playing for the New Orleans Saints?
After 17 seasons -- and seven Super Bowls as an analyst -- Andersen finally is going to play in the big game. In fact, his left foot was, ultimately, the reason the Atlanta Falcons are here. Andersen's 38-yard field goal in overtime ended the season for the Team Most Likely To Beat Denver, the Minnesota Vikings.
On Tuesday, Andersen made no apologies. He has waited too long. His stylish wrap-around sunglasses did not hide the gray creeping into his sideburns.
"Sitting here, talking to you guys, is something I've visualized for years," Andersen said. "Sitting here, answering all these questions ... I'll tell you, you guys look a lot better from this side."
Ninety minutes later, in the same corner of Pro Player Stadium, Denver rookie Brian Griese squinted into the same harsh, South Florida sun. His career trajectory is working a little differently than Andersen's.
Last year Griese quarterbacked Michigan to the co-national championship, the Wolverines' first national title in 49 seasons. This season, after completing all of two passes (one to teammate Vaughn Hebron and one to the Philadelphia Eagles), the rookie could win a Super Bowl ring in his hometown.
Those are the kind of things expected of you when your father is a Hall of Fame quarterback.
On Tuesday, Griese was as poised as Andersen was emotional. Maybe it's his pedigree; maybe it's because he'll be carrying a clipboard on Sunday.
"I understand how lucky I am," Griese said. "I'm happy to be here, believe me."
Not nearly as happy as Andersen.
While Shannon Sharpe and Jamal Anderson were hyping the game (and themselves) Tuesday during the tidal wave that is Media Day, Andersen was an oasis of contemplation and reason. Here is a man who speaks four different languagues. It is easy to forget that he is quite possibly the greatest kicker in NFL history.
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I don't really know. I was too busy running around acting like a fool. " |
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-- Morten Andersen, on how he felt after the game-winning kick in the NFC title game |
Andersen has 26 game-winning kicks, 35 50-yard field goals, 12 100-point seasons and seven Pro Bowl appearances -- all league records for kickers.
Andersen also has a powerfully developed left side of the brain, something rare in the tunnel-vision, goal-oriented NFL.
How many NFL players spent their offseason in the Caribbean, watching the solar eclipse? Andersen and 10 friends were on a boat near the Guadalupe Canal when the sun and moon aligned at 2:30 one afternoon.
"The lights went out and the seabirds started nesting for the night," Andersen said. "There was a pinkish, purplish hue in the air. Seeing the moon and the sun together was amazing, like a three-dimensional effect.
"The stars came out, and you could see the planets. It was the most bizarre experience I've ever had."
Unless you want to consider the levitating Tibetan Monks.
Six years ago, Andersen and his father backpacked through the Himalayas, tracing the route Marco Polo took from India to Tibet.
"We took some local Sherpas, and it was extraordinary," Andersen said. "We saw seven of the world's 15 highest mountains. We saw monks on their pilgrimages. I'm not saying I saw a monk levitate, but there are rumors.
"It was an outward journey, but it was an inward journey, too. It was very spiritual. Even though we feel the world is so big and sprawling, you realize how everyone is connected, that people all have the same needs, wants and desires."
Don't get the idea that Andersen is a stiff, starched intellectual. He is a kicker, after all. He entertained reporters with his attempts to provide analysis in Danish when the video feed features John Madden telestrating a guy's stomach. The Danish word for touchdown? Uh, that would be touchdown.
"It has been a marvelous ride," Andersen said.
What was he thinking about after he made the field goal to beat the Vikings?
"I don't really know," he said. "I was too busy running around acting like a fool."
Griese, meanwhile, wasn't surrounded by several dozen writers and cameras. The few people who stopped by wanted to know if the third-stringer was the heir apparent to John Elway.
"I don't know," Griese said, before shouting down toward Elway's massive press briefing.
"Hey, Woody!"
Woody? This is a rookie, calling Elway, a future Hall of Famer, an icon, "Woody."
Griese does not seem fazed by his happy proximity to greatness. Maybe that's because his father Bob won two Super Bowls, VII and VIII, with Miami.
"He hasn't given me any advice this week," the son said of the father. "He wants to monopolize the Super Bowl rings in our house."
Greg Garber, a regular contributor to ESPN.com's NFL coverage, will write a daily column during Super Bowl week.
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