Catching up with Falcons’ Legend Jamal Anderson

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Jul 4, 2025 - 04:30

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Catching up with Falcons’ Legend Jamal Anderson originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Georgia Dome may have been known as the house that Deion built, but in 1998, it transformed into the palace of the NFC, all thanks to Jamal Anderson. Not only did Jamal create the iconic dirty bird dance, but he also guided the Falcons to their inaugural Super Bowl appearance, which at the time seemed unlikely, and that’s where our discussion starts.

Craig: You know even with the win in the divisional round over the 49ers, there weren’t many people giving you a chance in that title game up in Minnesota, even Ray Buchanan echoed this when speaking to him the other day.

Jamal: I love Ray Buchanan. We led the league in sacks that season. Chuck Smith changed everything for us. People talk about the offense and me, but it was really the defense. We had more time offensively to run the ball and sustain drives, because the defense kept getting us the ball back. It changed the time of the game and tipped the scales in our favor. Ray was a premier corner. He was one of one at the time. People don’t talk about him enough. He was the best corner in the league for several years. I love Ray.

What do you remember most about the title game win in Minnesota?

Jamal: We always went to the movies, about 25 of us players, offensive and defensive guys every week. I can remember the eve before that game calling Keith Brooking’s room and telling him we were going to see Friday Night Lights over at the Mall of America. Brooking was just a rookie, nobody really knew who he was, and I’m like the biggest star on the team back then and I’m calling his room. I was like Michael Jackson of the Jackson 5 (laughs). We go down into the lobby and Keith blocks the entire lobby with his frame, acts like a security guard and stops all of the autograph seekers. It was unbelievable. We got to the Mall of America and everyone was so nice to us. All of those people thought we were going to lose the next day, they were even wearing shirts saying they were the NFC Champs. They had no idea what was coming the next day.

Craig: You all were such a close knit group.

Jamal: Listen, we went to the Super Bowl because we were different and we’re still close today. The star players made everyone feel at home. People don’t know this, but Chris Chandler would take us out on Friday’s to hang out and eat at Pappadeaux. He paid every week. We built up a relationship, heck I even took my family on Halloween to Chris’s house. People like to paint him as a standoffish person but he’s a great guy and understood my impact on the team and appreciated everyone.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 4, 2025, where it first appeared.